The Unspoken Words Premiere, 11-11-11, Atlanta.

Friday night was like nothing I've ever experienced in my many years on planet Earth. Hansoo and I headed down after my full day of preparing myself physically, and mentally, for the Premiere of "Unspoken Words". Glancing at my gown(which, by 2:00 P.M., I'd already gotten dressed in), I asked for a 1970's style hairdo from talented hairstylist, Angie Brookmire, at Regis Salon, North Point. She did a "half-up, half-down" style that my sister Tina and I, used to beg my Mom--Demetra to fix our hair in, often lamenting when we were 8 and 13,respectively, "Mom, please fix our hair some-up-and-some-down?!"
Angie had colored and highlighted my hair only a couple of days before, but I stopped in for the styling, which meant literally--a half-up, half-down, off-the-face hairdo. Immediately after, I headed next door, to Macy's, and spoke with Lindsay at the Dior makeup counter.Lindsay prepped my face and applied light makeup; Julie did my (rather extravagant, but totally rockin')eyes. I was feeling comfortable in my Laundry gown, a hot pink number with a very Cher circa 1970's feel to it, which I'd picked up the night before, from Tootsie's boutique in the Around Lenox Shopping Center in Buckhead. I headed home, selected a faux-fur (very dear pal Dan Morrison had personally shopped for me, leaving several wraps of various fabrics and shades of silver, for me, from which to choose).
After much slow-moving traffic (Hansoo drove us--just he and I, down together.My dear Mom, Daddy, and Uncle, were in Mom's car.It turns out, all that annoing traffic was due to a Falcons game, going on in an adjacent area. Anytime there's heavy evening traffic in the ATL, it means (sigh) sports.)
As we approached the Georgia World Congress Center, I could see UNSPOKEN WORDS on the marquee.(!)
My only thought: So this is really, actually happening.That film we all worked so hard on, it's happening....
I asked Hansoo if he could drop me, as I was worried I'd be late (I'd spoken to our Director's girlfriend while I was getting my make-up done, and she'd said "There's a lot going on right now. Don't worry. You're alright."), and he agreed. He dropped me directly in front, and drove away to park our shiny, silver Mercedes ML 550(a large SUV, which he bought for transporting our large dogs, but that night, it looked luminous, and it made me feel glamorous, stepping out of this elegant vehicle).
As I stepped out, I looked up, holding the seam of my gown in my right, silver-gloved hand (the gloves were elbow-length, found-- by Dan Morrison--- at Eddie's Magic Trick Shop(!)), while the other silver-gloved hand held a structured vintage purse, courtesy my "Omma K." (courtesy my "Omma K."-my Korean Mother-in-Law).
And who, of all the nearly 1700 people present, should I see first?
Why, as I stepped as gingerly as possible down the stone steps that lead to the building, I heard "Hey, is that my 'mom'? Is that you? Wow, you look GORGEOUS!" It was Zeek Mayes, who plays Dante' Jordan, the young man who yearns to escape Benetha Evans' grasp in "Unspoken Words". Startled, and frankly, not able to see him well, I yelled, rather loudly, "Zeek? Oh, wow, is that YOU?!"
The hug that followed was one of those warm, I-love-ya-man hugs, and it was exactly what I needed, before the surreal-ness of the evening would begin....

