Young Comedian Dies of a Heart Attack

Maybe you never heard of him but some I'm sure have. The first time I heard about Rasheed was just a few months ago. I was watching comedians on YOU TUBE and his video came up. He does this hilarious bit PAPI AIN'T NO SNITCH. I really thought this guy was going to make it big. In fact, his name was starting to come up a lot. I just got word that he had a heart attack. Rasheed was only 36. He was the only comedian I'd ever seen that imitated an old Latin dude perfectly.

If you don't see the video here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGw0lK_fIds

Life is short people! Live it!

Stepping out of your comfort zone!

As I mentioned a few times before, October is Taking Inventory of my Life month, for me. I don't know how this started. I think it happened five years ago when I started to realize that Latino Flavored Productions Inc. is moving forward and I better figure out a way to manage this thing. So I decided that every October, I would set a new intention for the company and follow it through until the following October. For example, I remember in 2004, my intention was to get the company noticed.

2004 Intention: To work on getting publicity for Latino Flavored Productions Inc.

It worked too because that year and the year after we wound up getting a tremendous amount of press.

2005 Intention: To bring YO SOY LATINA! to the next level.

As soon as I put this out, Crossroads Theater Company was interested in putting up the play as an equity production.

In 2005, I also decided to venture out into filmmaking and wrote, directed and produced my first short film, "Mimi's Portrait".

So the point is, every year I've have this ritual of creating a new list of intentions for the company. This has had a major effect on me personally because when I create a new intention for the company, then I have to meet the challenge of following through, no matter what obstacles come my way.

So this past October was no different and I decided to create a bigger intention. I decided that I would attract certain people into my life. This isn't new because I love partnering with the "right" people. However, I wasn't extremely selective in the past. I realized recently that when you're looking to work with someone, they should be able to offer you something in return. But most of the time, I found my partnerships to be one-sided because I was always helping someone else with their needs but sacrificing my own. I guess I was hoping I would learn something. It sort of reminds me of how I was way back in the day, when I'd meet a guy and if we clicked then we'd date. But I've realized that when we meet people, we should be looking for spirits that will help us be better people. For some strange reason, this WAS the hardest lesson to learn.

So as soon as I put out "into the universe" that I want Latino Flavored Productions Inc. to grow to the next level, two people showed up. It's awesome the way that works. Without fail, if you want it and ask for it, it will happen. They are what I need right now in order to help me realize my vision. I've already learned a great deal from both of them.

Why was I not attracting the right people into my life? I believe that I was stuck in a comfort zone for a minute. I was getting a bit lazy. I wasn't searching with the right eye. Instead, I was settling. And its funny because I am truly selective when it comes to bringing people into my personal life. I'm not a friend whore. In fact, I like to keep it simple. The friends I do have know me since I was a teenager. But when it came to the business, there were times, I lost my focus and intent. I was comfortable.

Taking risks. Being selective. Keeping focused. All important to being successful. It's constant, never ending. That's why we love people like Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and Oprah, they all are focused and continue to step out of their comfort zones.

And being comfortable is a sure way of NEVER seeing your dreams come true.

My New Hot Pink Hair!

Yes, this is my new hair. I absolutely love it! It's a ton of fun and besides, if anyone knows me I just hate to conform! I got the cutest bob cut to go with it. And my new favorite product is Manic Panic Hair Dye. Pink hair is nothing new for me. I was the original Nuyorican Punk Rocker back in the day. Call me loca. lol But hey, I hate conforming. Conforming is so boring! Conformists lack creativity, energy and all that jazz. Okay, truth be told, I don't have a 9-5 job so I can get away with this. What's really funny about this new change is the reaction I now get from kids and teens. They talk to me more. Where before I was just your average grown up. On the other hand, grown folk stare at me and wonder what is wrong with me. I love experimenting with looks because it shows me how caught up we all are in the way people look! Anyway, for now, this is fun. I feel free and playful! We should all try stepping out the box everyone once in a while.

New Favorite Actress!

Her name is Amy Adams and she stars in ENCHANTED. My hubby, the kid and yours truly wanted to catch a flick and The Bee Movie was out of the question for all of us. Why? Have no idea. It just doesn't look like it'll be any good. Besides, not only did it not get a great rating on http://www.rottentomatoes.com/ Jerry annoys me. So we decided to go with a recommend movie on Rotten Tomatoes (93% out of 100%) and we went to see Enchanted.

It's adorable and really a lot of fun, plus Amy Adams as Giselle the Fairy Princess will actually make you cry. The movie is clever. It starts off as a cartoon with Giselle finding her Prince named Edward. But when Edwards mother (The Wicked Witch) finds out that her son is going to marry the princess she pushes Giselle into a wishing well. And what's at the very bottom of the wishing well. NEW YORK CITY. In the middle of Times Square. And Giselle comes to life as a real person when she lands in the city.

