Oh, The Places You'll Go!...hopefully

-OSCAR! Yes, the wonderful season of award shows has finally come to an end this past month. And what a season it was!! SAG Awards, The Golden Globes, Grammy, Emmy, Tony, and Oscar! Woohoo! I still haven't even seen all of the films that were nominated for the big ones, but I'm dying to!I saw Black Swan, The King's Speech, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, and The Kids Are All Right. I'd have to say I loved the artistic passion of Black Swan and the performances were obviously extreme and perfect. I gotta give it to King's Speech overall, however because if you have ever met anyone with a stammer, it's not an easy task
(Photo taken 2009 Los Angeles)
                                                     to replicate to the level of accuracy that Colin Firth put forth.  So many flawless performances this year, and I haven't even gotten around to seeing The Fighter/True Grit yet! If only going to a movie didn't gobble up half of my paycheck, than I would have totally seen everything five times! I took the picture here of Oscar in 2009 at the Kodak Theatre when I was living in East Los Angeles.  It was the coolest thing to me to be in Hollywood while they set up the Red Carpet and put up all these ginormous golden Oscar trophies all over the place in Hollywood/Highland shopping plaza.  What was even neater was that I got to waitress at the Wolfgang Puck "Governor's Ball" after the show.  It was insane!  I've never had such a star-struck strange experience in my life.  It was the most glamorous event I could have imagined...from the elaborate salad, sushi, chocolate bar, to the decor and transformation of the Kodak, to the beautifully clad stars that brushed up against me as I greeted them at their tables in order for them to schmooz with the most A-list people in the industry.  Anyway, that was just a quick trip to 2 years ago and where I was around this time.
Cut to:        One year ago, I was finding my way with a group of 8 college kids in a big, white van from Durham, New Hampshire to Lexington, Kentucky on a Habitat for Humanity trip. I was wandering around horse farms on the countryside and building a house with an amazing and inspirational group of people for 7 days, and feeling as free as a bird.
Fast-forward to one year later(present day):  I made my way uptown on the 1 train from Penn Station, NY to Columbia University where I had to get to the set of Gossip Girl to portray a background Alumni Attendee at a gala event for the popular CW television show.  All glammed up GG style with the popular kids of TV for my generation, and running around New York City as if I know what the hell I'm doing.
"Ohhh...All The Places You'll Go".

"You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself Any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.	You’ll get mixed up,    of course, as you    already know.    You’ll get mixed up    with many strange birds    as you go.    So be sure when you step.    Step with care and great    tact and remember that...	...Life’s A Great    Balancing Act.    And will you succeed?    Yes! You will, indeed!    (98 and ¾ percent    guaranteed.)    KID, YOU’LL MOVE    MOUNTAINS!"  -  - Dr. Suess

Karaoke Night!

Life's like an onion...

Today I'm on set of The Onion News Network on Comedy Central. It's a cool new show, totally satirical on news and sports. While the crew sets up the set, I figured I'd blog because I forgot "The Girl Who Played With Fire". The reason I didn't bring my book to finish the last 20 pages of is due to the fact that I navigated my way to the Bronx by car. Normally, my train commute requires some reading material, but I figured I wouldn't be wrapping up my novel while I sat in traffic on the George Washington Bridge. A weekend of late night waitressing followed by post-shift cocktails and early mornings didn't help me for the early call today. We're only shooting a webisode so it won't be a long day. I have some good footage of Sunday night karaoke, which made the weekend very worthwhile. It'll be on Youtube as soon as possible, for all those who want to witness Sundays at an Irish bar at the shore where everyone gets a chance to belt out the tunes or dance the night away. There should definitely be a reality show on it or at least some of the regular characters! I can't help but think of the song "LOLA" by The Kinks when it comes to that lovely Sunday. "Well, I'm not the worlds most masculine manN but I know I am and I bet I'm a man..and so is Lolaaa". Anyways. Time to work. Keep on pluggin' all you hard workers out there. Stay warm! :). let it be..
To sum up the morning of work on the show by using a play on words (one of my favorite things to do)...
"Life is like an onion; you peel away the layers one at a time, and sometimes you weep..."

3 Birds, 1 Stone

Hello!
This post is dedicated to my dear friend, Brianna.  I'm pretty sure she is the only person that reads this, and she keeps me motivated by checking up on my life; making sure I continue to chase my dream so that we may one day work together...AKA she will help manage my life as an actress! Last week I went into the Big Apple a couple of times for open calls.  Two of which were for some extras casting agencies that were doing work on a film Shame, New Years Eve and the HBO hit Boardwalk Empire.  I can only keep the faith that waiting on lines with 300 or so other people for 2 hours will turn into something decent.  I went to a photo shoot for a a really neat campaign called Citizen People downtown.  It was awesome, the photographers were adorable and we had a really great time working together.  Looking forward to seeing the finished shots.  I got to portray a business woman, dancer, and the uniqueness of me :)  Before that, I had an audition for an independent film.  I read for a few different roles that were each very diverse, and had a fun audition trying to get into the characters.  Went well, and seems promising yayy! If I don't get one of the speaking roles, they had me audition my hip hop dance as well, so I'll at least get camera time breaking it down!
 I also had an audition with a management company later on in the evening; hence, 3 birds 1 stone.  Haven't heard back yet so who knows?! 15 of us had to go into a room with 1 casting director and "perform" our commercial sides that were given to us.  I did a Breyer's yogurt commercial and had a lot of fun with it..How could I not have fun getting all excited about raspberries and smooth yogurt.  I don't know what they were looking for, but I did my best and that's all I got.  Continuing to attend these cattle calls can only turn into something worthwhile..right?  Time will tell. Happy Belated Valentine's Day! <3
 Sometimes we all need a little motivational quote for the day: This one is from the 1999 film At First Sight-- "I saw the horizon.  It's out there.  And though I may not ever be able to touch it, it's worth reaching for."

