on girls (running the world)

Beyonce is the best at her job.

I love me some Gaga (not so much the current album, but the woman breaks ground with a sledgehammer on the regular, so I'm not gonna kvetch too hard about this 90s Ultimate Dance Party thing she's doing), and Katy Perry is my roommate's boss...and she's pretty damn cool too. The thing I admire most about the women of Pop nowadays is how HARD these chicks WORK. They are round the clock circle the globe hustlers. Respect.

Watch Beyonce do ANYTHING pertaining to being a lady pop star, and you are watching the true master. I will default to Gaga or Rihanna when I'm pop-rockin in my car, but once in awhile, when I get on a youtube binge for inspiration, it is Beyonce all the way...



The mark of mastery is that effortless grace she's got. You can still see the blood & sweat in other pop work. You KNOW B is workin, she has been for years. But lights camera action and she is smoother than smooth.

THAT is what I aspire to. To be a woman who conquers the entertainment industry, and doesn't let the effort show. It's not a weakness thing, and it's beautiful when certain celebrities show vulnerability, or cry in regards to their passions. I simply desire to be so comfortable and so deeply satisfied by what I'm doing that when I'm elbow-deep in the weeds of creation, or juggling 20 projects at once...the look on my face is one of serenity and joy.

I'm putting together this music video for Hell&Lula, and I'm really excited by the diversity of our creative team. We have a beautiful, multi-ethnic mix of girls & guys pooling their talents together to make this little film a knockout.

And what I love most about it is the way this whole project treats women.

This all-guy band is letting me, a woman, direct & exec produce. I am calling the shots (with their input, of course!), and our star is a woman. This star is going to dance on a pole...

But there will not be a moment where this comes across as degrading, or exploitative. She will have ALL of the power.

I briefly participated in meetings for an organization called 50/50 in 2020. I should catch up with them again. Their goal was to achieve parity in playwriting by 2020 - the ratio of produced plays written by men vs. by women right now is truly disgusting. It feels like the right time for this to change.

The comedy world - by the hands of Tina Fey, Amy Pohler and Kristin Wiig - is transforming. The pop world is FINALLY full of female artists who call their own shots.
It's time for the rest of the arts world to join the party.

More on this later.

structure

In this era of actual problems - i.e. tornadoes & earthquakes & bloody revolutions - I have a hard time blogging about The Struggle of my day-to-day. It feels more than a little trivial, compared to "What's Really Going On." That said, this is my own little piece of internet, and I feel an expression coming on that is greater than 140 characters...

I have not had a lot of formal structure in my life, but I was blessed somehow with an ability to fumble my way into a method that controls the madness. Before college/Nei-Play, I was an unschooler, or a "self-directed learner" as my pal Blake calls it. (Actually, I highly recommend checking out his latest initiative for the cause of self-educating: Zero Tuition College) Years of unschooling were good prep for freelance artistry, because it was up to me to figure out my education, pursue a high school diploma, get into college, etc. My parents helped, naturally, but I'm a bit of a bossy, so once I figured out I could do it myself, they were cool enough to let me take the reins.

Then, I did the college thing, and I got soft. Someone dictated where I needed to be, and what I needed to do, for the most part. The NP conservatory program was incredibly demanding, and I poured every ounce of my being into my work there. It was so nice.

Thusly once out of structured school, I had to re-teach myself how to...well...exist.

When you're a freelancer, especially in the arts, long periods of unemployment (or semi-employment) can drive you absolutely looney tunes. I know there are people out there who can appreciate a day off, or even more simply, not feel guilty for a day spent watching 30 Rock on Netflix.

I am not one of those people.

A day where I am not required to get out of my pajamas can be more stressful to me than any job, because I will inevitably spend all of said day mentally berating myself for not Being a Success. I have actually had some very Successful days in pajamas, but I have a very short memory when I'm engrossed in a particularly juicy career-based guilt-spiral.

Nowadays, I have a very helpful support structure (i.e. Rusty & Daisy) that I can call upon when in the midst of a mental beat down. Daisy is great at reassuring me that although I only went to yoga and wrote emails today, "you have, until now, just worked for 15 days straight without a break."

I don't think I'll ever be as good as Daisy is at creating Invented Schedules. She's a genius at creating activities to get her out into the world, and make a day that would otherwise be a big yawning nothing into potential networking. My skills are little more internet-y. My favorite thing to do on a particularly useless afternoon is to dig deep into the caverns of Craigslist, Model Mayhem, and the cobwebby nooks in my Gmail inbox for as-yet undiscovered (or forgotten) opportunities. Never underestimate your ancient facebook messages! That early 2009 "what's up" from that guy you knew in the eighth grade could turn out to be just the meeting you needed this week...

