MISS CAST - DAY 10 WITH A BROKEN LEFT WRIST

Every day I weep a little, like when no one gets up to give me a seat on a crowded D train, even though I'm staring at them with an elevated arm in a cast, or when I wake up from a dream that I have no cast and realize, no, it's true. I have a broken wrist, my arm is in a cast, and yes, I do need surgery. And sometimes I just weep from the PAIN of my broken bones.

I broke my wrist ten days ago. I'd handed in my TV thesis script the night before, the culmination of two years earning my MFA in Dramatic Writing at NYU. My TV pilot, Undercover Stage Mother, follows a high-powered young talent agent who gets fired and goes undercover bringing her former clients to auditions, terrorizing the other stage moms and their kids in the waiting room. It's a story of a desperate woman looking to stay afloat in the recession, creating a new identity after she seriously screws up at work. I'm thinking now I can write a revised draft and give her a broken wrist too. Every protagonist needs setbacks followed by small victories. 

If I am my own protag in the TV script of my life, my setback is my accident. The small victory? It happened after all my NYU work was complete. And I'm right-handed, so able to type this with my one working (dominant) hand.

Breaking my wrist nine days before the NYU Tisch Salute at Radio City certainly gives new meaning to the MFA DRAMATIC writing degree. And I know it's a few broken bones, so stop the pity party, Jen, and get back to writing! 

Yesterday at NYU Tisch Salute at Radio City!
May 19, 2017 

The wrist will be fixed in surgery on Wednesday, May 24. It's a setback, it's a pain, it means I can't ride my beloved bike in the Italian Alps in July, it means for once in my life, I AM FORCED TO SLOW DOWN, REST, SMELL THE ROSES, with an elevated wrist and a nearby stash of Tylenol and Percoset. 

And I did weep yesterday at Radio City during the NYU Tisch Salute. I weeped because my broken wrist upstaged my graduation. I weeped at the end of the ceremony, when students performed "Our Time" from Merrily We Roll Along, a favorite song from my beloved years at Stagedoor Manor. I saw the ten-year-old Jenny Rudin at theater camp in 1982, and now me, in 2017, still creative, still pursuing art, still wearing glasses, still spirited, fearless and resilient. 

I'll end with this list, which I continue to update every day:

THINGS YOU CAN’T DO WITH A BROKEN WRIST THAT I TOOK FOR GRANTED

1. FOLD LAUNDRY NEATLY
2. PUT HAIR INTO A PONYTAIL
3. ZIP YOUR JACKET
4. TIE YOUR SHOES
5. TYPE WITH BOTH HANDS
6. DO THE DISHES
7. PUT ON HANDCREAM
8. DO PUSHUPS
9. RIDE MY BELOVED BIKE, TEAL
10. CUT FOOD ON PLATE
11. WRITE REAL SENTENCES
12. FLOSS TEETH
13. WASH HAIR AND APPLY HAIR GEL
14. CHANGE THE SHEETS
15. OPEN CANS OF ANYTHING
16. CUT TOENAILS
17. SLEEP ON YOUR SIDE WHEN THAT'S HOW YOU ALWAYS SLEEP
18. FASTEN YOUR BRA
19. UNFASTEN YOUR BRA
20. TAKE A SHOWER

XXX MISS CAST

Meet FREEWAY Star Raye Levine

Raye Levine

Name: Raye Levine

Hometown: Brooklyn, New York

Tell us (2-3 sentences) about your role in Freeway.

Rachel!! She is a strong female force. She is open and allows herself to be swept up in the emotional rush of things, and at the same time, she is practical, driven and resolute.

How did you decide to become an actress?

Acting has always been the thing that’s helped me grow the most - discover the most - as a person. I don’t think it’s a choice. I think that you play and act because you can’t not, and then you figure out how to make a living supporting it.

What inspires you?

I get inspired easily and often. I get really focused when I am presented with a good challenge when I see how inventive or creative others can be. When I see very specific original behavior in characters/people, and the chemistry (palpable, volatile) between people. I'm inspired by humility and curiosity and by diversity and different ways of life.

What do you wish you’d known before you became an actor?

I would have told my younger self: you can’t really control anything, so no sense in trying, just jump!!!  

Three words to describe your experience in Freeway.

Fun. Thrilling. Special.

What’s next?

I’m combining my Architecture and Acting experience and designing the set for a darkly comedic play called Extinction at Guild Hall, East Hampton!! I also have an acting role in this piece. We open April fools day.

