Web distribution article! LDW Update!

Long time no post, I know, I'm sorry. I've been truly remiss. Forgive me. Please? Thank you.

I'm excited to link to an article I wrote about web distribution for the awesome actor website Brains of Minerva. Please check it out on their site!

Feel the surl.

So what else is new? I had a great time shooting two days on the new webseries Secret Millionaires. I played a surly nurse and was inexplicably bitchy. This is obviously a huge deviation from my normal character, but it was very fun.

I'm currently in rehearsal with a new improv team for the annual Haunted House of Improvised Horror show. Look for us at the end of October at Improv Olympic. It's gonna be spooky.

Yikes.

Speaking of spooky, yesterday I played a zombie waitress in a spot for a video game. The spot is hilarious and I was pretty terrifying. Nothing like zombie make-up to make a girl feel pretty.

Oh! And I won my first award! I am very flattered to be included in StageSceneLA's Best of 2009-2010 awards category of "Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Drama" for All My Sons. Many thanks to Steven Stanley!

Thursday I'm shooting a spot for Matthews International, which I'm very excited about. I'm also attending rehearsals for Skeleton Stories, the upcoming show at my theatre company, Theatre of NOTE.  I'll be understudying the role of Annie.

That's the update for now. Thanks for stopping by!

August LA Actor's Tweetup!

We took a bit of a summer break, but we're back on August 9th for another  LA Actor's Tweetup - Bring a Buddy Edition!

LA Actor's Tweetup: noun. 1. Networking event for actors/industry professionals who use twitter and happen to be in Los Angeles at this exact moment. 2. Excuse to put a face with a handle and converse using more than 140 characters. 3. Ridiculously good time with amazingly kind and stunningly beautiful people. And free ping pong.

When  - Monday, August 9th. We'll be there from 6pm until the bar shuts us out. Happy hour goes until 7.

Where - Busby's, 5364 Wilshire Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90036 (google map) Free parking behind the bar/restaurant. Stay tuned to see if we'll be in the private room again.

Theme - Bring a buddy. Whether they're on twitter or not, if you like them, bring them.

Hosts - @TheJudalina @TiffanyAPrice @BenWhitehair @laurendwebb

Bring your pretty - event photographer Nicholas Sayaan will be snapping away all night.

New to the August edition of the tweetup:

Raffle of Awesomeness - We'll be having a free raffle for the following fabulous prizes:

Free Demo Cutting Reel Deal - Basic Package from Cut My Reel, a $300 value! @cutmyreel 

Winner! Eme Ikwuakor @emeikwuakor

3-Look Headshot Session from Pro Headshots - 3 prizes, a $400 value each! @ProHeadshots
Winners! Woody Schultz @UGottaWoody, Mike B. Nelson @MikeBNelson, and Jen Levin @TheJenLevin

Makeup for one of the Pro Headshots sessions by Makeup Your Mind @makeup_yourmind
Winner and Birthday Girl! Jen Levin @TheJenLevin

Custom actor website design from Webixel - a $200 value! @RominaEspinosa
Winner! Kelsey Link @KelseyLink

A copy of Dallas Travers' The Tao of Show Business 
Winner! Amanda Robins @amandar213


and her Audition Accelerator CD! @dallastravers
Winner! Sheila Daley @shedaley

Please follow our awesome contributors! More prizes to come - please contact me if you'd like to donate!

Promo Table - In a show? Have an actor-friendly side business? We'll have a table for you to place your postcards/promo materials. 

RSVP - If you would like to join us, please leave a comment below so we can have a head count. And leave your twitter handle (e.g. @JohnDoe) so we can start following you. Hope to see you on the 9th!

Sincerely, Your LA Actors Tweetup Hosts

Humbled by Kindness

We have two more weekends of All My Sons, and I have been absolutely blown away by the kindness of the audience members and reviewers. My friends and family who have come have been awesome and so supportive, but the response from people I had never met has been unexpected and overwhelming. It means so much when people go out of their way to say a kind word, send an email, or "friend" me with a message on facebook. Thank you all.

LA Weekly gave us a "GO!," which was very exciting. Paul Birchall had a fantastic review for the whole show, and had the following specific quote about yours truly: "Webb's sweet, then fierce turn as Annie becomes surprisingly complex as she ultimately wields a weapon that puts the final nail in the villain's coffin..." 

Paul Stroili of LA Talk Radio saw the show and gave a glowing on-air review on "State of the Arts." Here is the link to the June 28th show if you care to listen - the review of All My Sons starts at 24 minutes.

