Some of you may not be aware yet, but this year I have officially become a triple threat: I can proudly say that I am an actor/writer/director!  

Meet my baby: Killed in Action. It's a short film set in post-WWII America, about a widowed housewife who meets a soldier who fought alongside her deceased husband. We've already screened at five film festivals across the country, and hope for more soon! Plus, we kicked off our festival run by winning the audience award for Best Short at the Durango Independent Film Festival!

Check out our trailer below. I'm one proud mama. 

​STEPS:

1. Partially prebake the pie crust: preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Cover pie shell with aluminum foil and pie crust (or dried beans, something to weigh it down!) Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes. Then remove pie weights (or beans!), reduce the temperature to 375 and bake for 10 more minutes. Remove the pie crust and let cool. Reduce oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine brown sugar, coffee, and butter in a large bowl. Whisk in eggs, corn syrup, vanilla and salt. Stir in the hazelnuts. 
3. Pour the filling into the pie shell.
4. Bake pie for 25 minutes, then rotate it 180 degrees. Bake for another 20-25 minutes (when filling firms up)
5. Let cool and then ENJOY! 

It's Friday (TGIF!) and what better way to spend it than to beat the heat, stay inside, and watch a movie? Okay, you may see where I'm going with this... Echo Lake was released this week and is now available on a TON of digital platforms (see below!)

I had such a wonderful time making this film. It started in 2012, when Jody McVeigh-Schultz reached out to me to take a look at his script and come in to audition. It was one of my favorite scripts that I had read -- it had a real voice, and felt authentic and unique. I was grateful for the chance to audition, and thrilled to find out a few weeks later that I had been offered the part. I had known a lot of team from college at USC, and was excited to get the chance to make a film together.

The shoot was split into two parts: the first half in the wilderness and the second part in Will & Erin's apartment. Since I played Erin, I stayed behind while the bulk of the cast and crew traveled to Northern California to shoot all of the material that took place outside of Will's home. If you've seen the film already, you know what epic beauty they were surrounded by. After they wrapped that material, they came back to Los Angeles where we dug into the relationship between Will and Erin. We filmed all the flashbacks and relationship scenes over the course of about 4 days. 

​Since then, the film went through post-production and has enjoyed a film festival run for the last year or so. It's been an incredible journey, and I am so happy to share this film with you now. 

Also, if you're in Los Angeles, sign up for this TUGG screening on Thursday, July 14th, and come see us on the big screen!

Eeek. I write these words in a frenzied state, I will confess. I've been working for the last few weeks and am beyond thrilled to launch a Kickstarter for my short film, K.I.A.. It's a passion project of mine that I wrote a few years ago, but am now gearing up to act and direct in it alongside my Bread and Butter co-star Micah Hauptman. 

Anyone who's launched a Kickstarter before knows that it's a thrilling and humbling experience. I'm all butterflies, all the time --and it hasn't even launched! I'm not sure how it will go, but I do know that I am incredibly excited to be taking this project to the next step and committing to getting it made.

As an actor, you're often at the whim of others.
   You must wait until a role arises that you might be a fit for.
     You must wait to get the audition.
       You must wait for the project to be secure.
Understandably, this can be incredibly frustrating. So I wanted to stop waiting and make a film on my own. And that's what this project represents to me. We've already won a grant (thanks, Puffin Foundation!) and now we are raising the final bit we need to take us over the finish line. So please, take a look, spread the word, and cheer me on in this exciting (and scary!) journey...

Here's to no more waiting!  
​    (Well, except for the Kickstarter to launch tomorrow morning...)