Sleepless & a Princes & a Frog

It is 4:53 in the morning and I am currently sitting on my bed wide awake and - obviously - writing this entry. I couldn't sleep anymore no matter how hard I tried! I think it has something to do because I am cold. I originally had my window opened slightly but BRR!! So I closed it fully. Did it work? Nope. So I grabbed my heavy sweater and slipped it on.

Yet, there was still something wrong. Not warm enough, so I grabbed a pair of socks and put them on. Still, nothing! So I just gave up and turned on my TV and grabbed my lap top. Now, I'm not going to stay on much on the computer because I'll get a headache but I just felt like writing an entry while I was in the mood to. My plan for this Sunday is to bake chocolate chip oatmeal cookies, blue berry muffins, small carrot cakes, and perhaps brownies so I can start packing them up and giving them to my siblings for the holidays. My house will smell absolutely yummy.

In other news, yesterday I went with my niece to see Disney's new (and return to 2D musicals -yay!) animated film The Princess and the Frog. I really enjoyed the movie. First because, as I just mentioned, it was marking Disney's return to animated hand-drawn musicals, which millions of us have been craving for YEARS. Second, because it brought back a warmth nostalgic feeling of when I was a little kid back in the 90s mesmerized by Disney's golden Renaissance era - ah, the good ole' days.




I'm not going to write an awesome review of it because I sort of suck at writing movie reviews (as you can see by checking out my "Weekend Flix" category in my blog) and because even though I'm awake and not sleepy, half of my brain is still all mushy from tossing and turning and half-sleeping ... make sense? Maybe not, blame it on the mushiness of my brain.

Anyway, it was nice watching this film and from what I've read, Disney is planning to continue the traditional 2D musical animated movies every 2 years. A big "WOOT, WOOT" for that :)

Catch ya later!

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After Showtune

The show is finally over. It was only two nights but I'm relieved that I can relax for the next two weeks before it all starts again; the classes, work, and more rehearsing for new shows (which I'll be working on more than one - at least, that's the plan right now).

I was so scared both nights, not because of being on stage and in front of a crowd, but because I was afraid of forgetting the lyrics to my songs! Well, I didn't - thankfully. All the scenes went well and the scene I directed couldn't have gone better. On the last night the camera I was supposed to use in the scenes I directed went missing. That's right, someone stole it. My director almost chewed off the stage manager's head for not having seen this earlier that day when she had asked him to make sure all props were there. I felt bad for him, and made sure to let him know that I wasn't so heart broken as the director made me seem to be, lol. She's great, I appreciate her for letting me have directed those scenes, as an actor and performer one should cherish that level of trust given to them by the person in charge of the entire production.

I went to the cast party on the final night on Saturday after a lot of pressure, lol. I almost didn't go because last Thursday, after our last dress rehearsals, my car wouldn't start up, and I was nervous that if I went to my castmate's place my car might start acting up again and I'd be stranded. But Claudia got in the car with me and we took my car to her home and left it there and then went in her friend's car to our castmate's party. That was sweet and I'm glad I didn't skip out on it as I originally intended to do. We ate pizza, I drank a glass of wine, and we sang karaoke.

All in all the show was a fun experience. The cast was great and I'm going to miss some of them terribly because I know this was their last semester. The next, will be my final one, and then who knows? I'm at a point where I'm not sure whether I want to stay in school or just go and look for an agent to start searching for work.

I need guidance!

The show draws near

Showtune opens next Friday and already I can't wait for it to be over and done with. I mean, I can't complain, I've had it pretty easy this semester. I learned all my stuff very quickly so it's not like I had to spend so much time working on memorizing or anything. The other class I took was really fun because it was just about writing plays, which I wrote one called It Happened with an Almond. Have I mentioned that I'm directing it next semester? Well, I am!

The professor is allowing for us to direct our plays and show them to the school by enrolling in a studio theater class. That's friggin' awesome and I can't wait for that course next term.

Thanksgiving came and went. I must be honest, it was pretty darn boring. My family doesn't throw the big parties they once used to have many years ago when I was a kid. The food was good, the turkey, in particular. It was so good there was no left overs for me to take home. Damn!

