ramblings of a raconteuse
Actress, raconteuse, and artivist with a serious love for zombies.
This is my journey <3
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rac·on·teuse
–noun, plural
a woman who is skilled in relating stories and anecdotes interestingly.
art-i-vist
-noun, plural
dedicated to using art to promote awareness and educate.
You can also catch Helenna every Monday at the popular blog "Talk Nerdy To Me Lover."
Written for my weekly Friday blog post at: 
aka) I’m the resident “artsy farsty nerd” ;)
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Okay, I have to say I am totally and completely burnt. Now, this is one of those things that somehow feels like a sin to admit. Everyone is hustling and working hard and making things happen for themselves in their lives and careers, and somehow I feel like no one ever really talks about burn out.
Admitting that I’m utterly exhausted feels completely liberating and at the same time too much of a vulnerability. In the entertainment industry it’s all about the next thing that you have coming up. What project are you working on? What movie do you have coming out? Everyone wants to be the next big thing and everyone is clawing their way to get there.
This past week I was visiting my parents and my two half sisters were also in town. One of them asked me about the whole process of auditioning for a role and then what happens when you book something. I told her about how there are literally hundreds of thousands of actors, that 2000 people or more can be submitted for a single one line role, and that even if you book a part you can be cut at any point. This among the fact that for the past 6 months I have had 3 part time “thrival jobs” at the same time (a term I came up with when I was doing my vlog meaning: jobs that are flexible but bring in the bill paying money so that I can focus on acting, therefore allowing me to thrive as an artist), and produce projects for the web, all while auditioning which is like a job interview everyday….well, this all made me realize, “holy crap I have the right to be burned out.”
Now the thing is, everyone I know who is an actor and producer is also in the same boat. The amazing girls that will be on the Geek Girls Create panel at WonderCon this weekend know exactly what I’m talking about.
So, because we obviously can’t just stop our pursuits, my question is: how do we create a life of balance so that burn out doesn’t equal completely imploding?
Personally, when I reach this burn out point I do everything I can to disconnect and take time for myself. I hit the gym, go to yoga, sit on my roof, read a book, and just generally chillax. But I’d love to hear what it is that you do. What do you do to recharge?
xoxo hels
tweet me at: @helslevy
browse me at: helennasantoslevy.com
email me at: contacthelenna@gmail.com
Written for my weekly Friday blog post at:
aka) I’m the resident “artsy farsty nerd” ;)
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Not gonna lie. I’m pretty freaking excited! But disclaimer….I’m taking off my nerd glasses for this post and putting on my geek cape!
I was on a panel at the Comikaze Expo this past fall with a bunch of awesome geeky girls and we just found out that our panel is going to WonderCon!
This is definitely a top life event for me.
Yes, it’s true, I don’t have quite as much geek cred as the ladies I am on this panel with. But, the little burgeoning geek in me is very very happy and jumping up and down like a freaking Oompa Loompa on crack.
See I may not have a crazy amount of trivia in my brain about comics and characters, but I definitely have my fair share of geek out knowledge when it comes to anything Joss Whedon and also… zombies. There are other things I geek out about too, but those are the 2 major fields of my geekdom. And can I just say…. Cabin In The Woods? Hellz YES!!!
Why is the fact that this panel is going to WonderCon so freaking exciting to me?
Well…aside from the obvious “it’s WonderCon,” the words “speaking on a Comic-Con panel” are literally staring at me right now from my “vision board.” And Comic-Con and WonderCon are put on by the same company. Yes! Manifest destiny baby!
Aside from the fact that I get to hang and talk with my favorite geeky ladies in the whole wide world, I’m really excited to be able to plug my latest animated online series that I produced with my husband and which will be released by the time we are on the panel. It’s called “Girl and Boy” and I am super stoked to share it with the world.
This is our teaser vid:
I’ve spent the last 4 years learning everything I could cram into my brain about the online web series world ever since recording my very first vlog in October of 2008. Since then I have produced “The Day Player,” “The Ex-Convict’s Guide,” “Songs From,” and 97 epsiodes of my vlog “Helenna’s Tinseltown Tuesdays” all as a somewhat experimental foray into the web world. I am a member of the IAWTV (International Academy of Web Television) and absolutely LOVE the web series community.
All this being said, I am really stoked to be launching “Girl and Boy” with my husband Barry W. Levy. It’s “high brow potty humor, for the low brow comedy lover,” and I’m excited that I’ll be able to talk about this project at WonderCon since it fits right in with the whole comic aspect of the convention!
Aside from all of that, I’m so stoked to be on this panel is because these women are AMAZING!!!! All of these ladies are super proactive go-getters who are completely taking their careers into their own hands and ROCKIN’ IT! Mad props to Kristen Nedopak, Stephanie Thorpe, Jessica Mills, Cricket (Crix) Lee, and Leah Cevoli! I am honored to be in your company!
If you want to “learn how each of these smart and sexy ladies built their unique, individual brands and gain insight into the struggles and success of creating your own work, from networking to production, to marketing…and staying sane along the way,” then come and join us at WonderCon on Saturday, March 17th, 2012 from 5:30 - 6:30 Room 207ABC!
#geekgirlscreate and #nerdsunite OH YEAH!!!
xoxox hels
visit me at: http://www.helennasantoslevy.com
tweet me at: @helslevy
email me at: contacthelenna@gmail.com