On the road again

Yesterday in Manhattan, I had the privilege of attending an open call with hundreds of other actors, models, lawyers, secretaries, musicians, and other fellow unemployed.  I thought i got there early, but there were still about 100 people in front of me!  While waiting in line for about 1 and a half hours, I met some really cool kats with lots of different backgrounds, which is the greatest thing about the industry to me.  We got to know each other hanging there, networked, found out some cool new things to check out, and certainly made the time go by faster than just standing on a city street staring at my Blackberry.  New Yorkers in their cars saw the line of people around the block and were asking what it was all for.  Some wise asses were like "Starbucks!..Unemployment!..American Idol!" haha It was funny and hopefully turns out well!

Afterwards I went to a legit modeling agency to check out what that open call would be like.  I'd been to one before in LA, but New York is so much more blunt and honest; gotta love it.  First, i walk in and there are 7 hungry girls silently glaring at me/one another. feisty COMPETITION! They told me I had to be 5'9" and I'm only 5"8 :( wah wah wahhh.  Guaranteed the next question was going to be: And you weigh? more than 85 pounds? yeahhh....Without letting my spirits get too low I walked back down Park Ave towards Penn Station and immediately ran into a guy who asked me who cuts my hair because it was "fabulous" and a homeless man that found it necessary to comment on my smile/teeth from a block away!  Ah New York, thanks for the positive reinforcements after a day of rejection!

It's Groundhog Day!

       Lately, I've been able to relate to Bill Murray in the classic movie "Groundhog Day".  Over Christmas break until New Years there were basically no shoots for film or television going on in the tri-state area...Remind me next year to take a vacation from December 23 to January 10!  Then, things started to pick up; I got booked for some auditions and photo shoots...but, of course, blizzards delayed my commute to Manhattan weekly.  Living in central Jersey and trying to get to the big city can be a burden sometimes because when there's a delay, it's not a subway ride away and you'll be a few minutes late..it's an hour + a few minutes late.  NOT professional or good at all. 
      I'm someone who enjoys being early or at least on time because if I'm not I get extremely anxious, and usually sweaty.  When it comes to public transportation or rush hour traffic one has to realize she has no control over how fast she gets someplace.  Just breath..chances are, if you're late, so is everyone else, and if not...next time you better leave earlier!  There are only so many days of our life, and usually they are flying by without notice.  Why not make the most of each and every one?  Try something different, new and exciting, feel content exactly where you are for a moment, but don't get too comfortable.  And, if you know you will be late for an important audition or meeting or date, don't beat yourself up.
     Anyways, back to Bill Murray and one of my favorites quotes that I like to relate to the daily post-collegiate lifestyle and most people's daily lives in general.  
   "I was in the Virgin Islands once. I met a girl. We ate lobster, drank piña coladas. At sunset, we made love like sea otters....That was a pretty good day. Why couldn't I get that day over, and over, and over..." -Groundhog Day

Slowly but Surely

Hello!  So, I've never had a blog before, but always wanted one.  I guess my fear was that I couldn't keep up with it...We'll see:  I could get started by sharing a little bit about myself.  My name is Michele "Misha" Whalen, I am 23 years old and I'm an actress.  I currently live in New Jersey and commute to New York City in search of a film and television career.  Yayy! I know, there are way to many of us out there, but I truly believe that each and every person in this business has so much to offer the world, and it's a matter of persistence and drive within us.  This career is not an easy one, but none really are right now.  I have friends and family who can't stand to keep applying for jobs and not hearing back and remain unemployed...Welcome to my world of REJECTION.  It sucks, but people in all arenas need to keep on truckin'; this economy will improve and jobs will start hiring once again.
I graduated from the University of New Hampshire in May 2010 and man do I miss it there!  hard to believe it's been almost a year since then.  Hard to believe I spent four years there and they're gone!  Time flew, and I had a little too much fun.  This real world of the entertainment business is stunning...it's actually a smaller industry than I thought, definitely need to know the right people.  I started doing background/extra work in October (summer waitressing at the Jersey Shore took over my post-college life), and I have been in LOVE with being on a set ever since.   This isn't my first time getting involved in shoots, I lived in LA for 6 months in 2009 and the Hollywood lifestyle was very intimidating for me.  I felt like an ant in the Grand Canyon.  Mostly, I realized it wasn't my time to get started as an actress.  I had another year of college left, and I needed to completely  focus on one thing at a time...Here I am!  Watch out world!  This week's task: Sending submission packets to agencies and casting directors--I've sent 60 so far..and counting! Peace