Okay dudes, I've been pretty dang busy.  There's a lot brewing in creative studio here. 

I'm enrolled at Sketch 101 Class at UCB with Geoff Garlock and I love it.  It's the first time in a while that I wasn't looking at the clock and really enjoying myself.

It's always interesting to see what hits and what doesn't.  It's also really cool to see what other people come up with and then everyone coming up with their best character voices (i.e Exorcists and evil Nazis etc.)

 Anyhoo, I wish you well, y'all.

xo,


I'm a comedic actress/writer/producer...Check out the latest episode of my webseries, here!

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Natalie Kim:  What was the inspiration for this play?

J. Holtham:  Here's the thing: this play isn't really about the OWS movement. It touches on it and some of the criticisms people have about it (it's unfocused, it's all privileged people, etc.), but mostly it's about the way "good" liberals try to talk about inequality. I blog about diversity quite a lot and find that, when a conversation gets started, it pretty quickly gets lost in everyone's own personal issues and prejudices. I know I do it as well. So you start a conversation about, say, racial discrimination or gender inequality and pretty soon everyone is throwing their two cents about their personal history and we start in on the old game of "my oppression is worse than yours." That's where productive conversations go to die. I wanted to bring that conversation (at least how I see it) to the stage.


Natalie Kim:  What are your feelings on the Occupied movement?

J. Holtham:  I'm a huge, dyed-in-the-wool, lifelong progressive and leftist, so I'm all about OWS. I think it's the right movement, the right questions to be asked at the right time. Of course, I say all of this as someone who barely participated (sharing charts and graphs on Facebook is barely participating), all the while banking at my big bank and going to my day job. Activism is so hard, especially right now, and I really tip my hat to the people who did the work. This play may poke some fun at the pretensions that come up in any movement, but my heart is firmly behind it.


Natalie Kim:  It's a comedy but do you have anything serious to say?   (Like shutting the hell up and just DOING it?)

J. Holtham:  That's exactly what I wanted to say. Again, I write about diversity at Parabasis, a blog run by Isaac Butler. It's an issue that people are passionate about, and the conversation goes round and round, but very little gets done. Even less actually changes. Sometimes you just have to do it, be the change and don't worry about all of the philosophy or ideals behind it, or even worry that someone's feeling will get hurt. I don't mean to sound cold, but if you're gonna fix the problems, sometimes things get broken. That's okay. Just get it done.

Natalie:  What's next for you?

J. Holtham:  Most immediately, I have a reading of a brand-new full-length play on Tuesday, 1/31 at the Ensemble Studio Theatre. I'll have another ten-minute play presented on 2/17 at the Bowery Poetry Club as part of their regular series, Sticky. Follow me on Twitter for more details: @jholtham!

For more info, please check out:  http://redferntheatre.org/

A few weeks ago I learned of the death of Kibibi Dillon.  My friend called me while I was at Starbuck's and told me that while on her comedy tour, Kibibi had died in a car accident.

I wanted to write about it but couldn't bring myself to do it till now.

I first met Kibibi backstage at Ensemble Studio Theatre where we were performing with the kids of the 52nd Street Project.  On our FIRST meeting, Kibibi was teaching someone to rap and I hung around them.  She flashed me a huge smile and gave me a hug.  According to her business card, hugs were her specialty.

On another night we found ourselves backstage, in the dressing room sharing funny sex tips.  She very emphatically and clearly gave us all advice that left one guy's mouth open and my girlfriend and I taking notes.

On stage she was that rare quality that makes a performer always interesting, even when standing still.  Kibibi had more talent and personality in her eyelash than a lot of actors do in their whole lifetime.  With her shock of a huge afro she was like a human exclamation point both in appearance and personality.

To say that she radiated love and was a really special person sounds trite but it's true.  When you were near Kibibi it felt like you were basking in the warm sunshine.  Her pure talent on and off stage, her energy, her wit and especially her hugs will be sorely missed.

For Christmas I got a $25 gift certificate for Barnes and Nobles (Thanks, Laurette!!) and though bookstores are becoming rare (though not extinct like Blockbuster Video stores) I found one and bought Mindy Kaling's book.  

