thank you for the music

Man in Space, being awesome, yesterday. From my vantage point, on the couch at the rehearsal studio. I am grateful for a life filled with days like these.

light in our eyes

Happy Thanksgivin', ya'll. Rusty's next to me on the couch, practicing for the Man in Space show on Saturday night in San Francisco (also, merrily exclaiming "Three thousand and five fans on Facebook! That's more than {insert rival-ish band}! And they opened for {insert band that's only famous cuz of its prettyboy frontman}!). On the adjacent couch, Action Scotty is chillin. Action Scotty hasn't been introduced via blahg before - he's Rusty's brother, a bass player (my favorite kind of person), and has a recurring role on Glee. As the bass player. :)

I spent Monday shootin a student film, where I starred as a jealous girlfriend. Good times! As soon as we wrapped, Rusty, Action Scotty & I hiked it on up to the bay for some fambly time with their parentals and beyond. I am way full of delicious food, and there's a round TWO on Saturday. Their tradition is a "small" gathering on Thursday (this year it was 22 people. Small?), and the "big" celebration is Saturday. Wowzer town.

Anyway, the latter half of my day was (ratherironically) stuffing...envelopes full of my model pics and posting them to modeling agencies.

Off to write more cover letters!

PS Eliza Cummings is my new hero. This makes me feel a bit...well, old...since she's all of 19. Anyway. Dear Universe: Please let me work with that chick.

set the world on fire

HELL&LULA "Set the World on Fire" from Andrew H. Petersen on Vimeo.

Rusty's band. Check him out, on the bass gee-tar.

space ghost coast to coast

Hello from the practice room of Hell & Lula! In beautiful, sometimes sunny Los Angeles. Yep. Coast hopping. Again. Well. Soon to be “for good.”

WHAT WHAT WHAT you say?
It’s true. Maggie Levin is looking at her last Gotham winter for a long while. A couple of things have happened over the past few months that lead to the inevitable West Coast conclusion.

Firstly: I’ve officially “gotten back into performing.” Okay, so I feel like a mondo dorkface typing something like that. I never LEFT entertainment, performing, what have you. However, after two years of rigorous acting training, I had the overwhelming desire to create – something other than characters. Or rather, many characters at once. Plus the clothes they wear, the music they dance to, and the lights that they dance under. Plays. Shows. And that’s what I’ve been up to ever since. Writing, directing, gluegunning sparkles onto costumes…creating.

But somewhere in the midst of creating one of my favorite things (ahem, my ever-glam'rous relationship/artistic partnership with Rusty), I hacked off all my hair, started wearing higher heels, and had the desire to get out from behind the camera. I got interested in myself as the artwork. Warholian? Maybe. Narcissistic? Possibly…

The truth is, in the year 2010, I have come one giant leap closer to the Ms. Maggie Levin that I always had in my mind’s eye. And I kinda feel like she would be really suited for some plays and some iPod commercials. So, in addition to the usual stack of creative professions I embody, I’ve brought modeling & acting up to the forefront for a spell.

Secondly (Totally unrelatedly): A few people I know went to a screening of Julie Taymor’s “Tempest” and got to hear Lady Tay herself speak afterwards. I am informed that after the talk, my acquaintances were chatting, and someone referred to Lady Tay as “Maggie Levin on acid.”
Um, HELLS YES. Show me the acid. I will get there.

Thirdly: Everyone’s just so relaxed here! I don’t know how to handle it sometimes. But it occurs to me I should maybe enjoy my youth while it’s here, and not spend it ALLL…freaked out about “making it.”

Fourthly: If I wanna make it on the level I’m REALLY shooting for, LA is the fast track. I will be delighted to return to NYC in five years to reopen the doors of my theatre company and make some well-attended art. And start raising some crazy little East Coast babies.

Fifthly: Eff yeah, fast track!!!