It's exciting to me that although I can never stick to a rigid routine, my weird roundabout methods are starting to pay off in career advancement and even American dollars! My refusal to incorporate a Plan B, even in the midst of the economic plague, is not necessarily leaving me a shoeless beggarwoman. I have a savings account now. And a CAR!

So, to other likeminded artsy worrywarts, I say: if you are in your pajamas and you cannot color-code your schedule, stop kicking your own arse. There is plenty of Mean Ol' World to take you down a notch; getting in your own way just adds to the pile of bad vibes. You can follow the path that is in your gut, and it will work out. Keep the faith, yo.

And putting on pants to walk to the store will probably make you feel like less of a Super Lazy, so, there's always that.

a darn good day

Back in NYC. It's hella chilly out, but my room is super cosy. It was so lovely to be greeted by the pajama-clad Daisy and (previously unmentioned) Lex, and re-greet our Queens apartment. Previously, coming home from LA trips meant a cold, untended place, likely with something growing in the fridge. It took a few hours to get the fires burning again.

Perhaps it is easier than ever to maintain that inner-glow all the way across the country, because I had such a DARN GOOD DAY.

Here's the skinny. Last night, Russell brought up a discussion we had a few days prior about Lemonlime, the agency we've both been crushing on for several months now. With the tagline "Talent with a Twist," this amazingly awesome boutique boasts a roster of ultra-rad alterna-talent, and is run by two of my favorite twitter-folk: @ChaimMagnum and @AgentwithaChirp. They are Lemonlime, and though I don't know them personally, their 140-character perspectives on life & the business are something I look forward to whenever I log on. And some of their tweets have kept me inspired and motivated through a month of really scraping to find good quality work, and get myself as out there as possible.

Anyway, Russell suggests - nay, insists - that I follow through on a random idea of bringing a photo/resume by their office. Though I've already sent in an e-submission, and I have been told my whole life that waltzing in to an agency without an invitation is not only pointless - do it at the wrong place, and it can be very damaging. They may never call. I've heard all sorts of horror stories.

Nonetheless, Rusty points out, you love these guys, and you should go in there and Braveheart speech about how hard you work, and how hard you wanna work FOR and WITH them.

Me: (grumpy, resistant) I can't give a Braveheart speech to a receptionist.
Rusty: Well. You can write them a heartfelt note, and put the speech in there.

This morning, at 8:30, I was hardly more enthused. This plan was robbing us of sleep, and cuddle time, and I was going to make a fool of myself if I went through with it anyhow. But Rusty hops out of bed...makes me coffee...and tells me to get up.

Have I mentioned how awesome this guy is?

In the midst of packing and dressing, I realize that this is actually great. I am always striving to have greater courage, really grab the bull by the horns, and make increasingly bold moves. Rusty has presented the challenge, and I must accept.

Fast forward two hours, I walk in to the Lemonlime office with my note and my pictures in hand, and am greeted by an adorable Yorkie named Foxy. No receptionist - just puppy kisses! Shortly thereafter, Mr. Magnum emerges, I get up off the floor (yes, I will ALWAYS happily sprawl out on a strangers' carpet to better play with an adorable dog), and I introduce myself, saying something like:

Me: Hi! I'm Maggie - I'm actually on my way to the airport - but I wanted to stop by with my stuff cuz I have a huge crush on your agency.

(This is very very true.)

Mr. Magnum is super cool, and we talk about Foxy and twitter for a bit, and he says he'll give my stuff to the person who sets meetings (which I don't really read into), and I should send him a message on twitter so we can talk there. Sweetness! I was thrilled. I got back in the car, not even trying to analyze it all, just excited.

Through the magic of twitter, within the hour, I hear from Mr. Magnum:
"Maggie thanks for stopping in, I have your pic in my pile of people to set up for a meeting, see you soon ;"

And then he tweets to the general public: "Dont try this at home, lol, or at every Agents office, but @maggieLevin just stopped by dropped off pic and got herself a real meeting w/us"

Rusty and I go for lunch, and faux-tango in a Del Taco.

I fly out of LAX feeling loved and feeling the proverbial Love.

Auditions and writing and more to do in the New York morning, and it's already 4 AM EST. Gah! Bedtime.

xoxo
MaggieMoon

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!!!

wow

I've been offline here for awhile. A couple of random starts, and then nada. Blogdeath.

