Stepy Kamei

7/31/17

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On The Importance of Expanding Your Worldview

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Happy Summer! It's been a fun month for me. 

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After another successful Fringe Fest, in which Airplane Live! was nominated for Best Comedy (yay!), I took some time to travel. I went to beautiful Brooklyn and took in Kinky Boots on Broadway. You guys, it was so good! Super inspiring and upbeat, it reminded me exactly why I love the art of performance and reaching through to an audience in an incredibly fun and high-energy manner. It was such a great trip.

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I also went to Zion National Park with my good friend and fellow LOL Girl, Genevieve Smith. On the way we stopped in Vegas, which is always great place to find some stories to tell. We also witnessed an ostrich fight in Utah (seriously.) But honestly, I was not prepared for the beauty of Utah's landscape. 

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Utah is incredibly gorgeous, you guys. It was hard not to be transported to the days of pioneers and the Oregon Trail, and imagine the wagons crossing underneath the towering rock formations and plateaus. My imagination ran wild as I explored the wilderness.

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And really, couldn't you say that's what acting should be? Running free through the wilderness of your imagination, seeing where your mind lands? 

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If you have the resources to travel, I'd highly recommend it -- especially while you're young and able to do so. It's a master class in empathy, mind expansion, and self-reliance -- all of which are crucial skills to the art of performance. 

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3/21/17

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Standup comedy! It's a thing I've started doing and so I'm going to blog about it now. Get ready.

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When I was really young, I wanted to be a comedic performer. Jim Carrey and Robin Williams were my idols. I was lucky enough to grow up in the 90s, so I saw these two comedic geniuses at their prime. As I got older, my interests moved toward dramatic performance, but I eventually found my way back to comedy again, via improv. 

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Standup was something I was vaguely interested in, but doubt plagued me and so I put off giving it a try: 

 

Oh, I don't know anything about standup comedy. 

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I'm 24 and I've never done it, so I'd be really far behind compared to others, wouldn't I?

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BUT WHAT IF I'M NOT FUNNY WHAT IF THEY THROW PITCHFORKS AT MY FACE ON THE STAGE OH MY GO-

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These were the thoughts which prevented me from fucking taking a chance and doing standup. You can always find an excuse NOT to do something. But what I've learned, wise old me, is that taking risks, allowing yourself to go for those leaps of faith, pretty much always ends in a good way. The worst case scenario is that you'll have learned something about yourself and the world. That's the worst thing that can happen. Perception is important, people.

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I know that some of the best things I've ever done involved taking a risk, saying "yes" even when -- especially when -- I didn't feel ready or prepared at all. I didn't feel prepared to study linguistics in college (I barely knew what it was!) and yet I went for it, because I was excited by the challenge. I ended up being the top student in my major. I didn't feel ready to move to Los Angeles by myself at age 20, but I did. And I freaking love living here so much. I didn't feel prepared to adopt my dog, Oliver, but he has enriched my life in the most amazing ways. 

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And in December 2016 when I saw a request for someone to fill a standup set last-minute, I definitely did not feel qualified at all.

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But still, I said yes. Three days later, I performed standup for the first time, and I think it went pretty well. You can check out video of it on my reel page on this website and decide for yourself. Just three days before that was recorded, I was frantically scribbling ideas in notebooks, running these jokes and stories to myself while I drove around town between auditions, as I walked my dog, as I fell asleep. And three days later, I did something that rewarded me so much.

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I'm now pursuing the standup game in earnest, and it wouldn't have happened if I had let those stupid excuses tie me down. And that is hopefully a great example of why taking risks in this industry pays incredibly well. I've greatly been reaping the benefits.

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3/17/17

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Hi! It's been a little while, hasn't it? 

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So, last you heard I was directing a sketch. That happened and it was awesome! So awesome that I've done more directing since then! I'm directing something I wrote as well! How many exclamation points can I fit into this paragraph?!

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What else, what else. In October I was part of a very, very cool immersive show produced by Screenshot Productions, "The Rope". It was as close to a live-action open-world RPG as you can get, honestly. Immersive theatre is the wave of the future, friends. Get on board if you haven't already. It's such a cool experience, to perform in or to be an audience member to. 

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The holidays happened, and that leads me to a point I think is important, even if it has seemingly nothing to do with the biz. I'm talking about self-care.

 

2016 was pretty great to me, in many ways. The downside to being so busy though, was pretty harsh. Those of you who are familiar with the improv troupe I co-founded, The Human Test Subjects, understand I deal with several mental illnesses. If you didn't know that already, well, surprise, I'm a fucking psycho!

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I have quite a few anxiety-related disorders, which are so monstrously-named that they all need acronyms -- PTSD, OCD, GAD. Towards the latter-half of the year they decided I wasn't giving them enough attention, so they made their presence KNOWN. I'm talking daily panic attacks, I'm talking losing weight from not eating, and I'm talking cutting back on accepting wonderful roles because I was just freaking scared all the damn time.

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It sucked. Anxiety sucks. When your own mind turns against you, it really fucking sucks, guys.