For more info on Raye, visit www.rayelevine.com, on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and IMDb

Jen Rudin is an award-winning writer, casting director and author of Confessions of a Casting Director: Help Actors Land Any Role with Secrets from Inside the Audition Room. Visit www.jenrudin.com and www.purpleglassesproductions.com for more info and follow her @RudinJen.

Meet FREEWAY Writer Jennifer Rudin

Jennifer Rudin

Name: Jennifer Rudin

Hometown: New York City

Tell us (2-3 sentences) about your role in Freeway.

I am the playwright and the casting director too!

How did you decide to become a writer?

I’ve been keeping diaries since I was six years old and wrote lots of plays and short stories as a child. I’ve been surrounded by scripts my whole life, first as a professional child actor and then for many years as a casting director. I dabbled in playwriting in my late 20s, then put it all aside to focus on my career as casting director. When I turned 40, I came back to writing when HarperCollins published my book Confessions of a Casting Director: Help Actors Land any Role with Secrets from Inside the Audition Room. In 2012, I started taking TV writing classes with Alan Kingsberg, who encouraged me to apply to NYU's Dramatic Writing program. I’m in my final semester now at and will graduate in May 2017!

What inspires you?

Daily love and laughter with my husband, reading a book on the beach, a glass of white wine and sushi, cycling. And watching great actors.

What do you wish you’d known before you became a writer?

You’ve got to go deep. That's what all my NYU professors have been saying to me. Go deep. If you’re not broken, you can’t be a writer so dig down and find that rage and pain. You have to turn off the phone and all distractions and sit down in the chair and write. There's no other way.

Three words to describe your experience in Freeway.

Cathartic, fun, inspiring!

What’s next?

I just launched my new company Purple Glasses. My 1/2 hour pilot Lucy in the Sky, a 2016 Sloan Writing award recipient is a finalist in the 2017 Fusion Film Festival. And I'm signing books on February 20 at 5 PM at The Drama Bookshop! Come out and say hello!

Jen Rudin is an award-winning writer, casting director and author of Confessions of a Casting Director: Help Actors Land Any Role with Secrets from Inside the Audition Room. Visit www.jenrudin.com and www.purpleglassesproductions.com for more info and follow her @RudinJen.

Meet FREEWAY star Sarah Baskin

Sarah Baskin

Name: Sarah Baskin
Hometown: Montreal

Tell us (2-3 sentences) about your role in Freeway.

I play Rachel’s Inner Voice. The inner voice to me represents that instinctive, quiet (sometimes not-so-quiet) voice of truth that gnaws away at you until you decide to listen to it.

How did you decide to become an actress?

To be honest - I’m not sure that was a decision I made exactly. I just followed my love of theater and kept studying acting and being in plays and then realized I was an actor. There was no “moment”. I just really enjoy the art of exploring humanity through storytelling.

What inspires you?

So many things. Here are a few. Really authentic self-expression in art (all the mediums). Dance - all sorts of dance - in particular: contemporary and flamenco. People who are unabashedly themselves - and not at the expense of others. Kindness. Motherhood in NYC. Cheryl Strayed. Vedic philosophy. My talented friends & family.

What do you wish you’d known before you became an actor?

“Perfection” is not only unattainable but also not that interesting.

Three words to describe your experience in Freeway.

Fun. Collaborative. Witty.

What’s next?

Your guess is as good as mine!

Learn more about Sarah Baskin at Twitter, Instagram, IMDb and Sarah's website.

3 more chances to see FREEWAY! Grab your tickets Eclectics Evening of Shorts X: Boxers & Briefs. See you at the show!

Jen Rudin is an award-winning writer, casting director and author of Confessions of a Casting Director: Help Actors Land ay Role with Secrets from Inside the Audition Room and visit www.jenrudin.com and www.purpleglassesproductions.com and @RudinJen.

Meet FREEWAY star Peter Douglas

Peter Douglas

Name: Peter Douglas

Hometown: Potomac, Maryland

Tell us (2-3 sentences) about your role in Freeway.

I play Will’s (played by Sawyer Spielberg) Inner Voice. At times, I express what Will is actively thinking, but not saying. At other times, I make suggestions, supporting or questioning him depending on the situation. It’s like being both ego and id, and it’s a bit schizophrenic.

How did you decide to become an actor?

So many influences, but mainly I think acting stemmed from being bullied, finding joy and solace in my own imagination and then discovering a community of theater misfits who embraced me for all those things that made me a target for bullies. The theater is home.

What inspires you?

Everything. Art, music, people, especially. I love people watching. A brilliant acting teacher once told me to observe and consume everything. I suppose I’m most inspired when I see people in moments of great honesty and integrity.

What do you wish you’d known before you became an actor?

