Excerpt from Rob Graydon

Excerpt taken from Rob Graydon - Rob Graydon Website Principal photography has wrapped on La Soledad. Shot on location in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, Rob Graydon has directed the story of Soledad Morales, a young woman trying to connect in a same sex relationship with her girlfriend Inez while dealing with her family's acceptance. Alanda Spence produced the film and stars as Inez. The screenplay was written by Danielle Berarducci. Long time Rob Graydon collaborator Richie Mauro served as Director of Photography. The ensemble cast rounds out the production with their talent. This amazing group consists of Dominique Martinelli as Soledad, Alanda Spence as Inez, Katherine Dickson as Alba, Joe Genesis as Mr. Morales, Jonathan Fortes as Paul, Geovanni Gopradi as Efrain and Joseph Menchaca as Buelo. There will be about a month of editing with Daniel Gilbert before January brings in post sound and color. Our composer David Boyd will be coming in from Europe then to score the film. And now Words from ME.... Once again I'd like to extend my gratitude to the cast and crew of this amazing project. I am honored to have been a part of such a wonderful group of people. I can't wait to see the final copy. Opening Night will be a Blast! See you all on the RED CARPET! Supporters please consider a donation TODAY. Every little bit keeps us going towards more Festivals and each Festival is more exposure and more exposure is more potential for awards. Help the DREAM continue... Click on the link to Donate: https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=8974109

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Being Alba - Filming

Anticipation is a great thing. It keeps you focused and moving forward. Prior to the weekend of Nov. 7th-8th. 2009 the adrenaline was so high as I prepared to breathe life to Alba for the film La Soledad. Rehearsals kept the cast and our Director Rob Graydon on a constant journey of discovery and soul searching for who these characters' were and what motivated them. Now as the day of shoot fell upon us the focus turned to technical worries of arriving to set on time, making sure wardrobes were complete, hair and make-up were done, food was available, crew and staff/PA's were accounted for. A flurry of activity demanded so much attention that the cocoon of our small acting family seemed to have disappeared. It was exciting, scary, disturbing, violent and sad. Why... because it meant that we were in production... and soon we would be done, it would all be over. I chose to join in with the group that was driven from the city to our location in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. I'm glad I did! I had the opportunity to spend more quality time with the great people on this team. Upon arrival, I had no choice but to be taken a-back when at set-up of Richie Mauro Team the home we were using was transformed into a set. I mean this was no, camcorder with a few people running around shining lights here and there, like I thought it was going to be. No folks! This was a Movie SET! Like I've seen Richie at before! With all his lights and tons of people! Two Cameras! Dolly! Grips! Sound! You name it... We had it and more! We had all the perks too! Set & Art Designers/Directors, Photographers, Script Supervisors, Makeup and Hair, plus more. The best part is that each and every person was so nice and easy to work with. Oh... did I mention that we got fed like royalty yeah! Perks! Kudos to Alanda Spence - Best Producer EVER So, all good things right? Now I have to work. And that we did folks. Fourteen straight hours on the first day and about sixteen hours straight the second. Glamorous! See, film is VERY different than theater. In theater, once you are done with rehearsals and the show is up, you play in front of your audience, you hope for the best (that you don't forget your lines or song) and then the performance is over. There is no second chance. The moment has passed. But in film, those moments are captured over and over again to be replayed for eternity. There are second chances for mess ups! In theater you work with your fellow actors and they are your anchors to your story. Your Director guides you on how to tell your story upon the stage then cuts you loose on opening night. In film there is another aspect to consider. An actor that is introduced late in the process. He is the camera! He come in after you have worked so hard to find your character and stops you midpoint of a scene to re-adjust himself, refocus, relight and re-align. He's selfish and intrusive. Often he is in the way, magically he is in every scene, and never, ever, can you directly look into or at him. Yet, he is the actor I want to dance the most graceful waltz with. Through him and only through him does Rob and Richie capture the essence of what the story is truly about. So, I work hard. I do each take over and over. I give more each time. I forget to breathe, blink, eat, even go to the bathroom. I'm Alba - for every second, from every inch, from every pore. When Rob or Richie called they nearly tripped over me - I'm right there. I do my best not to be too far away. Thank God, for my guardian angel Erik Shearer(Sean, Brian) who through his grace made me the most 'delish' sandwich, remembered I'm allergic to mustard and made me laugh...without him...well, let's just say that there are people you meet that leave footprints in your heart... The hours pass. To my surprise quickly, too quickly. Sunday. The day comes to a close and at 2AM we wrap. It's amazing that we have completed everything we have set out to do. We are done. Alba is Wrapped. Now what. I volunteer to help out for Next Saturdays' shoot. Closure. I'm dropped off at home. Exhaustion finally hits me. I sleep until 4pm the next day. When I finally have the strength to get up, I feel restless. I'm back to the real world. Boy, I'm going to be hard to live with for a few days. No new projects pending. Back home I finally read emails... Congrats!, Great job!, Thank You!....From everyone.... Click... I turn off the computer, I just can't face it yet. It's over. I'm not Alba anymore. So, if I'm not Alba....Who am I? ____________________________________________ (Donations are still being accepted, Please consider a donation so we can go to Festival with our film! Thank you for all your support!) To make a donation to our film just go to this link:https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=8974109

