There are certain things I will never understand about England. For instance, why must they insist on still following the metric system - inches are where its at. Why are the outlets three-pronged? Why do they rely so heavily on coins for smaller denominations instead of paper cash? Why do they have the inability to split a check? Why do so many people not speak English? These are just some of the many questions I ask myself everyday as I learn how to live life in this city without overpaying a bill, turning the oven too hot, or burning off my hair…. Oh wait, that last one already happened.
But let’s go back to the events leading up to the... well..."incident." After blogging last night, I last minute decided to go out with a big group of people and had a delicious meal in China Town, which was different than chinese food in America (certainly much more expensive) but still very good company. China Town is a very fun area with tons of restaurants right off Piccadilly Circus, full of energy and people, even on a Sunday.
Then we came back to the flat and I decided to make it an early night, but before I knew it, it was already 11:30pm and I was wide awake. After all that talk about sleep in my last blog, wouldn’t you have it - I couldn’t sleep last night. I watched three episodes of Sex and the City, still wide-awake by the end. Finally I put my head to my pillow, laid awake for an hour, and had a restless sleep. I woke up feeling very anxiety ridden about a bunch of little things and my head was reeling. Now it seems my uneasiness was a foretelling of the morning events to come.
I woke to my cell phone ringing – never a fun way to wake. I thought I didn’t have to be into work until 12pm, but Robert’s appointment ended earlier than expected so he said at 9:45am that he was in the office and I should come in as soon as I can. So as to not make a bad impression waltzing in hours later, I rushed through what was supposed to be a quiet relaxing morning to get myself ready. Well in attempt to speed the process, I thought I would let my hair stay curly, but after applying product, I realized my hair had other plans. So in attempt to tame it quickly, I plugged my hairdryer and my curling iron into the socket – yes, at the same time. While letting the iron heat up, I was trying to dry my hair so that I could then curl it. But when I used the curling iron, my hair was still damp, and when I looked down after pulling out the iron, a chunk of my hair was smoking on the barrel. I freaked out, ripped the cord from the socket and ran to the sink before it caught on fire. It was very traumatic, since as I have already expressed, I love my hair… on my head, not burnt to fringy little pieces in the sink. I am still yet to figure out where the chunk came from, everything looks normal, no holes or bald spots THANK GOD. But it was a rocky, or should I say smoky start to a rushed morning.
I shook it off, put on my heels and commuted to work. The beauty of Kelly Management is that it is so small that, especially with Gordon on holiday, I am asked to do a lot of the work, which makes for a very hands-on experience. However, it also makes for a very busy and demanding day, which I embrace whole-heartedly because I know the more experience I get, the more qualified I will be in the future. Not to mention, it makes the day fly by and allows me to feel productive and helpful. But I must admit, always having a list of things to do can become overwhelming.
Gordon is officially on holiday for two weeks, so now I sit at his desk and resume the position of Robert’s assistant. I began by doing all the invoices and emailing them out to our clients. This entails me looking through spreadsheets, changing the invoice, saving the document, and then attaching it to an email to each of the company’s 25 clients. By the middle of the afternoon, I had to put this process on hold in order to attend the Mount View Acting School’s Showcase, in which actors and actresses put on short scenes from a variety of shows. Casting directors attend the showcase to assess the school’s talent, and then gather contact information of their favorites. Being able go into the special casting directors room where there was a small buffet and meet some elite casting directors that are friends of Robert was really thrilling. The showcase itself had its impressive moments and from it, Robert and I found three actresses we plan to contact for interviews. I liked being able to take notes and see where Robert’s perspective and opinions agreed and disagreed with mine – plus it was a welcome break to the grind.
After the showcase, it was back to work at the office. In between doing some of the administrative tasks – checking and responding to emails in Gordon’s box, signing contracts on our client’s behalf, answering calls and calling every youth client (there are 45) to remind them to prepare a monologue for my assessment at Wednesday’s youth acting workshop – we met with a prospective client who Gordon and Robert saw at another showcase last Thursday. He is a young Canadian actor, looking to work in London permanently, but will not be able to move here until January. I look forward to seeing what happens down the line as far as signing him with the company. Robert, however, seemed a bit put off by him, and said that his laid back attitude did not make the best impression. I too could see that he did not possess the eagerness and ambition required to make a lasting impression and be successful in this cutthroat industry.
In other events of the day, one of Robert’s clients had an emotional breakdown and backed out of a contract for a role he was doing. This not only puts the agency’s reputation at risk, but is also cause for termination. The crazy part too is that the actor text messaged Robert to inform him of it – seriously, a TEXT MESSAGE? And this was only after Robert had already received a phone call from the casting director hours before. Needless to say, Robert was very stressed out by this, and it made me realize just how quickly things can change in this business and how crucial reputation is. Robert says this actor will probably not be able to work in this city again – it is funny how your whole career can change with one wrong move.
At the end of the day, another client came in to read a script that called for an American accent. It was amazing to listen and hear how difficult it can be for some of the actors to put on an American accent, when to me, it is obviously such second nature. I read with her, which was fun and interesting, and Robert and I critiqued her delivery to help her perfect her audition. She was lovely and I enjoyed working hands on with one of our clients and getting to see just how much time and effort Robert puts toward making sure his client is comfortable and prepared before an audition. It was also fun to read lines with her – I am hoping Robert sees what a talent I am and signs me J JUST KIDDING!
6:30pm rolled around before I knew it, so I finished up some of my last minute work and set the CV format revisions aside for Wednesday. Wednesday night is also the youth talent workshop, so I will be in the office from 10am – 9pm working with Robert and making sure that everything stays organized in Gordon’s absence… that will be a long day for sure.
I am really enjoying the learning process and I am starting to get comfortable with office procedures, but it is always a bit challenging because you do not want to ask too many questions and be a bother. But sometimes you need to ask in order to do things right. I am sure with time I will be so well acquainted with the computer system, email and general protocols that it will smooth out some of my nervousness – on that note, funny story. As I was making those phone calls to the children’s parents about the workshop, so many of them couldn’t understand me, seemed confused or even worse, I would call their son a she by accident because their name (ex: Taureen) made me think it was a girl… oops! That sucked… I will learn… J
Without Gordon in the office, I am depended on a lot more. I basically do everything that Gordon would do, so my workload has increased, which can be scary, but Robert is so fun and I love working with him. He is laid back, but I just hope he thinks I am doing a good job.
After work I came home and made myself dinner. I think I am going to watch a movie and review some notes for class tomorrow. It is hard having those amazing long weekends because getting back in the swing is a bit painful. But I have so much to look forward to – for instance traveling to Wales this weekend, my parents coming to visit, and fall break in Italy - that I shouldn’t let nervousness or even a little burnt hair get me down.
Love and hugs,
Jenny
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