Tony Frankel of StageandCinema.com titled his review "All My Praise" and was so kind to us that I have to share two quotes in their entirety:

"Kudos to Miss Johnson’s Kate and Miss Webb’s Ann: you can sense the weight-bearing pressure on Kate, who is still not reconciled with ghosts of the past, and the nervous reservations of Ann, who is ready to move into the future. You may want to hold them, comfort them, or shake them out of complacency, but you will be too riveted to turn your gaze from them."

 and

"It is Nicholas S. Williams as Chris who astounds with his authentic vulnerability – it is the performance that dreams are made of: his listening, reacting, internalizing, and discovery should be studied by acting students near and far.  There isn’t a second of falsehood. If you ask why you should seek out small, legitimate theatre in Los Angeles, Mr. Williams is the reason. Watch an actor at the top of his game close up."

The whole review is wonderful and specific and worth a read, and I couldn't agree more about all the other performances - I have a better-than-front-row seat and I am inspired by them every single night. My favorite line from the review: "Certainly, Miller’s ghost tapped director Kiff Scholl on the shoulder during the casting session and said, 'Them.'" Mr. Frankel's review was runner-up for Critique of the Week on Bitter Lemons, where we are also "100% Sweet."

I am so grateful to you all. Thank you. 

There are two more weekends to catch the show! Visit Plays411, Goldstar, or LA Stage Alliance for tickets.

Aaaand we're open!

All My Sons opened last weekend to almost sold-out houses. I was lucky enough to have several friends in the audience opening night (which was also my birthday - great way to celebrate!) and they really enjoyed the show. I love my castmates and everyone did a great job. I'm very excited for our run!

This morning I received my first legit review ever, and I was floored by how kind it was:

"From Webb’s first entrance as Ann, the lovely young actress is perfection, embodying every young man’s girl-next-door ideal and capturing the precise look and sound of the era."
- Steven Stanley, Stage Scene LA (Read full review on StageSceneLA)

I can't wait to meet Mr. Stanley, and give him a hug or buy him a drink. Or both.

Backstage also posted their review today, with kind words about my phenomenal castmates and this:

"Webb portrays Ann as a strong, independent woman who is near the breaking point."
- Jeff Favre, Backstage (Read full review on Backstage)

Needless to say I'm very excited. I'll post more reviews as they come.We have a very long run, so hopefully folks will be able to make it.

Tickets and more info here: http://tiny.cc/plays411
And half-price tickets on Goldstar: http://tiny.cc/allmysonsgoldstar
And for those who like do their social planning via Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=131471123536831

If any industry folks are reading this, thank you! and let me know if you would like me to reserve you some comps!

Here are some of our press shots:

with Nicholas S. Williams (as Chris Keller)

with Mary Carrig (as Sue Bayliss) (My face in this one cracks. me. up.)

 squeezing Nicholas S. Williams (as Chris Keller) and yelling at CaroleAnne Johnson (as Kate Keller)

Come see the good times in person! And as always, thanks for visiting!

"All My Sons" and a weekend of talented friends!

I didn't realize how long it had been since I posted...a lot has happened since April 14th. I hope no one has missed their LDW news fix too much.

I'm super excited to share that I was cast as Ann Deever in Arthur Miller's All My Sons. We're in rehearsal now and open June 5th at the Raven Playhouse. Everyone's summer plans should include a quintessential American drama, so get your tickets now! :) The show runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday June 5 - July 25.

In other theatrical news, I am a proud new company member at Theatre of NOTE. I can't wait to work more with the fine folks I met during Titus Andronicus.

The comedic webseries I co-produced and acted in, Getting By, has been accepted to premiere with the launch of Somebody's Basement on 5/16/10. Please follow @LoveGettingBy on Twitter or "Like" us on Facebook for more info.

I'm looking forward to a weekend of seeing friends in shows - Rick Steadman, Brad Light, and Rebecca Sigl in Holy Ghost at Theatre of NOTE, David Ross Paterson and Sarah Lilly in Copenhagen at The Chandler Studio, and Jennifer Losi and Lindsay W. Evans in My Sister in This House at Deaf West Theatre. All of these shows were given a "GO" by LA Weekly, so go!

#LAActorTweetup!

Monday night was what I hope will be the first of many LA Actor Tweetups, hosted by myself, Judalina Neira, Ben Whitehair and Tiffany Price. We were excited to organize the event, but weren't sure who would show up and how it would go. I think it's safe to say it was a smashing success - proof is in the Facebook album of photos by the rockstar photographer Nicholas Sayaan.

