Narnia

Don't be upset with me, my dears, for leaving you with another video clip. This shit is funny as hell...

Lazy Sunday

warped christmas

Not enough disco in your Christmas? Tired of the same ol' jolly elf with his rosy cheeks and "ho ho ho's" year after year? Check out Chris Christmas Rodriguez for some holiday cheer.

six fifty-seven

There are few of you who have been reading this blog from the start (mom, you rock). Those of you who have know that my blogging adventures began in March this year over at friendster, and you will perhaps remember a post all the way back in May that told the tale of a nerve-wracking audition for a television pilot.

After a few days of nail-biting I found out I got the role and eagerly awaited filming sometime in the summer. Scheduling conflicts abounded as well as location difficulties. And we waited. And we waited. And fall came and went and we waited some more.

Well, friends, last Saturday morning I arrived at South Station with lines memorized, costumes in hand, and hope in my heart, and—miracle of miracles—after eight long months of anticipation we finally filmed The Six Fifty-Seven!

The MBTA set aside a commuter rail train for us to use and we loaded in with lights, cameras, and extras. It was a marathon of a day—shooting 24 minutes of script in less than eight hours is an extraordinary feat (I’ve spent 8 hours on 5 minutes of script and still felt rushed) but we did our best.

The technical stuff (lighting, camera angles, continuity) is out of my hands so I don’t worry about it. As for the acting, I couldn’t feel better. The ensemble we started with was very strong, and that chemistry only got better over these past months. I had a fantastic time working with my fellow actors, laughing at our many flubs, finding new moments in the text, and finally finally completing the job we’d set out to do.

I’m really grateful for the experience. I had a blast playing all day and I want to thank our fantastic director, Dan, and extraordinary writers, Andy and Toni, for all their hard work. They’ve kept the faith all these months and worked so hard to make this project come to life.

I hope we’ve done something they can be proud of—I know I am.

100 things pt. 1

The weird thing about blogging is that I feel compelled to do it even if I have absolutely nothing to say. I’m at that place now. I’ve been a little sick the past few days, so the sum total of new experiences I have to share would all relate to really bad reality television. Let’s skip that, shall we?

Have you seen these lists people make… “100 things about me”? That seems like an awful lot, but maybe I’ll do an abbreviated version:

1. My maiden name is Summer Ryan Ostlund. Ostlund was originally the Swedish “Olsen,” but there were a few too many of us getting off the boat, so the kind folks in immigration changed it for us many generations ago. “Ostlund” also happens to mean “Cheese Meadow” in Danish.

2. Before I was an actor I was a dancer. I did Pointe (ballet) for six years.

3. I was born in Kearney, Nebraska. Living in New York and Boston has toughened me up a bit, but I think I’ll always have my Midwestern manners.

4. I have been a vegetarian for 8 years.

5. I think people who drive Hummers are ridiculous.

6. Bill Pete is my favorite children’s book author.

Okay, so that was a REALLY short list. I’m a little more tired than I thought, so I’m going to pause here. To be continued?