3 yrs ago — looking back

I went to PR to visit my mom, my cousin Dali… I made arrangements for mom to move here to the states with me. My friend @karenlieriddering took some of my favorite pictures. My daughter was in college. My son and fiancé began looking at wedding venues. Since then my mom passed. Since 2016 I’ve changed representation, found a manager and a ny agent, booked numerous movies and tv shows …. Godzilla black panther fonzo henry&rel SciFi Project bad boys for life The Quarry amazing stories Bull new Amsterdam cobra Kai the gifted macguyver …. Mom is looking out for me.

Reading #Becoming

I’m reading Michelle Obama’s book, Becoming. I’m not done yet, just about 1/3 of the way through. I usually race through novels (just finished A Dog’s Way Home in a day). I usually take longer with nonfiction as I’m pondering and contemplating the life of this person whose autobiography I’ve chosen to read. I don’t read many; the memoirs of Elsa Lanchester (delicious), Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Haven Kimmel (not famous but a Terrific book!), Portia deRossi (a must-read. harrowing). Now, as I read Michelle’s book I’m constantly stopping to reminisce about my own childhood in Chicago.

  • Michelle Obama at Princeton

I, too, used to hang out at Water Tower Place in downtown (post-high school though)! I was one of the smart kids in my school. No one else in my family had gone to college, either.

The similarities end. I had a single mom (more like the mom in #Roma only not rich; a single working mom with 4 kids who worked constantly). She got us into Catholic school (hey Michelle, I went to Mount Carmel in Chicago!!) (Elementary school…). I did go to college on scholarship but dropped out as I was too fixated on starting my acting career.

After childhood, upon entering the “world” (theatre, college), I learned many confounding things (not just artichokes). I found that white people don’t dance much at parties; rather they have cocktails and stand around and talk. (I’m like that now.) For some words, I knew the meaning, but I did not know how to pronounce them. (I learned words from the many books I used to read.) A couple of times I mispronounced words. I’ll never forget the hilarity that ensued when I said “puh-LAT-able” in a conversation at one of those theatre cocktail parties. I started looking up pronunciations more diligently. Many of the things other people took for granted, such as summer internships, study abroad – all these things were foreign. (Talent is abundant in this world; opportunity not as much. I tried so very very hard to give my own kids a leg up and as many advantages as I could muster.)

There’s something about this book, and the Spike Lee movie Crooklyn (believe it or not), that reminds me soooo much of my own childhood. I did not grow up in Brooklyn; rather, Chicago. I am not black; rather, 1/2 Italian 1/2 PR, but raised Puerto Rican. Crooklyn is one of my favorite movies.

As I read, I keep thinking about the horrible, horrible people who have said such unbelievably horrid, mean things about Michelle. It hurts my heart. I just can’t get over it. Well, since this is my acting blog and I mustn’t dwell on negatives, I will move on.

I can’t wait to read more about Michelle’s life, her marriage to Barack, her philosophies in life. What a Woman!

Peace, love.

– in with the new….

These things happened so far in 2019: got a recommendation from a top casting director. booked a big movie after the original role was cut and got called in for another scene. had to depart from my agent due to technical issues and learned that many of my friends are helpful and believe in me. taking meetings. came to understand that my manager is a trustworthy, ambitious, and aggressive ally. All great things.

My New Years resolution was to walk the dog every day. That ended after two days. My new resolutions:


Also – believe in myself, my family and friends, my representation, that God will handle things, and all good things in time.

Approaching 2019 with A Prayer and Purpose.

Here’s hoping for and praying to manifest even better and bigger things than I did in 2018 (and that was a very good year!)  Here I am with my friend Angela Ray at her annual New Year’s Day dinner party, starting the year right.

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Good friends to celebrate, commiserate, talk showbiz, exchange advice with, support – these are the icing on the cake of achievements and life.I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas holiday season.  I saw the holiday joy and happiness permeating everything despite the country’s shenanigans.  [facepalm emoji]