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Becoming Alba - Part 2 - Rehearsals

The rehearsal process is always grueling! You start out with an idea in your head about who your character is, or where you want to go, only to find that you've only scratched the surface. Discovery, as it's deemed in all the acting classes, is another word for digging in deep into those deep crevices within your soul you never want to go in to! From there you pull out those emotions you've stored away never to feel again. How you get to those emotions, and who feeds you the life-line so you don't sink into a deep depression is your Director. So, he/she better be good!

You see, the script allows you to have a few lines, place a voice to how your character may be feeling, but it doesn't give you everything, like:

The who, what, where, when? what is this characters' pre-life ( their experiences, age, growing up event, daily routines, etc.) what does this character want. How will he/she get it? What are the obstacles? Only the actor has these answers' locked' deep inside and it takes discovery to find all of the answers. The Director can guide the actor(s) through his/her knowledge of the other characters in the story, understanding from the script writer (when available), and his/her own vision of the story to build and complete the story. With this bit of acting lesson behind us, I now let you in on the rehearsal process for La Soledad. Not skipping a beat on anything I've mentioned above, I say that Rob Graydon, our Director is amazing! Not because he may be reading the blog, or anything...but because he simply is! Here is why: the one thing that he has done that is not mentioned above is collaboration with the actors. Maybe it's because I've worked mainly on stage, but rarely have I had a Director ask me..."what are your thoughts, Katherine, what are Alba's thought here?" WOW! It is totally liberating. My input counts! His most constant note to us is "Listen...always listen, keep listening." For me this has been the life line that has allowed me to delve into the deep places during discovery. Where with Dominique, the actress who plays Soledad, I instantly knew how to 'speak' to her character, through Rob, I've been discovering Alba's voice within and for the rest of her family. As people we depend on all our senses to guide us. As a person who has lost the gift of sight from my TBI, I am dependant on my other senses to complete what I cannot always see. Sounds, words, inflections in tone, and body motions become so important on how I react to the world around me. Now double that when I prepare for a scene. My sight no longer delivers the first signals for responses. These come to me through my ears. It has taken 7 years and 5 months to retrain my brain to receive information this way. But, don't confuse hearing with listening folks -cause, there truly is a difference. In life, I hear cars as they speed by me, they help me gage how I drive. I hear the tapping of the water in the pipes that tells me I'm about to be scalded from putting the hot water knob too far to the left, I hear the sizzle of water I sprinkle as a precaution on the stovetop, after years of burning myself from not seeing which burner was too hot. But, I listen...to the inflection in Cory's tone as he tells me about his day. Then I know if it was good or bad. I listen to the whine of each dog... I know which one means: "I'm hungry, I'm lonely, or I need to pee NOW!" I apply these skills to my acting. I take in every line delivered as an emotional wave. It is a physical sensation. It prickles my skin. When that happens I know I've done it well. I've got it. We've made contact. In becoming Alba, I have had moment such as these. I am lost for those few minutes between the real world and the world of Danielle Baraducci (Screenwriter). Then Rob gently pulls us back and allows us to decompress and return. Only to connect to another piece of the dialog that later build upon another layer of this never-ending story. Next week I breathe eternal life into Alba. Still, I am asking: Is she strong? Is she right? Would I, could I..do the same thing she did? Am I like her? I may never answer these questions. They may never need answering. In becoming Alba, at least I had the courage to try. That's just the point.

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