Melanie Haynes

My First Pilot Season as an LA Actress

I can’t believe I haven’t posted anything since heading back to LA after the holidays, and here I am at home again for Easter with my family and an extended stay.  It was a very busy time when I went back in January and different than episodic as far as living arrangements, focus, and activities.   I was still staying with my roommates, but things were a bit tighter and more going on with  relatives visiting – some for extended periods, and some just briefly.  My oldest son and his girlfriend were there just for a day, and we managed to celebrate his birthday with a Tres Leches cake from Porto’s Bakery and a very full day of touring.

During this stay,  I also focused more on having new voice over demos made and starting my contacts with the top voice over agencies in LA.  I participated in several workshops, including vo workouts, game voices, and a meet the agents night.  I was very busy with my own voce over work recording on my travel gear and also booking ISDN sessions in studios for my usual ISDN agents and production companies.

On camera auditions were mostly on video for my Texas agents, but I did have another fun audition for a guest star role on The Mindy Project.  I lost out to Laura Dern on that one, so I couldn’t feel too badly about it. 🙂  I had been told that Pilot season was often slower for “new to LA”  actors, and that turned out to be my experience as well.  Still, I feel as if I’m still moving forward and making strides toward my goals.  My manager met with me before I left town, and we’ve made a plan to continue the momentum moving forward.  Some additional pictures and targeted CD workshops are on the agenda for mid summer, so that I can hit the ground running for episodic season in the fall.  I’m feeling very positive, and I just know so much more about what to expect along with having some great auditions under my belt – with great feedback from lots of casting directors.  It’s all going to align and click for me in LA, soon!

In the meantime, I’m loving being back home near my family, working in my professional audio studio on awesome work, and looking forward to more regional auditions and bookings on some of the great series and films shooting here!