HIGHLIGHTS OF 2018
     I don’t have Facebook anymore, and so if I’m going to be on tv or in a movie I go on Instagram and twitter.  My page is not replete with selfies though there are plenty of them (too many for my taste). Such is the age of social media promotion.  In 2019 I should be appearing (depending on release date) in excellent supporting roles in three movies, as well as in season 2 of COBRA KAI (a youtube series starring Ralph Macchio and Billy Zabka) (it’s about the Karate Kid – the real one (Daniel-san) who is now 50-ish and resumed his feud with his blond surfy nemesis from the original movie [Billy]) The show is on all the 10 best lists this year! 
     1) GODZILLA: KING OF MONSTERS – opening in May.  I worked on this movie over a week and should be quite visible.
     2) FONZO – this is about syphillitic Al Capone.  It stars Tom Hardy.  Doing this movie was nothing but pure joy.  No release date as of yet!
     3) UNTITLED HENRY & REL SCI FI PROJECT:  This is a Jamie Foxx/Joseph Gordon Levitt movie that is a Netflix production.  I think it will come out in the movies first but not sure, what with the newfangled entertainment avenues these days.  I worked for a week in NOLA and my scene was with Rodrigo Santoro (he did almost all the talking) and he was utterly charming.
I also worked on three television projects: New Amsterdam, Scorned (Lifetime movie), and Bull.  Here’s hoping 2019 proves to be as great if not better than last year, professionally speaking, and I have no doubt it will (shout out to my representation @CrackerjackSE and @bysbtalent for being so dogged and, well, representing!
CO-OPTIMISTIC
Another thing I frequently promote is my son Morgan’s youtube show, Co-optimistic– he’s got a series of shows and podcasts that go through Youtube wherein he and friends, and guest stars,review and comment on games, board games, and movies.  I myself enjoy the movie reviews actually – that’s my favorite.  Here he is with his friend John going over each of their year’s top 5 movies:   https://youtu.be/Hg_Yxh6mTgk
Here is the top 5 Disappointing Movies:   https://youtu.be/h-P5EeO3bn8
I enjoy listening to these guys; particularly with the “most disappointing movies” show, they were so open and unfiltered. I met John (the critic with Morgan) when he organized a 48-hr film last year. Morgan was the producer and I helped them find a location (my office) so I was there the whole day long and the office was FILLED WITH KIDS and they were the MOST RESPECTFUL, NICE AND CLEAN KIDS EVER!!!!   Even though I’ve been periodically depressed about the imminent end of the world (yeah), listening to Morgan’s friends, and my own daughter and her friends, gives me such hope for tomorrow.  No Nihilism Here.
Please go there and like, subscribe, and share and watch some of the Pop Culture and Movie reviews!  (@BluePumaStudios on twitter; @cooptimistic on IG).  I have a hard time watching the game reviews; but if you’re a diehard video gamer or VR person, you would probably enjoy those!  🙂
ANOTHER NEW THING:
So I was writing a note to the director of the last theater play I participated in – Joanie McElroy directed “The Rainmaker” and I stage managed.  I love working with Joanie.  She has VISION and she is talented.  I met her at a Halloween party at Liz Bigler’s house a few years ago.  I mentioned I’d done costumes for a few shows and she immediately asked if I’d be interested in costuming ‘A Raisin in the Sun.’  I said OF COURSE!  And thus a happy theater relationship began.
    I costumed Joanie’s productions of Raisin, “God of Carnage,” and “Clybourne Park”; then stage managed Rainmaker.  I believe in Joanie and so agreed to be on her Board of Directors when she decided to make her production company, “Merely Players Productions,” a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.  Joanie began looking for a venue and found one in Chamblee – at least for the interim.  She will be the house company for the Atlanta Cuban Club, located on New Peachtree Street.
She has begun this endeavor with a maximum of balls and gumption.  Daniel Guyton is heading up a new WRITER’S GROUP, chimerically called Merely Writers.  (Thus begins what I foresee being a plethora of “Merely” wordplay.)  (Are these good sentences?)
    Joanie is interested in producing, at some point, “Anna In The Tropics,” which would be great for me because there’s a great role I’d like to audition for.  Also mentioned, “True West,” and we have a great potential duo for that.  I am looking forward to great things from Merely Players.  Here is a link to the theater’s GO-FUND-ME page, and note that I’ll be conducting a different fundraiser of sorts for the theater soon (thanks in advance, Erin!)
https://www.gofundme.com/manage/merely-players-presents-inc
I’d like to do a one-person show (separate from Merely Players).  That’s something I’d like to work on.  I’m working on it.
Aside from all that, I live a boring life and watch a lot of tv accompanied by my dear husband.  I will have to force him to accompany me to the SAG Awards Viewing hosted by the SAG union local.  What I would like to do though is go to trivia more often.  I enjoy that. (pretty much the only time I can hang out with Sarah, Craig, and Jon…)
Follow me:  @rose.bianco on instagram and @ActorRoseBianco on Twitter.
#TheAngelaRay at @TheAngelaRay  – #Cooptimistic   #MerelyPlayersPresents @merelypp2