The swirls of light focused on me, as I entered the Georgia World Congress Center's Building A, nearly blinded me.
As I entered the lobby, I noticed several people at various tables, and quietly made my way over, when suddenly, I heard several pop-pop-pops which startled me. I actually felt frightened, as the sound was reminiscent of gunshots. There were
people--men, women, young, old, professional, and people with cell-phones, aiming cameras at me. I actually glanced behind me, thinking someone important must be present, but no--they were aiming at me-- because they wanted pictures, of me?!
I felt like one of those whirling dervishes, as I had to keep moving, to prevent being stopped, and asked questions ("We'd like to ask you a few questions." "Hi, I'm
from Holywood Review, you're next, okay? We want to speak with you." "BET, hi, would you give us some time,please?")or requests, "Hey, will you sign my poster?" I started to laugh, because it was all so incredibly CRAZY. For heaven's sake, the film has not even been released, and this, uh, what is this??? Fortunately, I saw my hubby and assorted friends and family arrive pretty quickly, which meant I could run off and speak with loved ones, instead of strangers.
I ended up doing(I honestly cannot recall how many, 4, maybe 5?), and enjoying, the interview process, but the evening was getting later and later, and we still had not adjourned to the Sidney Marcus Auditorium for the pre-show of hip-hop music and dance performances, and poetry, though some poetry and dance was being performed on a small stage in the lobby. I cannot list all my friends without accidentally leaving someone out, but I will say the biggest chuckle of the evening came when my friend, Liliya arrived, with her husband, and I began to introduce her to my good friend, Julie.
I screamed out, "Oh, this is the woman who waxes me; she's great." I feel certain the peals of laughter rippling through the hundred or so friends and strangers
gathered around me, were happening because everyone must've been imagining and giggling about, this lovely tall blond Russian lady stripping me of my bikini-hair, or giving me a "Brazilian", but I was actually referring to her stellar skills in Brow and Face-waxing, as she had just performed those services a few days before.
(though she certainly is adept at the other lower-down stuff, too). That moment
helped me stay grounded, and seeing dear old USF pal, Derek (now Dr. Derek, DOC,located in Marietta/Smyrna/Vinings area) Conte', standing nearby,caused me to smile a big smile, that lasted nearly all night.
Derek was the guy that every girl in college adored: he was the strong, athletic, dark, edge-y, very Italian guy--from New York City-- no less, and he displayed his immense acting and singing talents in nearly every single piece of theatre our University produced.I had the extreme pleasure of working alongside him, in Jean Paul Sartre's No Exit, circa 1981 or 1982, in an Acting V Honors Class, with other distinguished actors from those years.... and just this past April, saw him for the first time since, at a Reunion of USF Theatre Graduates.
But I digress.
At about this time, I was being whisked away to see the auditorium where the screening would begin, and we were told there was "a power-outtage." Yikes...what did that mean? It's already nearly 8:30 PM,would the Premiere be delayed even more?
I was worried about my Daddy, and my Mom, and Uncle, all of whom I'd seen intermittently throughout the night, but as it grew more crowded, I saw less of them, which upset me.
I dashed out, against "orders" to stay put, to hold my hands up, and wave
everyone (I soon spotted most of my family and friends)over, and they soon filed in, with many others.One dear friend, Carole, exclaimed something about tickets, but I was being told (by organizers)at that moment,to come into the auditorium and I obeyed.I hope she can forgive me, whooshing past her; I felt incredibly flustered.
Once inside the Sidney Marcus Auditorium, I threw my silver faux-fur (I would NEVER wear real fur, ugh!)over a few seats, and then waved it frantically as I watched several attendees descend into the theatre, thinking I could catch my family and friend's attention, so they'd see me, and join me, in our "Special Section" for my peeps and me...
So, now we were all settled in, and I sat between Uncle Buddy and Hansoo, my dearest sweet grrrl, Ms.Coral McGhee sitting next to my Mom--Demetra, and my Daddy--John R., on the other side of her. Both in front of me, and behind me, dozens of friends who came to support me, and showed extreme patience in doing so. A few rows behind, Arthur (Hubby's little bro) and new gal, Erin, sat. And Hans's buddy, Jay (from Jacksonville), his gal-pal,Bunny,and Jay's parents, Harold and Barbara Alexander, from Greensboro, North Carolina.
We were treated to several hip-hop singers and dance numbers, both to warm us up for the film, and I suppose, to offer more entertainment in lieu of the Screening beginning on time, due to what was later called "technical glitches".
After hours of delay, there were prayers offered via gospel-like songs, in a fervent attempt, I believe, to move this Premiere, along.
When the film began, it began rather abruptly, and jarred us to attention.The sound quality was poor, making it difficult to discern every sentence, every word.
However, I found the story (remember, I had not seen the film, either!) very exciting. I loved seeing my name Lisa Nanette Allender up there (and am not embarrassed to admit it!), and enjoyed seeing the words fall away in a jumble as they left the screen.(I loved what Henderson did with the graphics)
The vast audience remnained calm, and very very supportive,as a series of technical problems threatened seeing the film in its' entirety.
Despite the poor sound quality, and numerous glitches where the screen would freeze on a particular shot (the first frozen shot was of me--Benetha--holding that shotgun.My goodness,it's surreal enough to see one's face a hundered times bigger than reality,but downright scary to see a shot like that, frozen-in-time. Great moment: my pal, Ellen's friend, Josh, seemed genuinely puzzled that the person frozen onscreen, was indeed, me, the woman he'd just met in the lobby.That was actually quite cool, not recognizing me,as her.), the audience appeared very engaged.
Several (8-9) of my own scenes did not appear, as the screen "froze", or simply
skipped, and I'm sure other scenes were missing too, but the ending still received much applause.
Filmmaker Henderson Maddox handled the challenges with aplomb and much class. The technical glitches, you can rest assured, will get resolved soon.
Henderson's even providing DVDs of the film (late next year) to those who purchased tickets, online.
As I headed out with family, several women and a few young men, stopped me to
to sign their posters.Several said they did not realize I was Benetha, and had to ask where the actress was, who played her.One woman said "I guess you gained weight for the role.You certainly went from Z, to A, honey. I'm looking at you right now, and this is 'A'." I responded, "Well, I ate half a bag of potato chips, and a half jar of olives, nearly every night we were shooting, because it puffs up your face, and ages you under the eyes. I also lifted weights for my arms, to make them look wiry and bigger, since Benetha would be stronger than I usually (personally) look." I loved that she said "Well, it worked. You were really scary. I loved your character, because I wanted to see more of her.I mean, she was dark, but I could not hate her; I mean, she's sick, but..." Her voice trailed off.
That was the best compliment someone could give me: she seemed at a loss to understand why, exactly, she could feel something for Benetha. Which made me feel, great.