We drew our names for Secret Santa and I ended up getting my little cousin, whom I've already had twice before. So what was I to do? Well, I snatched my niece to a corner and exchanged with the one she got, who turned out to be her own mom - the one who usually buys the gift for her daughter's Secret Santa. Surely I wasn't going to allow for my sister to buy her own gift! So I did what I did :)

Such a loving brother, ain't I?

Well, let's see how my show goes. Hopefully it will go good. Three guys and myself have a tapping number and we JUST got the tap shoes yesterday. I'm going to have to do some serious practicing in the next couple of days. Did I mention I'm directing a scene that consists of 7 songs? Hmm, maybe I should look back to my previous posts. Never mind, I'm to damn lazy. I'm a little nervous because the guy who usually gets our props usually doesn't.

The things I need for my number? Director's Chair, Megaphone, An old school looking filming camera preferably on a tripod, a movie clapboard, and a scrim. I already bought the 6 popcorn bins for a buck each at Target so I'm good in that portion.

I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed!

P.S.

As you can tell, I definitely didn't participate in NaBloPoMo this year with the only 2 entries I posted in November, LOL.


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Premiere night

There is only one way to describe the premiere of Rough Winds this past Wednesday, November 4th: Magical.

Yes, it was extremely nerve wrecking for me because I always cringe upon seeing myself on camera, but it was a great experience. The movie itself was FANTASTIC and so beautifully shot I'm not even lying. There is no doubt that the Director, Andrea, and the Cinematographer, Matt, are very talented film makers and a force to be reckon with.

I will be honest, I wasn't as satisfied with my performance, but then again, I've only seen it once. Perhaps if I watch myself in it more than once I will grow to like myself in the movie. The rest of the cast, though, did an AMAZING job. The three main actors were incredible and not to mention one of the supporting characters, Christina, who's character I enjoyed each time she appeared in a scene.

My family went and so did my two best friends, Rudy and Nina. They were very supportive and I'm glad that they were there with me - even though we ended up separated because there was reserved seats for the actors and crew to sit together.

After the movie there was a Q & A where the audience asked us questions - thankfully I didn't have to answer anything, the one who did all of the talking was our director, Andrea.

I took a few photos with people and even signed autographs after the film during the "after party" where free pizza was served at the Cinema Paradiso's courtyard; it was bizarre knowing people wanted my autograph but a feeling I welcome with open arms.

Many people complimented my acting and my character, telling me that they loved my characterization of Steve and some even expressed that he was their favorite character in the whole movie. One of the most amusing moments of the night was when two italian (or Jewish) sounding older women held me hostage for 5 minutes because they wanted a photo with me. They tried to take one with their camera phone but it didn't come out so well, so one of the nice ladies then proceeded to look for her husband and get him to find their camera. God bless them! LOL.

Another "highlight" of the evening was ... my shoes. My damn shoes started to fall apart during the night, LITERALLY! I stepped on a puddle of water when I arrived and I felt a little dampness in my right shoe. I shrugged it off and kept going. When I entered the theater the heel on my right shoe felt VERY odd, so I looked down and was mortified to see that the heel had somehow torn off completely. To make a long story short, chunks fell off from BOTH of my shoes during the night and by the time I got home the bottom of my shoes looked as though vicious animals had eaten them; the rubber soles were completely visible. I laugh now at the memory when during the Q&A when the actors and crew were asked to go to the front of the theater to answer the questions how I spotted a chunk of my shoe right in front of us in the center of the theater. Luckily the room wasn't too brightly lit and my pants were long. It was very awkward to say the least!

Anyway, tonight I received a text from the director telling me that the film had won Best Florida Film! I'm so happy to hear that. I also learned that the movie is having a special screening this November 21st at 7pm, a Saturday.

I hope that this movie opens a few doors for me. I love acting in films and only wish that I will have more opportunities to keep acting in them.

www.albertcampillo.com

1 Day left for the premiere

And I've had my share of "nightmares" the past few nights about the movie's premiere tomorrow night.