A REALLY MILD BUT NOT REALLY SPOILER ALERT!!
I've just started the book and (without giving much away) came across a part where Mindy is showing her high school friends Monty Python videos.  It's a small incident that may or may not have a profound effect on their friendship.

THAT ALSO TOTALLY HAPPENED TO ME.

When I was in 8th grade, I was at a sleepover with two girls who, in the following year, would be crowned the most popular girls of high school.  I will call them Anne and Blane.  We were about to hit the sack when I decided to share a tape of Robin Williams' stand up.

Me:  "You guys HAVE to listen to this!".  (I can barely contain my snorting laughter) 

I pop in the tape into a radio and am ready for them to die with laughter along with me.

Anne:  (Yawns and rolls over)  I don't get it.

Blane:  Yea, it sounds like he's some pirate or something.

CLICK!  THE LIGHT IS TURNED OUT.

It wasn't just that they didn't like it or understand it, it was how they dismissed it and were not even open to it.

It was an omen that our friendship was not meant to be.  For the next four years, they would become gorgeous, blond and would talk about parties in front of other people who were not invited.  I would go into theater and drawing making me even more lame than being Korean in a small town in Maryland.

Some days in New York City, when an old lady rams my heels with a shopping cart or I'm groped on a crowded subway and get MAD, I remember where I grew up:  a lovely but boring and provincial place where I felt out of place and suffocated.   

An acting coach recently said:  "You didn't come to New York City for it to be easy."  This is true.  And I thank my two blondie friends who shot up to high school super stardom while I sat in my room listening to rap songs and making skits of their videos in my mind.  I thank them for giving me a large clue that I didn't belong with them and giving me hope that there was something bigger outside of our small town.

They are probably with five kids and divorced at least once and have gained a lot of weight.  And look at ME!  I'm in NEW YORK CITY, working random odd jobs and struggling to make it as an actress!  Sometimes my bank account dips into scary amounts and there is no hope of me ever owning a home.  HA HA, IN YOUR FACE ANNE AND BLANE! 

In conclusion, if you love comedy, check out Mindy's book.  She is LOVELY, SMART and HEELarious.  And unlike the many self improvement books on my kindle and iPad, I'm proud to read Is "Everyone Hanging Out Without Me" on the subway.

 


I'm a comedic actress and writer.  Please check out my web series, SuperTwins!

I'm waiting for my laundry to dry and decided to write a post.  I'm rocking out to mother effing Carla Bruni.

Lately a few friends have called and talked about 2012 and what to do.  I know it's right around the corner but I haven't thought about it too much.  In fact, I feel downright peaceful.

For a Type A high achiever, that's a head scratcher, even for me.  I don't know why.  (Last night I had a dream that every person on who had a sitcom television show.  Is it a hint?  I have no idea.  I'm not obsessing over it.)

Maybe it's because I was REALLY DAMN sick a few weeks ago, to the point where I wanted to be put out of misery.  And now I'm like:  Breathing well?  Awesome!  My throat doesn't feel like the inside of a volcano when I swallow?  Score!

Maybe it's because I lost a very good friend to cancer and her death made me remember that life is a gift and that we're here to help each other out.

Maybe I'm grateful I moved to Manhattan from the burbs and I don't have to deal with tying up my godamned recycling.

(The alarm on my phone went off.  I went down stairs and changed my laundry.  Washer #4 is effed up and luckily I didn't put my clothes in there.  YES!!)

I feel good and I feel really happy and nothing extraordinary has happened.

Just the realization that I have the family that I've always wanted and I'll never take that for granted.  Anyone who says that you have to suffer to be an artist is full of bullcrap.  Having no drama and having nice normal people around makes me far more productive than not.

Nothing is perfect...and yet that's what feels perfect.

I'm grateful for all the wonderful things that have happened and also the exciting things for 2012.  But most importantly, I'm happy to feel focused on gratitude. 

Right.  Now.

I will write a long assed list of things that I'm grateful for...but for now, this is what is on my mind :-D

Happy Holidays!

xo,


Natalie