weekend sun and sightings

while running errands I ran in to "Spongebob", I posed with Spongebob so I could send it to my nephews. I got the following reply from my mother's freind Bonnie from Michigan: 'Thank you for not making me read it in the Enquirer that Kathy has something going on with Sponge Bob Square Pants." Sense of humor people,never lose your sense of humor.

This was my business look before getting to set for friday's chilly shoot. As serendipity will have it, the 40 actors there , 6 of us women who found ourselves seated together created on the mark dialogue behind the scenes. Now I am acquainted with five more diverse actresses in NYC. Many of which produce shows and write as well.

I had 2 rewards to look forward to at the end of saturday. While walking toward one , an off duty fireman said to me " Smile it's the weekend. " I said "I'm on my way to get a massage " ,then he said "Perfect . Can I come?" I replied "that is so hot " and kept walking.

My second reward was going with 2 wonderful friends to hear KT Sullivan and Mark Nadler "s Cabaret "Gershwin Here to stay." This was part of my weekend birthday celebration. There is nothing like laughing with friends.

KT has a pure heavenly voice. It was fun watching her eyes as she sings. They were remniscient of the silent screen stars. KT also has an ethereal quality like Carole Lombard. Such a lovely presence . Mark Nadler , a terrific medley maker, was inspiring as he did a tap/shuffle/ then played four hands on piano with Jon Weber. There is much magic when live theater recreates a moment in time, and these two moments were powerful for me. As I said my Grandfather was a tap dance teacher and he was ultra elegant. To feel the music so much that it moves you, that is living. This has special meaning for me. I felt as though the two Gershwin brothers were young again playing their music together. Together ,the operative word .

after the show I heard conversation asking why is Ira not talked about as much as George?" As well as, "I didn't know George was such a hound."

Is history always revisionistic? Talk people, converse! It's not just a sneaker. Let the human voice give you more energy than text messaging.

This Week Talk more than you text. But also be a good listener, what's the worse that can happen? "Walk on By " or keep walking. Tips on being a good listener can be found on the Toda Institute of Dialogue For GLobal Peace and Policy website. OF course, listening, one of the greatest acting tools.

What songs go through your mind as you stroll?

Tribute to Woman by an Inspiring Young Man

I was going to send this sheet music to my mother for her to play on the piano. It would be nice to sing it to her in person. In Celebration of International Women's Day, many performance took place around New York City. Check this one out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1iMvvRZgEdI

Projects Close to My Heart That I have my Hands In

Speaking of Swinging : Here is my Grandfather Wilfred tall , handsome, and elegant at 45 in 1955. He is teaching one of his tap dance classes. I come from a family of entertainers and my documentary regarding this is set for an August completion date.

On Being Human , this red vase is something that my mother made. Her tap dancing childhood created some already creative rhythms for her life. Here we are on a boat, while dolphins were swimming around us on a sacred River.

Exciting to roll into new territory with film, flip camera, and of course original music. I Heard last night that you learn the most when you challenge your self to try something new. join me in the beginning of an evolving collaboration.

view: tales of hollywood/ kathylynnwood or try this you tube link

Youth Rock The Era

Brand New Day

Hollywood on phone with her mother

Mom: " educate yourself about the entire health plan and don't base your decsion or perspective on the anger or opinion of others." (And regarding my acting career ) "let life happen, have faith in life."

Nothing like a new morning. Today so far I had contact with the young woman above , Sage Lau , who today her school is celebrating Crazy Fashion Week. I sacrificed my place in line at Amy's Bread to make this connection because Sage's hat was so inspiring, and Darling, she was WEARING it. Amazing, when I got back in line, a mother ahead of me whose son goes to the same school, and earlier this week they had "gender bending dress up day." That may explain why I saw a young man with black tights and black shorts walking outside , daylight on this week's fateful monday .

Speaking of Monday, I got a call from a casting director for Damages and will hear the verdict this afternoon if I will be on set tomorrow.

Check out this fish called Ingmar!! Beautiful and Flowing. Sea creatures rule. Once in Sarasota I saw seahorses that were so mystical looking. Is it true that the females reproduce themselves? Not clone themselves, but can reproduce by themselves...

Ingmar is visiting Video Cafe this week.

note to self: after bumping into JS the sculptor, review footage of Kathy Hollywood and the Venus mask.