I don't know why I'm surprised that it was such a great time. OF COURSE I would love hanging out with actors who are interested in meeting other actors. Fellow people who, for the most part, picked up and moved across the country to chase a dream and are in active pursuit of said dream. I was so inspired by everyone, and impressed by folks who have been here for 6 months or less, and are already super connected. It took me a good six months to figure out which way was up when I moved here.

So. I'm done gushing. I told everyone I would post our info so that we can all follow each other. Thank you all so much for coming, and if you missed it, we'll see you next time!

Judalina Neira @TheJudalina www.judalina.com
Ben Whitehair @BenWhitehair www.benwhitehair.com
Tiffany Price @tiffstrum http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2378634/
Lauren Dobbins Webb @laurendwebb www.laurendobbinswebb.com
Nicholas Sayaan @catnick @synapticstills www.synapticstills.com
Xan Stevenson @xanstevenson www.xanstevenson.com
Sheila Daley @shedaley www.sheiladaley.com
Alej Keigan @akeiganphoto www.akeiganphoto.com
Kelsey Link @kelseylink http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2648624/
Stacey Ann Shevlin @staceyshevlin www.staceyshevlin.com
Derek Houck @derekhouck www.derekhouck.com
David August @davidaugust www.davidaugust.com
Ben Blair @dubblebee www.benblairdonethat.com/
Liz Brown @lizbeeloo www.lizbrownonline.com
Justus Zimmerman @justuszimmerman www.justuszimmerman.com
Leigh Larson @missleighlarson http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2592531/
Goldie Chan @goldieisworking http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2592023/
Clark Coffey @clarkcoffey www.clarkcoffey.com
Susyn Elise Duris @susynandfolsom http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2380972/
Katherine Taub @katherinetaub www.katherinetaub.com
Sunny Williams @sunnycwilliams www.sunny-williams.com
John Paul Rice @norestrictions www.norestrictionsent.com
Hedia Anvar @ravnah http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0993853/
Dino Archon @dinoarchon www.promaxdigital.com
Kristina Coolish @kristinacoolish www.kristinacoolish.com
Jose Ortega @joseortega4 www.joseortega4.com
Mike B. Nelson @mikebnelson www.lacasting.com/mikebnelson
Woody Schultz @ugottawoody http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0776376/
Kat Primeau @katprimeau http://katprimeau.weebly.com/
Kristoffer Kelly @kristofferkelly www.kristofferkelly.com
Jamie Fishback @jamiefishback www.jamiefishback.com
Kevin Ashworth @kevinashworth www.kevinashworth.com
Paula Killebrew-Mason @killmaso www.thecastingdirector.com/killmaso/
Stephanie Yadon @stephanieyadon www.lacasting.com/stephanieyadon
Musme Bravo @musmebravo http://burgeoningactress.blogspot.com/
Sarah Levin @sarahtothelevin resumes.actorsaccess.com/sarahlevin

Please let me know if you want to be added/removed. Hope to see you all at the next one!

Vlog experiment

Last night I recorded an audition for a vlogging project, and I was inspired to actually vlog. Here is the result:



We'll see if it happens again. Signs point to yes - it was sorta fun.

Resources for taking the plunge

I have a fellow actor friend from college who is very talented and is starting the journey of pursuing acting in LA. We had lunch this week and I compiled the following links of resources that I find valuable. I thought this might be a good list for anyone else embarking on an acting career in Los Angeles.

As ever, take these with a grain of salt. I think they are great, but what speaks to me might not be right for you. This list is not comprehensive by any means. If you have a great site that we should all know about it, please add it in the comments!

From my email to my friend:

"There is an unending wealth of information on the internet, which is a mixed bag. These are my go-to sites and a good starting point. Feel free to direct any specific questions back to me and I'll do my best to answer them.

Bonnie Gillespie's book Self Management for Actors, is the book I recommend everyone read first. Her column, The Actor's Voice, comes out every Monday and her archives are a treasure trove. Have fun.

actor's access is a casting/self-submission site where it is free to create a profile. You can peruse the breakdowns and pay $2 when you want to submit, or pay $68 for a year of unlimited submissions.

I believe you can also set up a free profile on Now Casting but have to subscribe to submit. This is one of the newer casting sites, but I have booked work on it and have seen some big shows (24, Criminal Minds) that exclusively post here when they open it up for self-submitting actors.

LA Casting is the other main self-submission site. It seems to be more for commercials, and is more of an investment to create an account. They have an informative newsletter that you can read on their site and also offer free information workshops with casting directors.

Brains of Minerva is an actor's career and lifestyle resource. They frequently post interviews that are so good that I feel an explosive burst of inspiration and feel the need to share the article with everyone I know.

http://playbillsvspayingbills.com/ is a great blog that I've been reading recently. I know one of the contributors, Ben Whitehair, from twitter, and actually met him in person last night.