One of them consisted of a few scenes not working well, so the crew got all of us cast members in those particular scenes and dragged us off to re-shoot the scenes while the audience waited (bizarre, huh?

The other one, which I had like a night ago, was of the premiere being held inside of a tiny garage storage room.

I'm so nervous! Tomorrow is the day!
Gonna feel awkward to have my family and friends see me in a sex scene ... not only that, I just can't stand watching myself act!

Lord have mercy ... :)

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Look ma, I'm on TV!

I woke up this morning to seeing clips from my movie on the local news channel. It was so bizarre to see some of my scenes on TV, but oh so thrilling!

The movie is finally premiering on the fourth of November and even though I'm fine now, I can't imagine how nervous I'm going to be when I'm in that theater watching the movie with the room full of people and my family and friends.

It is an event I'm both looking forward to and getting nervous about!

Halloween is in a few days and I purchased a Sweeney Todd wig from Amazon. I was thinking of buying a costume but immediately discarded the idea because of two reasons: the first being that I am not rich and the second being that I can simply wear some pinstriped pants, a white buttoned up shirt with a vest over it. Throw in a bloody handkerchief, along with some brilliant eye shadows and make up and voila, I'm Sweeney Todd and I saved a bundle of money without switching to Geico.

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The cold is here! (For now)

Give me a "Woot, woot!"

I woke up this morning and it was freezing outside!

Last night the air began to grow chilly and I got really excited. What did I do? I quickly turned off the A.C. and opened up ALL of my windows. After all, a college student who is paying the electricity needs to seize the moment to save some $$$ when the opportunity arises.

I'm sipping some coffee right now and I couldn't ask for a better morning. In a bit I will be going out with my best friend to a few thrift stores to see what we can find for Halloween so we can save some cash and our wallets have something in it other than frustrated flies trying to escape when we open them.

This weather is perfect. Right now it is 75 degrees and it is PERFECT. It isn't too cold but it isn't warm either.

Just thought I'd update and share a little of my glee with ... well, whoever reads this. Which I'm sure is only two or three people ... as I've mentioned before.

Good day!

Changing Weather

It is a beautiful day outside this morning. The sky is gray, the breezy air feels wonderful when it brushes against my face and through my hair. Those who prefer the shining sun and bright blue sky would call this day a gloomy one, but I see it as an ideal day to be out with close friends walking around the beach, through a park, or going to the movies.

Unfortunately, I'm stuck at work!

I am inside a chilly office, my calming gray sky is actually these boring gray walls that stand around me, and the only thing brushing against my face and hair is the dust particles from the old AC vents - I'm surprised I haven't gotten sick.

Currently the thought of getting a new job is very tempting. I don't want to work in this department anymore. I'm over it, it is boring and I feel like I am wasting my time. The bad part is that I'm not sure if I will find another job where they will work around MY schedule. If I go to another job I will have to pick my classes according to the schedule the new job assigns me. And while picking classes that fit around the employer's schedule doesn't really phase me all that much, I cannot do that this semester or the next because I have the musical class that only has ONE time block.

Going to FIU or any other school after Miami Dade isn't exactly my favorite plan. I want to move out of Miami, get an agent, and go somewhere else to start working towards making a career. I want to explore new areas of the world and meet new people and have new experiences. I know my family (well, my mom, actually) will make it extremely difficult for me to leave but it is something I just have to do if I ever want to grow as a person, become fully independent and learn how to take care of myself. My mother says I would never be able to do that because I need her too much, and while that does seem like something vindictive to say, I feel she says it out of fear. Because she knows that I have that determination to leave the state to pursue my dreams - something all my siblings have failed to do and instead have stayed in Hialeah to become parents. Perhaps my mother says those things because she wants to find a way to weaken that determination that is burning inside me so that I won't leave and she won't feel so alone.

But I need to move. It has to happen, MILLIONS of others do it and I'm no less than anyone to not be able to do it. Yes, I'm scared of the thought, but that is only natural ... especially to someone who has never left Florida at all.

I know it's hard, but she's just going to have to learn and accept the fact that she needs to let her youngest child leave the nest and spread their wings, before it turns into a rusty cage of imprisonment.

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