Well, for those of you that might still be listening, an update, of sorts.

First of all, I'm alive and kickin', which is always a good start. HAUS of Plays is finally underway in terms of rehearsal, and opens next Thursday. My piece for the HAUS, "The Curious Sofa," will also be a part of a fundraising evening in December for the 5 Flights Theatre Company - who are opening things up to multi-company collaborations.

That's the way to go these days, really. Pool ones resources.

Speaking of resource-pooling, The Latchkey Kids had their first event during Halloween week - The Dead Celebrity Halloween Ball. It went off very very well. People enjoyed themselves. The performances were rad. I finally got a chance to sort of work with my cousin Samantha, who's a badass visual artist. She brought some of her artist friends and they did live painting and drawing, Exquisite Corpse style, during the party. I have a particularly kooky one, ready to be put on a wall, once I have a wall that's suitable.

What else? Rusty was here for a few weeks, which was wonderful. NBTSC went really well - and we wrote "Cliche - the Musical!" in about 5 days. Pretty amazing. Someday I hope to put the piece up in full on some public internet source. I also went to Toronto for ten days to observe on Robert Lepage's take on Stravinsky's "Nightingale" at the Canadian Opera Company. Ten days in a gorgeous new opera house? Yes, please, thank you.

All in all, it's been a pretty amazing fall. Even glossing over it all like that, skipping the work on "Hurricane" w/ Ryan & Karen Ann Ledger, the trip to the Winchester Mystery House (a surprise from Rusty when I was staying with him in Redwood City), gettin' to have dinner with my hero in Toronto, free house seats to "Faust" at the Metropolitan Opera, a trip to DC with Rusty & Dizzy Balloon, a new job at SHOCKra Studio...

It's been busy times, I suppose!

Lookin' forward to HAUS - if you'd like to attend, send a note to:

rsvp@realtheatrecompany.com

xoxo
Maggie Moon

legendary

"But it doesn't really matter what a man does in his life. All that really matters in the end is the legend that grows up around him."
- Jerry Divine/Velvet Goldmine

In my community of theatre-makers, we have a kind of relegion, a unique brand of faith that helps us keep on truckin' through the stack-ups of rejection. Catch-phrases, susperstitions, dream boards, and positive visualization. Tarot cards, diary entries, poetry and emblems of the future. And constant feedback and support lent to one another, reinforcing the fact that we are deserving, and entitled to our own success. There is not a working day that passes me by where I do not think:

What have I done for my career today?

or run over the series of warnings and firestarters that my business teacher - the teacher I fancied the least during school but whose advice I valued the highest upon graduation - repeated to us on early mornings in the dance studio:

Only you can get in the way of your own success.
Get up every day and take a step.
Who are you, and why should I know you?

Nowadays, no matter what you do, if you are waltzing in the realm of the entertainment world, you have to be prepared for branding. My graduating class was packed to the gills with talent - 26 of us, rarin' to go take on the big bad world. The red doors closed forever in May 2007. It's September 2009 and I can count the amount of those left fighting the good fight on my fingers. And it all comes down to the wretched wrestling match between art and marketing. Creating characters vs. selling yourself.

Sure, you can play a mean Medea, but why the hell should I cast you?

I sound like one of those magnets I'm always tempted to buy from Barnes & Noble: Life isn't about finding yourself; it's about creating yourself.

Well, no shit. Why the musing, Maggie Moon?

Because, as I brushed my teeth tonight and thought about what I did for my career today, while a good half of it was actual art-making, the things I was most pleased about fell more in the category of self-improvement and self-sales:

A yoga class. A finely composed email. A perusal of a business deal. An outfit I felt fit to converse with important people in.

Yeah, I rehearsed, I made script cuts, I learned how to make a ninja mask out of a t-shirt. I picked out sound cues and had fun with actors. But my mind circles back to a moment, walking out of yoga with Daisy and putting my sunglasses on. Where for a split second, the weird little catch-phrasey law of attraction based faith I subscribe to works, and I feel like Maggie Levin, Writer Director Producer Extraordinaire, strong and sweaty and sexy, next to her best friend the Almighty Actress. And we walk off into the sun to get Starbucks.

What have I done for my career today?

Well, for exactly 30 seconds, I felt exactly like I want to feel all the time.

In other news, Rusty, my fella, is lookin hella gorgeous:

over on the left, there, with the long hair.

He's been rockin' out with Dizzy Balloon on their tour this month. I miss the heck out of him.

Til next time,
Ms. Moon