I had a wonderful conversation with an elder in our community. She also gave me encouragement today. This was a gift and reminded me of a book discussion I would like to lead on the book "On Being Human." This book written by Daisaku Ikeda, Rene Simard, and Guy Bourgeault, is one of the inspirations and sources for the Performance and Health Workshop I am developing.

Exterior Crossing the Avenue : two women discuss taking care while crossing the street. Speeding horse carriages, and how Lucky we are to be here in New York.

Elder " We have access to so many things here. "

Kathy Hollywood: " I have been here in this neighborhood 10 years. I dream of a bigger apartment with butterscotch wood floors, and lots of sunlight beaming in through the windows"

Elder: " We can go out. We have everything here: "

we agree and cite all the variuos places then she says : " We must appreciate what we have. We are so lucky to be here."

That was my refreshing morning. I got booked on the tv show Damages.

Open the gateway of Spring. Usher In the universal truths. Step into your true path.

There is a wonderful beat to the Rosalind Russell song 'Swing" from the musical 'Wonderful Town" . It is when America and probably other major cities around the world were discovering the fusion of Latino drums, Horns and Brass , and the geat Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald were two of the many musicians in the forefront of this movement. Bebop, Swing, Classic.

Swing into Spring and don't look back.

Venus of Willendorf : America's Watchtower is Her People . Where do they stand?

March 19th purple flowers appear in full bloom from the earth in New York City.

March 22nd Happy Birthday Princess , your life force is the essence of fifth gear and beyond, now I know why. You are truly the leader of the Zodiac. I have so much more to learn from you. I love you.

Mother Nature calls the shots from the "Watchtower."

Renewal and Bold Energy of Spring

Daffodils in the northeast are one sign of the Spring rhythm. They are sprouting up on a hillside in central park, depending on how fast your taxi is going look to the north as you travel from east to west on 66th St. Triumphant colors abound, real and nothing is fabricated. Take it for what it is. I remember an exploration of a Shakepearean lesson : seeming and being. I wonder what our forefathers would say about the most recent historical health law. That is the bold topic of this week. Spring vision : watch closely. Take it in cause it is but a blink of an eye.

Monday I did not have time to fold and had to briskly stuff my dried clothes into the big empty soon to be filled bag. I had to get to work by 10 am. So it was an intense 90 minutes sandwiched between these words. ANd the woman was in and out so fast that it was like a charged heated moment. One thing she said , was wait til a woman gets into the white house and see how the country reacts. THere you have it : there was a reactionary tone to this exchange. So many lines in between the lines spoken, fast dialogue like spring. Typical Mars energy. In fact MOnday which is ruled by the moon ( in French the names of the week are ruled by planets) . But Monday March 22nd 2010, had more of a tuesday energy to it. That is the unexpected nature of Aries , of March. I should know. But where do the people stand? What is authentically American?

These intense thoughts were pushing through and I began to wonder if I had woken up in a different country. Change, tradition, signed to irreversible effect, these are big things for this one person in this big city to think about. Thank Goodness I have an upcoming birthday celebration to lighten up . I am looking forward to KT Sullivan's Cabaret which celebrates our very American Gershwin.

The stunning news on monday morning provoked reaction. My hope is that AMerica is not eclipsed by American Politics. The true effects of this legislation are yet to be seen. It will take time. Miss Liberty in the Hudson Harbor will be the one who goes somewhere else. Girlfreind is gonna get her scuba suit on and swim the channel back to France .

Miss Statue of Liberty is gonna hijack the staten island ferry and find the true north of freedom.

My closing thought of this aftermath which for me was early into this morning at 12:30 am,I thought what books , international articles, blogs, or dialogues from around the world can we be reading at this time to awaken to become true global citizens. Where are the people who are the watchtowers of freedom? What would the founding fathers of America say about this historic "change" on March 22nd?

the year of the Tigre, photo credit and vroom vrrroom tune up the body for spring

Please allow me to introduce you to Tigre Fisher, see her here with her blue hair. She is a wonderful recording artist. Check out her page www.myspace.com/moodymammoththeband.

Credits .. This is important for artists and people of all kinds.

