Summer is officially here

May the light of our history June 2010 turn with action based on wisdom, love based on the true power of giving and recieving, and peace based on everyone reaching their full potential.

Find the light within. It is there , let's share it!

Promise of Gratitude for everyone who contributed to the making of my demo reel ( see April 2010 post for "A Picture Introducing Kathy Lynn Wood"

what's behind the art? people . I would like to acknowlege some of the people who stood behind me and with me during this process that ultimately led to my demo reel. see April 2010.

Behind the camera in Los Angeles , The Zinestress, inspired a playful and professional atmosphere. Cut to the Manhattan Monologue Slam, based on a premise she suggested.

The Slam is staged with consistency by the Galinsky brothers and Act Two has a thirty second framework.I first found out about this event because it was voted as a favorite from Backstage and I kept the article for a while. Then a couple of years later, Melinda Buckley sent me an email saying it was happening and to come on out and support it, she was among the five judges

That night it was at the New York Film Academy. By the time I arrived, working til the last minute with a Fashion Week VIP, I dashed downtown in a cab to find standing room only , well, really

i made room to sit "INdian Style " on the floor among the many others in a pool of people captivated on the floor. I got to see some of Act One, the three minute, more dramatic part. Honestly , it had a cutting edge to it and at that time a very dowtown New York feel.

How can you tell a story with a beginning middle and end in 30 seconds? I felt inspired by this creative "problem". One autumn day, I trusted another instinct which was to go the New York Library Of Performing Arts, and once there I sat watching a Merce Cunningham Dance Video inside an amazing exhibit which celebrated his art, and where "She" ( the muse of my first slam) appeared . "She"needed attention. Binoculars, raincoat, short curly blondish caramel hair. She was like a character out of a Woody Allen film, except she was real and talking with me. So I slammed about her! I called it my New York Moment.

I was actually feeling very under the weather that day and was in a good place to sit back and listen, be present for her, and she gave a present : for me to watch and be with this woman, while being in that magical space. I went home and wrote the piece. Months passed , then she got resurrected with a brilliant rehearsal with Sedly coaching me. Somehow the timing of my first slam was in between stage work I did, i worked in Harlem then At HB Studios. And I auditioned for the role of a reception nurse for the USA Network,Royal Pains, by the director's request. Well, my muse made it to the stage light. She lives on.

All that to describe the day coming up to a more seasoned slam which I put in my demo:

Again Autumn weather. I worked , went to my alexander class, did my laundry and had one chance to go over the script via the telephone with Milano. 6:15 pm. Milano encourged me by listening.. and that gave me the desire to get up and do it in front of a live audience. I wore one of my favorite colors : fuschia and confidently got on the subway placing my name on the thirty second slammers' list when I arrived at the theater.

Four months later, after some acting "business" classes and people saying actors don't need a demo, I became determined to play a major role in finishing my demo.. I set the date and stuck by my resolution.

The model behind the greenery in the photo above told me exactly what "side" of me to show in the demo, and I did a photo session with an imaginative master painter Kaz Ooka.

Of course I spoke with my mother hundreds of times along the way, so I definately would llike to thank : Karen, Sam, The model who looks like an Indian Ingenue, Sedly, Milano, the entertainment expert, Kaz.Judy B, and Susan for the original invitiations to go to California. And I want to thank the two cities New York and Los Angeles, and the woman in the library who appeared and spoke with me, a native new yorker whom i have never seen again.

Sincere thanks also go to the trial scenario shoot , shot by Brent with two young children posing as mine for the stressed out "angry" Mom. It was fun shooting this and the boys liked being actors. I am sure that I could write more about the making of the demo, and I have raw footage that documents this effort. Thank you Miss Erica for letting me borrow your beau who jumped on board last minute to direct.

The moral is: if you are an actor and you want something done, you must get the DIY on, Do it yourself spirit, that propels a move forward and support from others. Nix the naysayers right out of the picture. If your too careful or waiting for perfection, your result will never be seen.

So many thanks so little time, and time by the way , you must MAKE the time for your career.

If you look at Brando saying "I could have been a contender" from On the Waterfront, and you say coulda shoulda woulda you have entered the vacuum of the defeatest and our world needs Victors . Your victory, my victory , our victory. Get in to the space of your essence! The demo reel has been won of the best experiences so far and has helped to put me in the driver's seat. Let me know what you think!