Okay, so the Film Premiere, technically, was not perfect.
But, as my dear Pax Christi friends, Joe and Mary Jean, in a private e-mail later reminded me, these things never are. Perfect.
But for my first Film Premiere, surrounded by such love--my family,including Mom--Demetra, Daddy--John R., my Hubby--Hansoo, and Uncle Buddy, as well as my extended family of dear friends,a dedicated and hard-working filmmaker, Henderson Maddox, our crew and cast, and a strong, onscreen story that I felt myself being pulled into, it was close enough.
Peace, kids.

Prayer:Peace in my personal life;growth in my professional life.

Where to begin?
In the past two months, lots happening, so let me get to it.
Update on "Unspoken Words": We shot more scenes, several of them, just two Saturdays ago, including some newly-written scenes designed, most likely, to expand Ms. Robin Givens' small-but-now-crucial-role as the social worker, Ms. Lewis. The added scenes gave me more lines as well, and of course, I was thrilled to meet and get to work with Robin, and found her to be kind and professional. She was great at improvising lines and working with both the award-winning director, Henderson Maddox, and I, in deciding how our fight(Ms. Lewis confronting Benetha Evans(me)) would play out. Big hugs to Troy Farouk, the stellar fight choreographer (and weapons-specialist:I use a Mossberg 590 shotgun in another part of the film) who made sure Robin and I played "safely".
I'm verrrry excited about the film's PREMIERE, here in Atlanta.It is scheduled for 11-11-11, and I would like to invite you all, to come see it.I cannot, of course, provide tickets, but tickets will not be expensive, and that evening, there will be several showings of "Unspoken Words".
I do want to warn everyone, the role I have is that of a violent foster-mother, and the film itself has several edge-y scenes.Because of the intensity of several scenes, I don't think I'd recommend it for children under 13.That said, the story will be appealing to teens, and if I were given ten seconds to describe it, it would be as follows:
Sixteen-year-old Dante' escapes from an abusive foster-mother, and heads to Atlanta to ostensibly find fame and fortune in rap music, but instead discovers poetry and spoken word, and a sense of family, and faith.
That's not an official "blurb" for the film, just my own short synopsis of the (original) script.
It was a great experience, discovering the medium of film, all over again. I once said "Gee, the process IS the process", when discussing film with stage actors.What I mean is, in theatre, you study, memorize, and create the biography/inner narrative to build your character, and then, in rehearsal, you hone your character (using the magic "if", as in, "If I were this chartacter, in this situation, what would I do?")until she feels "valid". You physicalize her needs, by asking, "What does she want, need, hope for, dream of?" Then you hope each night, to reproduce what you learned, as if it's happening, for the first time. In film, you do all those things, exactly as you do for the theatre, except that those discoveries are made, while you are filming.The process itself, creates the process.Of course, onstage, you get only one chance, each night, to get it, to make it your own. In film, you may get several "chances" (takes) but you cannot truthfully "own" the result: I think that is up to the director, editor, cinematographer, and sound-mixers. I trust director Henderson Maddox, as he embraced every suggestion I made. When I suggested graphic, he said yes, and yet, he reigned me in, with what I'd deem "tender". When I wanted gentle interaction, he'd ask me to fight. We balanced each other, in terms of "action".

I also worked on Atlanta filmmaker, Reggie Price's "Just Us", the short-film I'll be given a copy of, soon, which means I will now have a variety of pieces to weave into my professional acting "reel" for my agent. In "Just Us", I play Ruth Eleanor Caldwell, a mother who becomes addicted to heroin, and abandons her children. The three girls must survive on their own. My pivotal scenes are those of scoring heroin with my dealer, and the scene in which I die in my eldest daughter's arms.

