What a great New York night!  I went to a fantastic class tonight at the Actors Green Room with casting director, Jamie Schulman.  Not only did I feel really good about my work, but Jamie was SO wonderful!  I love casting directors who are both nice and generous with their time AND who are insightful.  I left the class feeling so good and so hopeful.  Then when I stepped outside it was snowing!  Perfect!

To begin…

I should probably introduce myself.  My name’s Elan Cassandra and I’m an actor living in New York City.  I moved here a little over a year ago after spending a year training in Vancouver, Canada.  Since then I’ve acted in three plays and numerous student films and have been blessed to meet so many wonderful people here.  I’m constantly amazed by how small the acting community here feels and how most people really want to see you do well and grow.  People outside the entertainment community would probably be surprised to find that despite how highly competitive the industry is, it doesn’t feel like a high school cheer squad, but instead like one huge group of friends all struggling toward a common goal.  I guess that’s what I love about artists…despite being stressed, (hopefully) busy, (often) poor, perfectionists, we’re all here searching for something real…some connection to each other and to some source of inspiration (whatever you may call it). Anyhow, I’ll finish by saying that I love this city and I love this “job” and I look forward with an open heart to all the wonderful projects and people that will come my way this year!