Amy Adams is amazing as the princess! What an actress! She really steals this whole movie. Just imagine a fairy tale princess coming to life in NYC? Someone with less chops would have played an overtop unbelievable version of a princess. Instead Adams is completely believable and not to mention, charming! While in NYC Giselle meets Patrick Dempsey who helps her until Prince Edwards comes to bring her back home. But to her suprise she falls for Dempsey the engaged cynical divorce lawyer. Now Giselle doesn't know what to do about Prince Edward.

I thought the concept was clever however not executed to its fullest extent. I felt that the producers may have tried too hard to keep it squeaky clean, so there were many missed opportunities for more humor. If Shrek could get away with some of the stuff they do, I thought the Enchanted folks could have pushed the envelope a little more.

Overall, the movie is great fun and now I want to know more about Amy Adams! She really is truly brilliant. She believes every word she says. I wish more actors did that. After doing some research I found out she was nominated for an Oscar in 2006 for JUNEBUG. Truly someone to watch for.

The movie is fun. The trailer is cheesy. But guaranteed you'll fall in love with this actress!

Is anything real these days?

Am I the only one disappointed that Hulk's wife just filed for divorce? Geez. What a bummer. She filed for divorce on November 20th. I really did think these two were so much in love. From what I've been reading, Hulk Hogan was the last to find out too, from a reporter. There's a major trend here, Jessica and Nick, Carmen and Dave now these two. I guess the minute you let the camera's into your life, you've sold your soul to the devil.

Tyler Perry, A New Baby and tight lips?

This has been an interesting, productive and rewarding week for me. My hubby got the job! It's official! Let's just say his new boss is a contraversial figure in radio. Humm.

I am working on my new baby, THE ULTIMATE LATINA THEATER FESTIVAL and here is a draft of the logo for the event. I love it! Thanks to the marvelous KERVIN. I am having a blast with planning this one. I'm going back to having fun people! BTW, I'm looking for a publicist asap. There's an entire job posting on my myspace page. www.myspace.com/latinoflavoredproductions

This week, the weirdest thing happened to me. Shirley (my assistant) called me to tell me we got an email and a phone call from Tyler Perry's people. They wanted to buy anything we had. DVD's, Books, etc. They wanted to know everything that we did. I thought, wow how cool is that? Then I started dreaming. I thought it would be super cool if YO SOY LATINA! could go on a national tour as a TYLER PERRY PRODUCTION. Nice. Or better yet, a film. Whatever the outcome, it's really nice to know the industry is taking notice.

I received an email from a print publication in NYC this week interested in doing a story on me and LFP Inc. So I give them background, blah, blah, blah. Then I tell them that we have successfully reached the million dollar mark. Isn't that great? He says, I don't want to focus on that really. And he said it in a way to make me feel I had said something I shouldn't have. This is what I don't understand about my peeps. When an all Latina company makes a million dollars producing empowering plays about the Latino experience, why should I keep my mouth shut! For what? It's exciting. It means we're doing something right. When Forbes puts out their list of top 25, is anyone saying, "Oh they shouldn't do that." I can't believe in 2007 some of us are still feeling like we need to keep quiet and blend in. Don't speak out. Don't bring attention to ourselves. Why? For fear they'll think we're Latino? News flash: WE ARE! So, I decided not to do the interview.

Have you noticed that we own diddly squat? Where are our TV shows? Not the ONE we have on ABC. It's almost as if we are only allowed one at a time. Think about how many cable stations there are. Hundreds. Where are our films? Haven't seen much? But when Jennifer Lopez does her thing, we all have something to say about it. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, this woman does more than anyone else (besides Salma) to keep us out there. She could have taken that Hector Lavoe money and done something else with it. However, she chose to keep true to her peeps. I don't know. Maybe it's me but something weird is going on in Latinowood. And it's nothing. Which lead me back to this: When something exciting does happen, why shouldn't we share it?

For all my Puerto Rocks!

I'm ALWAYS about the universal Latino/a! But this video is about my unique Latinaness. My specific Latinaness. It features two of my very favorite poets, LEMON and FLACO! Thank you guys for not being afraid of being you!

On those days you're stuck...

I love my library of writing reference books. I can always rely on them to get me out of a jam. Sometimes when I need inspiration I'll pick up Anne Lamott's "Bird by Bird" and sometimes it's Walter Mosley's "This year you write your novel". The problem? I have to write a new monologue for one of my shows and I'm stuck. Really stuck. I actually stared at the computer screen for 10 minutes yesterday without one solid thought running through my mind. Scary. It's really scary because I've been writing prose lately and now I feel that's screwing with my playwriting head. Although all the same principals apply in all forms of writing, there is something very different about writing for the stage. I can't put my finger on it. I don't like to analyze too much for fear I'll figure it out and it won't mean as much to me.

So, last night I decided to browse my library for help. Without even thinking, I picked up "Becoming a Writer" by Dorothea Brande. It's an oldie but a goodie. I bought it after reading and doing the "Artist Way" by Julia Cameron. Dorothea's book actually inspired Julia to write her book. I figured I'd read a few pages and hopefully something magical will happen. Well, I'm happy to say I wrote the first draft of the monologue this morning and love it! I think this is the chapter that did it for me: WHAT WRITER'S ARE LIKE.