Since the terrible automobile accident of May 23rd, my Mother-in-Law, "Omma K." is healing up well, and has been through some really rough trials,including multiple surgeries, first for her spine, and then for her broken right shoulder and arm. "Appa K", my Father-in-Law is doing well, but of course has concerns for his wife.
We are grateful for little Morgan Catherine Kwon, daughter of Toni Harris Kwon, and Arthur Kwon(my hubby's bro);she is about to be one-year-old, on September 21st. You may recall, if you follow this blog, that we lost Toni last year, on October 14th. She died suddenly and unexpectedly, shortly(about three weeks) after giving birth to Morgan Catherine.She died from Stage 4 gastrointestinal cancer, of unknown origin.
Please do keep us in your thoughts, and yes, prayers.
May G-d Bless You All.
I am studying Judaism currently, hence my abbreviation for G-d.
Peace, kids.

Summer Loves: family, fresh air, faith, films, and poetry.

So I am dealing with loss (Casandra), exhaustion(not complaining, it just "is what it is") due to my doggies becoming demanding(I have less time for them, so they are 'acting-out', a bit).I also love feeding and caring for my (very beloved) in-laws, and would not have it any other way....but then I also have, mixed in with a lot of (bad) stress, tremendous creative exhiliration as the excitement builds towards the completion of the film, "Unspoken Words".
Casandra is gone, but I am praying for a renewed sense of faith, because this has been so very, very hard. My Mother-in-Law is improving everyday, though it hurts to see her hurting. My Father-in-Law is pretty well, but of course, wounded, seeing his wife so injured. All I can do is cook nutritious meals that hopefully taste great, (I'm doing lots of Breakfasts of omelettes, steel-cut oats with chopped pecans or maple syrup or strawberries, fresh fruit salads, and homemade pecan syrups,Greek potatoes, etc.; for Lunch: curries, stir-frys, curried eggs, spinach salads with berries and apples, brisket(I love "Jewish" food),spaghetti sauces including veggie ones, and ones with carmelized vidalia onions with pancetta(Italian Bacon);Dinner: soups, stews, tuna melts(with mushrooms and sharp cheddar on a croissant, or sliced apples and white cheddar cheese), fresh salmon patties and rice or soba noodles,etc.,and each time I snip from my herb garden a sprig of fresh rosemary or Greek oregano, I pray for my in-laws'full recovery.
I commence filming again, tomorrow. I am very enthused that we will first be working on younger Benetha(my character ages about 15 years in the film).The most physically demanding scenes for me, will be shot over the next several days, when Benetha is older, and hopefully, I'll be wrapped by July 3rd. The film is expected to be completely wrapped by July 8th. The photo shoot for film-posters, and interviews for press kit, will be on July 10th.
The film's "Trailer Release" is on August 23rd.
I must mention the kinship and love I felt, in two separate events recently:
The Howl-A-Thon at First Existentialist Congregation, in Atlanta's Inman Park, where pal Julie Bloemeke and I delivered Allen Ginsburg lines as we tossed rose petals, a la the 1960's, at an enthusiastic audience.That fundraiser, the brainchild of poet/resident hippie/phrasemaker Rupert Fike, was quite successful (in attracting attention and dollars!) for Atlanta Queer Literature Festival.And speaking of AQLF....WOWSERS!
We had a huge, appreciative audience at the kickoff for AQLF, which I Emceed, at Charis Books last Thursday night.I was thrilled with the diversity present, reading, performing, and sharing the love! I purchased Alice Teeter's award-winning book of poems, "String Theory" and Reginald T. Jackson's "This Morning I Woke Up Black: The Barack Obama Poems".I had Reginald sign my copy, but Alice was out the door before I could let her know I needed her signature. Both books are amazing!
My only regret is that I could not interact with AQLF more, because I had family responsibilities here, which prevented me from going out, and staying out, over last weekend.One of those responsibilities, was lovely little Morgan Catherine, our newest niece(born last September 21st), who came to visit with her lovable Daddy, my bro-in-law, Arthur.I discovered babies are truly cool.
Next big project to finish: A two-part Scrapbook, and Photo Album for my Pax Christi, St. Jude's group, which I will be finishing in mid-July, (with help from a couple of Pax Christi members who offered!)and plan to present at our August meeting.
After that: A "Second Sundays Feature Poet/Author with Open Mic" which I will Emcee, at Red Door Playhouse, in Roswell, beginning in September.Admission will be six dollars, but we will be offering CASH PRIZES at quarterly Poetry Competition/Slams.Our first scheduled Feature Poet will be announced in August. More details, soon!
I hope Summer 2011 finds you all, my readers, followers, and friends, both "real life" and "Facebook life", doing well, and enjoying wild blackberries, sunshine, and fresh air.
Peace, kids.