I have some lists of industry people on twitter, if you're interested in jumping on that bandwagon - www.twitter.com/laurendwebb I have gotten a couple of auditions from casting directors posting jobs on twitter, and learn something fabulous from a post by another actor every single day.

I have heard rave reviews about The Actor's Network from more people than I can count. I'm a little fuzzy on what it is exactly that they do, but it seems to be a great resource, and a large number of the people I know who have been affiliated with them are working consistently.

There is a lot of controversy over casting director workshops, where you pay for the opportunity to read for a casting director, but I have had good experiences at The Actor's Key in Burbank. You get to choose and prep your own sides, you do your scene with a reader, and many of the CDs will give you a written evaluation. (I've also gotten called in for a show after meeting someone here, so there's that. However, the only guarantee is the opportunity, and you should always research whether or not that particular CD is known for calling people in from workshops.)

Hollywood Happy Hour is a really useful yahoo group. Members ask for advice on various things and also sometimes post casting notices.

A similar useful yahoo group is Big Cheap Theatre. People do more show promotion on that one, but also sometimes post theatre auditions.

Alex's Info is a daily email for actors with all sorts of info - who's casting what, movie premieres, industry events, gas prices, side jobs... I look forward to reading it every morning.

The LA Stage Alliance is the group that puts on the Ovation awards, among other things. They are a good resource for half-price tix and info, and I like to check there to see what theatres are doing work that is consistently nominated. Same with the LA Weekly Theatre Awards - here is the list of nominees from this year: http://blogs.laweekly.com/stylecouncil/stage-news/stage-raw-31st-annual-la-weekl/

Dallas Travers is a great resource who focuses more on the business of the biz and career planning.

Backstage.com has great message board - http://bbs.backstage.com/groupee. The message boards are also a great resource when you want specifics on a name you think might have something shady going on. :)

Showfax message board as well - great resources there since some of those posters don't post on the Backstage board. (Thanks AmbitiousB!)

I hope this helps. I'm so glad you're considering the adventure - I say do it for as long as it makes you happy!"

So there you have it. I've already included a few things I forgot to put in my email. I'll edit as I have "I can't believe I forgot that site!" moments.

Know your type - the common theme

This morning I met with Kris of k2foto to talk about shooting headshots. I'm very excited to shoot with her, mainly because she spent so much time emphasizing the importance of knowing your type, and how she likes to know how you see yourself and how you plan to market yourself when she goes into the headshot session, so that she can help coach you through it to get the photos you want.

I've done typing exercises in class before and know how invaluable it is to hear how other people see you. The harder and somewhat more important task is knowing who you are and how you present when you walk in to the room. Everybody wants to be the stunningly beautiful girl, but everybody can't be. Knowing that isn't who you are can be difficult, but is so important.

I left my meeting with Kris thinking a lot about my type (and about how I really need to go shopping) and remembered that I had homework for the commercial class I'm starting tonight with Jill Alexander. She asked us to bring a description of ourselves as a character, as it would appear in casting director speak. Here's my crack at me:

Sweet but sassy best friend next door who can charm your mama, make your daddy laugh, and kick your brother’s ass. 22-28. The kind of person even shy kids hug on the first play date. Experiences soaring joy from clear blue skies and pugs. Smart with a barely suppressed inner librarian. Feminist who loves to cook. Southern girl with Midwest appeal. Liberal arts type with a few hippie tendencies. Kind but fiercely loyal. Saves worms and slugs from certain concrete deaths. Music lover born in the wrong era. Avid swing dancer. Plays clarinet.

After sitting down and doing that exercise, I feel much better about me and knowing who I am. I do know my type, I just need to remember how to articulate it. I'll let you know if the feedback I get agrees with my own assessment. I highly recommend that all actors write the breakdown that encompasses you.

Back on stage!

I'm performing the role of Lavinia in Titus Andronicus at Theatre of NOTE tonight and tomorrow night, and I'm excited!

I also have a revitalized passion for live performance, and a refreshed respect for live actors. Because when you've been in the film/tv world of "That wasn't my best, can we do that again?," you get sorta used to it and it gets sorta comfy. And then you go back to stage and you want to say "That wasn't my best, can we..."

Granted, I'm an understudy, so I've been watching instead of doing for the most part. The awesome cast came in on one of their nights off and rehearsed with us, so I feel great about tonight, but it is certainly a different animal. I love that live performance different animal. I never want so much time to elapse between the times I'm onstage, unless it is by choice.

There's my "live actors rock" soapbox. Come on down to Hollywood if you want to see the show!