Spring Forward- Spring (Facebook) Fast

Welcome back to my blog and Happy Spring. I am grateful for the expansion of the Casting Solutions Facebook group page which has over 1,010 members world wide. It is very gratifying to have a place to directly reach out to actors about castings, resources and news. Facebook is an effective tool providing the means to achieve this goal. Having said that, I temporarily deactivated my personal account, as many of my Facebook friends are also on the group page. This hiatus or fast, is a bit of a challenge; can I live without a personal presence on Facebook and the residual "cyber-stress" it was creating? I think I can and less than 24 hours into this experiment, I've already saved time and mental energy. My Casting Associate, Cahill Connolly (who really runs Casting Solutions, I'm just a figure head) will be posting on the group page on my behalf and will relay any messages you may have for the office or myself. I will continue to tweet on a regular basis so feel free to follow me on twitter (LizOrtizMackes). Now for some updates since my last blog post:
Thanks to all of you who have supported my book Ace Your Acting Audition, designed by the amazing Cahill. Drama Book Shop continues to re-order it on a regular basis and it is available on Amazon.com and also being sold overseas. The wonderful reviews posted by actors have touched me deeply and thank you to those who took the time to do so.
In January I announced the newest division of Casting Solutions, I Ain't Playin Films. I'm happy to say that 2 screenplays are being agressively pushed in LA, and that's all I'm allowed to disclose about it, but very encouraging, especially in a business where the climate can be chronically discouraging.
On the Casting front there were screenings of 2 very special short films: "The Robber Barons of Wall Street" by Peter Killy and "The Cycle" by Roy Clovis Jr. which also was the screen debut of our intern, high school senior, Surfin Percy. The shift to producing has overlapped with 3 current projects which we cast and I also am Associate Producer. These 2 films: "Crazy Beats Strong Every Time" by Moon Molson, "The Tailor" by Gordon Grinberg and pilot "Drama Inc." by Jennifer Richards & Babatunde Odesanaya are collaborations of extremely talented and accomplished individuals. Additionally, the film "The Camera's Eye" directed by Wendy Shear and written by James Tracy is doing the festival circuit. I look forward to attending the screening on May 6th at the Bergenfield Film Festival. The gratification of producing in conjunction with casting is an expansive journey and creatively rewarding. As an instructor at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and my other workshops I have an even deeper inside perspective into the industry which I can further demystify to my students. Producing is also extremely chaotic, unpredictable and time consuming. I've had to cut back on attending shows and showcases. Wearing the wife, mom, casting, teacher and now producer hats simutaneously have taught me the necessity and freedom of boundaries. I want to know what actors are up to but please don't take it personally if I can't see your show. The more I'm out there bringing in new projects for the office the more opportunities I can provide to actors, and isn't that what it's all about?
Enjoy the spirit of renewal which is exemplified by the season. I appreciate all of you and until the next time I wish you only the best. - Liz