The Lure and Mystique of The Very Ground "Broadway" Shooting Stars in New York City

Every Year new groups of performers, Seasoned Broadway Actors, theater designers, directors, sound and lighting technicians, make up artists, costume designers, people of many crafts join forces to create new shows written hand in hand by composers and lyriciists, playwrights, or published authors based on revolutionaries or history makers.

Some shows en vogue come from screen to stage, or for La Cage from play ( based on the brilliant premise circa 1973 by French playwiright Jean Poiret , to screen , to Broadway to the West End of London, to more international stages , and again made it to the screen picked up from "Birdcage" the brilliant cinematic magic of Mike Nichols , and that 1996 impeccable cast ,to a staged Broadway revival in 2004, to another revival in 2010.

This morning I waltzed around to the many New York's Legendary theater houses this to try to get a scope of the talent on Broadway at this time.

An innocent stroll kept its lure on this hot morning. No doubt heating up for Broadway's really big night.

Some shows help create history when artists pulse ahead of their time or courageously in step to reveal virtues and truths meeking out overworn silences. Live theater has the potential to ring shadows to light. Granted the spirit and tone are set right and no gum wrappers are uncoiled (thus interupting the breathing silence of the moment.) Producers and others who believe in these shows make sure contracts are made and theaters are secured.

From June 2009 to June 2010 much theater history has been made. A Steady Rain by Keith Huff was one drama that I saw. Here is a question for you : who has better legs in jeans Janet Jackson or Hugh Jackman ? ooh la la . The bare dark set coupled with the playwrights story which the two actors Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman clearly told left your own imagination to craft the details. My neighbor, Rachel called me at the last minute with a ticket , on a rainy night. How refreshing to have the words of the actors alone in this drama to create the environment.

Think classic black and white cinema. It's like ginger 's purpose with sushi, cleanses the palette. Our eyes need a little cleansing. Overstimulation. 3D , God help us. ( I will admit that I have not yet seen Avatar . But I did see "The Secrets in Their Eyes" , look for my review at Digthisreal.com . During my stroll along Broadway today I saw an advert with a very cute grinning cowboy , Toy Story 3.

Back to Tony's Night... The potential, the producers, the cleansing of the pallette. Ah yes, so French. Bebe Neuwirth and Nathan Lane on stage.. now. Yeah just in time, category Best Actress in a Musical . Catherine Zeta Jones. Exquisite. Quel baby blue dress and great performance of "Send in the Clowns." Yeah Sondheim! A very good friend of mine took me to see "Company" a couple of years ago, and I fell in love with "Another Hundred People" the song.

And how fitting was it that Nathan Lane presented the award to winner Douglas Hodge , of La Cage Aux Folles, for Best Actor In a Musical.

Twyla Tharp and the daring dancers of "Fly With Me" are keeping the "new" in musical dance that is for sure. Karine Plantadit is an amazing charismatic force to watch.

Bill T. Jones also shows how expansive and beautiful one's life can be.

Go Memphis!!! Great Salute to the theaters and bridges that supported this 2010 Tony Award winning musical to get "running."

Dr. Seuss, humanitarian extraordinaire, would travel up the steps of the lighthouse in La Jolla, California where he would go to his writing room. Sometimes if he was challenged to get something down on the page he would wrack his brain while meditating on his couch. This flight of stairs is a metaphor for actors to climb to the next level. Sometimes we have to build the next level ourselves. July 2009 I co-produced with Meaghan Cosgrove and guest musical artist Francine Kay, An Evening of Monologues and Music. Meaghan chose great material inspired by good writing to suit her wide range. A golden memory for me was watching her interpretation of a Nilo Cruz created character from the play "Anna in the Tropics".

While reciting the poem " Soar Into the Vast Skies of Freedom into the New Century" , by Daisaku Ikeda, I felt a fire come alive within me. I appreciated what the producer of Red said something to the effect in (Mark) Rothko's words , "The artist must inspire, engage, and fall in love with their craft and make it their own."

This blog is a direct result of that evening of performances, almost now a year ago. Hear hear to propelling ever forward and having a fulfilled and meaningful career. Here here to the people on Broadway who are great role models of dedication . Thank you all for delivering the very best in show business. Here here to New York , along with Hollywood the cities of dreams. Good Night! And Blessed be a little night music.

Great plays bring to light things we don't like to talk about. or things we love to muse about. some privately, some publicly...

The "Tony" Awards

Congratulations to everyone involved with this Sunday June 13th Tony Awards that will air live from New York on CBS .