The photograph with the red scarf in yesterdays post was taken by Sam Kanter. It is getting a reprise today along with another photo of Sam's for posterity ! The people in these photos are: Deborah Gladstein and Shun . Ground yourself for a magnificent living out of your dreams.

All other photos appearing in throughout my blog have been taken by me , except "ready for take off" that was taken by Ms. Sarah while we were flying high up over the Pacific Ocean. The ones of me standing with "Twyla", those were taken by another fan of Twyla's. Twyla by the way is headlining Broadway once again with, " Come Fly With Me, " a show which is set during one heightened dramatic evening and is a journey amidst couples dancing to tailor made choreography for each dancer to Sinatra tunes . Fly to New York and see this show, or if you are already here then take a walk on the wild side, baby.

I like bicycles .This is the bike that I choose to cruise around Manhattan on this spring!

Let's make the year of the tiger a healthy one. I express my gratitude to Pailin Winotaka for inviting me back to spend quality time in her presence and master instruction of Thai Massage. This particular style is Southern Wat Po and is beneficial for the body and mind.

Stay tuned for information on a health workshop that I am developing. In the meantime, Spring is a great time to cleanse your liver. Try eating raw dandelion greens, which are rich in vitamin A. Rather than reaching for that second cup of coffee in the afternoon try taso refresh tea, or peppermint tea.

Soar into the sunset : pretend you hear the sound of motorcycles purring along Avenue A.

Revving and Vroom Vrroom. Or if you are on Sunset Boulevard feel the wind in between your shoulder blades, take a nice full breath.

true north, north by northwest and full circle

As I write this, "Scrooged," is playing on my VCR in the background of my half lit, two North window Manhattan apartment. The sun has been such an inspiration and so generous to this part of the Northeast of America. "Put a little love in your heart," I love this duet between Al Green and Annie Lennox. She is one of my heroines of music and I had this soundtrack long before I bought the movie. One of the music teachers I go to suggested an Annie Lennox song for me to have in my audition material. She helps cleanse the soul of demons.

I would like to take this opportunity to go full circle. When I began this blog, I felt the glow of possibility. To blog or not to blog was not the question. It was what do I , Kathy Hollywood want to blog about? I must say that so many windows of possiblity opened up and people began opening up to me in ways that were inviting. I have some belated blogs and today I would like to throw it all down right here and prepare to move forward once again afresh. Fred Astaire tap dances on a fresh grey shiny floor.

I find it appropriate to talk of this season of dreams. Many of this year's Oscar speeches spoke of how dreams are real and are reborn each day. I was so grateful to hear Michael Giacchino's speech after he won for best original score for, "Up."

He mentioned how his father gave him an 8 mm camera to play with and how he was encouraged to create by many adults around him. The tribute from actor to actor to present the best actor and actresses awards was very dignified.

Winter. How do people make it through this season? Funny...It begins with the tail end of the Harvest, (thanksgiving), then we go to family and community gatherings, another harvest of the heart, then the ball drops, and we begin anew, a fresh new year. As dramatic world events unfold around us we keep apace with our dreams. In the mix of goals, finances, health, snowstorms, matters of the heart, dreams of palm trees we celebrate the freedom of the individual.

Speaking of America and individuality, when Albert Einstein became an American citizen he said and I quote from the book Einstein on Race and Racism , by Fred Jerome: "In America, the development of the individual and his creative powers is possible , and that, to me is the most valuable asset in life. "

For me, more than anything , heart to heart conversations , and good tea, as well as hearing music I have never heard before and getting in touch with that place where dreams are born is some of the ways I made it through this winter. Truly I am interested in hearing ways people endure this season as well as hearing about where you find treasures in this layered time.This year the music of Chopin, Paul Dessau, and many movies I bought at Video Cafe have accompanied me on the wintertime journey. All this art as well as finding time to watch some od the 2010 Oscar nominated films.

Please allow me to backtrack to autumn 2009. In a previous blog post, "Raging Bull," I mentioned going back to class with a master acting teacher: Karen Kohlhaas. This class had many levels. Karen other than being the monologue Queen (she has authored two books which you can check out on her website: themonologueaudition.com) offers a holistic approach and perspective on having a fulfilled acting career. The class I participated in was the, "mega class." We five actors chartered the self written monologue exercise as an additional component to this class. Karen is also a director and she has quite an ear and eye for good storytelling. We were always in good hands. We were never treated with kid gloves . I achieved alot of insight and uncovered gold during this time. It was for real and with any good teacher she encouraged us to get out there (audition) and try it out. For me , the writing exercise was rewarding to do from beginning to end. I even got a chance to work on it with another master in Los Angeles, Sedly. Yes indeed 2009 was a powerful full circle for me. As Deborah Gladstein says in the swimming dragon exercise , and I paraphrase : and that completes a full cycle only to begin again.