...The author of genius does keep till his last breath the spontaneity, the ready sensitiveness of a child, the "innocence of eye" that means so much to the painter, the ability to respond freshly and quickly to new scenes and to old scenes as though there were new; to see traits and characteristics as though each were new minted from the hand of God instead of sorting them quickly into dusty categories and pigeonholing them without wonder and surprise; to feel situations so immediately and keenly that the word "trite" has hardly any meaning for him; and always to see "the correspondences between things" of which Aristotle spoke two thousand years ago. This freshness of response is vital to the author's talent.

But there is another element to his character, fully as important to his success. It is adult, discriminating, temperate and just. It is the side of the artisan, the workman and the critic rather than the artist. It MUST WORK CONTINUALLY WITH AND THROUGH THE EMOTIONAL AND CHILDLIKE SIDE, OR WE HAVE NO WORK OF ART. IF EITHER ELEMENT OF THE ARTIST'S CHARACTER GETS TOO FAR OUT OF HAND THE RESULT WILL BE BAD WORK OR NO WORK AT ALL.

I especially needed to read those last sentences because I have allowed my adult character to get in the way of my inner child. This child has been with me for the last ten years without fail. And now this child, decided to disappear momentarily. I know what this is. Since I'm a self proclaimed self-help guru, I know that my inner child is afraid of a lot of things. She's in defense mode. A lot has happened to her in the past year and it has in some way messed with her innocence. She's waiting until its safe. This morning, she peeked her head out, just to help me get back on track. She's not fully free. But I won't push it.

Writing is the hardest thing to do. It really is. Your battling so many demons on a daily basis. This is the life of a writer though. It's that child/adult duality that makes us nutty. When it's off kilter, so is our work. So, now I know I have to find time for the child in me. Because I've been neglecting her for some time. So in order to keep my writer's head balanced, I'm going to chillaxalate and have some fun for a change!

Hope this helps someone out there!

What I look for in an actress?

I have worked with hundreds of actors since starting Latino Flavored Productions Inc. in 1995. I have worked with some very talented newcomers and some wonderfully seasoned actresses, that sometimes make me wonder why they can't get a break. For the most part, I have worked with inexperienced newcomers with talent that still are learning how to act. There are many actresses out there who spend hundreds of dollars on headshots but cannot break down a script to save their jobs and their lives. Here are some things that really bother me:

1. DON'T MEMORIZE...If you're going to memorize a script for the audition -- KNOW IT. Please don't keep interrupting the process, and saying sorry a million times because you really don't know it. I would rather have an actress read from a script and give me everything she has, than to have to impress me with memory skills. I will say I have been in auditions where actors have actually memorized an entire monologue without any mistakes. Now this I find impressive. But if you can't do it, don't.
2. TAKING RISKS and MAKING CHOICES - Being a good actress is being able to make choices and committing to those choices. I know so many actresses who are afraid of taking risks and making choices which only result in a very BLAH audition. I don't care how silly you think you look, take a risk and stick to it. I'd rather have to tone down a performance than drag one out of you. Also, taking risks allows me to see who you really are.
3. ATTITUDE - I love new actors who already see their name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Yet they've only had a handful of jobs. If you decided to get into this for the long haul, you won't have that attitude. Diva attitudes are a sign of insecurity. The need to let people know you are bigger than the director, the other actors, etc.
   
4. COME PREPARED - I love actors who use Backstage to book a dozen or so auditions and when they get to me, they forgot what the job was for. That is the sign of an extremely irresponsible person. Because if you cared about your career, you'd be selective and do your homework before coming to the audition. My company is so easy to GOOGLE. In fact, if you are looking for us we are the NO. 1 spot on Google. Do your research! Come prepared! Know something about me and the company. Because I am going to ask you.
5. BREAK DOWN - It is amazing to me that actors do not know how to break down a monologue or a script. I don't want to hear the same note throughout. I want to hear levels. I want to know you sat with the sides before you came to see me. Try your best to know what the piece is really about.
6. BE ON TIME - Maybe it's because I hire Latino actors. I have no idea. But THIS is my number one pet peeve. It shows that you are responsible and that you can manage time. If you're late more than once, I've already written you up in my head as a problem.
7. DON'T BABBLE - On a number of a occasions, I have met actresses who feel the need to talk to me as if I'm their home-girl. In fact, I have had actors refer to me as "girlfriend" or "mama". I don't know why this happens because I am as professional as they come. I had an actress, one day say to me, "Hey mama, you're blowing up. You're like everywhere." I had to laugh. But knew, she wasn't ready. Regardless of the level of talent this woman possessed, she was not ready for the "real" world.

I can probably think of about 20 other things, but these are my biggest pet peeves. I know that most actors I work with are new to the game. Not all, but most. And because of that, I have to do so much extra work aside from just directing them. I have to teach them how to act. I'd rather not have to teach someone how to act but if I had to, I'd really expect you to listen to what advice I have, because I care enough to make you that much better.