I wish I’d known in my gut what I knew in my mind: that I am always enough. It took years to trust that, and the process is ongoing.

Three words to describe your experience in Freeway.

Joyful. Inspiring. Affirming.

What’s next?

I’m appearing on the new season of Bosch, raising money for a feature - The Monarch of Crystal Falls - and looking for a play to do. If I could, I’d live in a theater.

Learn more about Peter at IMDb and on Instagram

Only 4 more chances to see Freeway. Visit Eclectic Evening of Shorts X: Boxers & Briefs and grab your ticket for the BOXERS shows. We'd love to see you there!

Jen Rudin is an award-winning writer, casting director and author of Confessions of a Casting Director: Help Actors Land any Role with Secrets from Inside the Audition Room and visit www.jenrudin.com and www.purpleglassesproductions.com and @RudinJen.

Meet FREEWAY star Sawyer Spielberg

FREEWAY star Sawyer Spielberg with Raye Levine
Photo credit: Terry Milner

Meet FREEWAY Star Sawyer Spielberg! 

Name:  Sawyer Spielberg 

Hometown: Los Angeles, CA 

Tell us about your role in Freeway. 

I play an uptight traditional republican who has a need to control and manage. Although he is a very successful contractor because of those traits, he struggles to maintain a healthy relationship. 

How did you decide to become an actor?

I started acting because I loved the rush of connecting with a live audience.

What inspires you? 

Kind and driven people who won't bullshit you. 

What do you wish you’d known before you became an actor? 

It's never easy to have a career as an artist but worth it in the long run!! 

Three words to describe your experience in Freeway. 

FUN, adventurous and challenging. 

What’s next? 

I'm acting in a staged reading of a play called Vatican Falls at Theater for the New City on February 20th and 21st. 

Learn more about Sawyer by visiting him on Instagram 

ONLY 4 more chances to see Freeway. Visit Eclectic Evening of Shorts X: Boxers & Briefs and reserve a ticket for the BOXERS slot. We'd love to see you at the show! 

Jen Rudin is an award-winning writer, casting director and author of Confessions of a Casting Director: Help Actors Land any Role with Secrets from Inside the Audition Room and visit www.jenrudin.com and www.purpleglassesproductions.com and @RudinJen.

Meet FREEWAY Director Terry Milner!

Terry Milner
Photo credit: Natasha Mynhier
 

Name: Terry Milner
Hometown: Jackson, Mississippi

Tell us (2-3 sentences) about your role in Freeway.

I am the director of Freeway.

How did you decide to become a director and writer?

I spent several years as an actor; I can’t think of any better preparation for writing and directing. I spent a long time working in an unrelated field and only returned to the theater - primarily as a playwright - when I finally felt I had something to say. After my first play (The Jesus Fund) was produced, I was accepted to the MFA in Dramatic Writing program at NYU/Tisch, which I completed in 2015. Along the way, I also had the chance to assist other directors (Rebecca Holderness, Eve Roberts), then I met you through Tisch when I returned as a director for Gary Garrison’s  Drama Lab. You were nice enough to ask me to direct Freeway, and here we are!

What inspires you?

Literally everything. One thing you learn as a theater artist is an importance of observing everything around you. The entire human experience is your palette and you cannot afford to waste a single idea or impression or opportunity to learn why and how people do what they do.

What do you wish you’d known before you became a director and writer?

I wish I had believed myself capable of both earlier in my life. There was a recent opinion piece in The Guardian about how a lack of confidence and risk-taking explains the achievement gap for some who grew up children of working class parents. It resonated with me, as someone who grew up in the South, of parents who themselves grew up very poor. I mean it’s all relative - I was a lawyer for six years and that took some sense of confidence - I just wish I had felt it as an artist, and felt it earlier in life.

Three words to describe your experience in Freeway.

Lucky. Happy. Proud.

What’s next?

My focus is on my writing right now. I’ve got several scripts circulating - plays and screenplays - and am hoping some will catch on soon. But writing is a solitary pursuit, so I am thrilled to be in the rehearsal room directing terrific actors and collaborating with a gifted writer, all working together as a team to make something really special happen. I want more of that, please.

Learn more about Terry by visiting his website, on Facebook, @RTMilner and IMDb.

For more info on the festival, visit Eclectic Evening of Shorts X: Boxers & Briefs and reserve a ticket for the BOXERS slot. We'd love to see you all at the show. 

Jen Rudin is an award-winning writer, casting director and author of Confessions of a Casting Director: Help Actors Land Any Role with Secrets from Inside the Audition Room and visit www.jenrudin.com and www.purpleglassesproductions.com and @RudinJen.