If you are looking to freshen up on monologues or cold readings please read below on upcoming classes with Karen in the Northwest United States.

Among the community harvest celebrations I attended at the close of 2009 was watching the collaboration of grown ups with children a dance concert which took place at Metro Baptist Church. More details to come so you can mark your art calendar for the end of this year!! Trust me, it is not to be missed.

For some unknown reason my thoughts at the closing of last year went to the family of the young Yale student, Annie Le, who was murdered. I grieve the loss of her life, a grave loss to her family and to society. She, a brilliant promising honor student who would no doubt have contributed to medicine possibly finding cures to diseases that haunt us. Why do people take someone elses' liberty of life away? It is so unatural. I am saddened by her death and urge our society to stop the violence.

The youth of the world are our future. Please know that a world peace organization SGI-USA has initiated a victory over violence campaign as well as for 2010 created a, "Youth Rock the Era," movement. Find them on facebook or twitter if you are between the ages of 10- 35 or know someone who in need of comraderie, expressing an artistic voice to work together for world peace and direct creative energy google Rock the Era. I hope young people find their kindred spirits and always have support in their crucial growing years.

Have you ever heard a saying like the following: "A society that values women is a society that flourishes?" I am so happy to report the victory of Kathryn Bigelow, first woman to receive a best director Oscar, for her work directing, "The Hurt Locker."

So, lastly I would like to relay a subway experience - Cellphone drama. This winter while trying to be in too many places at one time, and right after I reconnected my new Blackberry to twitter with the help of a native new yorker at Verizon on 34th Street, somehow I managed to turn my phone into lock mode. Well, already up near Columbia University in the freezing cold, I obsessively tried to press every button I could find to unlock it. The upside was my phone was now armed with a successfully downloaded twitter application, but I could not find the mute key to get my phone back live until da dan ta da...man with the iphone comes to the rescue. On the subway platform I noticed a man, whose name I would find out to be Daniel, was moving his hand over what I thought was his Blackerry. But no, alas, it was his iphone. He was most helpful. He pointed his weiner shnitzel finger upon his iphone and gave me the information I needed (that is my subtle tribute to, "Inglorious Bastards"). Daniel googled, 'Blackberrry mute key,' and we discovered how to unlock my Blackberry. That is my story of iphone to the rescue.

Managing social media to be continued...

So what movies have inspired you lately and how? Video Cafe is my favorite place to rent or buy movies, televison series, documentaries, music concerts, or just to talk with Angel or other people in the store about movies. Angel once told me the most fantastic story. "Only in New York kids," as Cindy Adams says! Anyway, if you venture into this Hell's Kitchen gem of a place, you must see the photo, framed and hanging on the wall, of a real life New Yorker sporting a parachute with the caption, "Keep watching the sky." Angel said that in 1986 when the Mets were playing Boston in the World Series, the Mets were trailing when this guy that he knows touched down his pararchute into the stadium and it rallied the fans so much that Boston did not have a chance after that. Imagine that kind of audience magic. Wow, reality in New York. Planes landing on the Hudson, a guy psyching out a world class baseball team with a never to be forgotten entrance into Shea Stadium (and probably a fine to go with it) at the crucial moment. Daniel saving my blackberry with a touch of his iphone while we await for the 1 9 train. I sincerely hope this big applesauce has more sweet dreams for Spring! Keep Watching the Sky, babe.

Karen Kohlhaas teaches in Seattle San Francisco, and Los Angeles in March 2010.

Seattle : March 13 Fearless Cold Reading and Audition Technique

March 14 Monologue Workshop

San Francisco : March 20 Fearless Cold Reading and Audition Technique

March 21 Monologue Workshop

Los Angeles March 26 Fearless Auditon Technique

March 27 Fearless Cold Reading

for a complete description of each workshop please email Monologueskarenk@aol.com