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So when I went home for the holidays, I started up an intensive outpatient program for Behavioral Health. And ladies and germs (get it, because OCD hahahahaha), it was one of the best things I've done for myself. One of the best decisions I've ever made. For three days a week over the course of six weeks, I was enveloped in a super safe environment, surrounded with other freaks like myself, where I learned loads of extremely helpful ways to cope through anxiety on a short-term and long-term basis.

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I bring this up because it's bad enough dealing with anxiety, and it's bad enough dealing with such an unpredictable and chaotic lifestyle as the biz brings upon us. Combine those two elements together and it is really, really hard to deal with. Damn near impossible. 

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Since graduating the program, I've more than made up for lost time. Remember Airplane Live? We came back for a 6 weekend-run (this is the final weekend!) and we almost always sold out every performance. It's coming back once again in June for the Hollywood Fringe Fest (yup, couldn't not be involved in that) so come see it this summer! I will also be performing in Sidetracked Creative Artists's production of "Boy's Life", as Karen, who is such a fun character. I am also currently in rehearsals for a feature film, "The Auburn Pines". 

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Oh, and I'm directing something I wrote. Talk about a comeback, am I right? In your FACE, anxiety!

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I was about to sign off until I remembered something really important I forgot to mention. I've started doing standup comedy! I'll make another blog post about that adventure, because it is an ADVENTURE, but for now I'll just say it's been awesome!

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Now in the words of my LOL Girl character from Airplane...

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GTG TY BETCHES

xoxoxo

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8/8/16

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Branching Out in the Biz

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I've been tapped to direct a sketch at Santa Monica Theatre's upcoming "Short Play Night"!

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Confession time: When I first moved out to L.A., I actually wanted to be...a director. GASP! I know. But then I remembered how much I love acting and, well, that dream kinda fell by the wayside. I started my acting career in earnest March 2015, and it's been a non-stop ride ever since. I hadn't had much time to think about my one-time directing goals until relatively recently. 

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Out of the blue, I was asked to direct a sketch, and I jumped at the chance without hesitation. I have no idea how competent I'll be at it, but here's to new adventures!

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7/24/16

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(This is a blog post I wrote for Santa Monica Theatre):

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Actor's (B)Log: Rehearsing Near the Open Sea

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Ahoy!

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That’s an unusual greeting, but I’m in a bit of a pirate-y mood as I gear up for another rehearsal for D.M. Larson’s “The Pirate and the Princess” right here at Santa Monica Theatre.

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Let me quickly introduce myself – my name is Stepy (yes, it’s a nickname, yes it’s short for Stephanie, no, it’s not foreign, yes, I think it’s cute too, thank you) and I am a multi-hyphenate by trade.

What do I mean by that? Writer/actress//photographer/filmmaker … if a gig interests me, I’ll take it, regardless of the job title. I first got involved with SMT last month when I participated in the staged reading of “Guns and God”, a dramatic TV pilot. It was my first staged reading, and I had a blast.

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I was happy to work on another project here because I think this space is so unique. Sure, there are tons of black box theaters, especially in the valley (where I reside), but they seem to be few and far between in Santa Monica. Plus, it’s right by the ocean — how cool is that?! And how very apropos for the show I’m working on now.

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In “The Pirate and the Princess”, I play the wonderfully-named Princess Fuchsia. She’s adorable, curious, and feisty — never dull or boring. She’s a princess alright, and she may be a little spoiled, but she knows how to take care of herself. She is trained in hand-to-hand combat, after all.

Want to see a princess and a pirate face off? Check out the show, which runs Saturday August 6th and 13th at 1pm!

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7/18/16

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Feast and Famine in the Biz

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As I mentioned before, I was insanely busy last month, basically living the dream. I produced and performed in an improv show, and I performed in 2 other live shows, as well as a staged reading. There was much merriment to be had, and that's not even including the many, many cast parties I was lucky enough to attend.

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And then came the rejections. Oh, so many rejections. 

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The start of July sucked. Hey, rejection is part of the biz. And it always seems like there's no middle ground when it comes to being a professional actor. You get a bunch of work, then you've got no work. You're bloated with gigs, then you're starving for them, parched for a play, something, anything to get you back in front of those spotlights. 

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But good news, friends! As long as you keep at it, you'll find success. After countless failed auditions (not even so much as a callback), I've been cast as a member of the Murder Mystery Company! 

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The audition was entirely improv, so of course I felt very much in my element. For both scenes, I relied on my standby character: the hair-twirling sex fiend. For some reason, I'm very comfortable acting like a desperate horny man in front of an audience. But hey, it gets me gigs!

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It already feels great just to break the string of fruitless auditions, but it's especially great to know that this is a PAYING gig. Yep, I get to fill out 1099 forms and everything! If you're unaware of 1099, dude, you're gonna be a lot more familiar with it if you really pursue this whole freelancer/acting thing. 

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So, I'll be starting rehearsals tomorrow (in addition to continuing rehearsals for "The Pirate and the Princess"). 

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Maybe next time I blog, I'll have a little more experience playing a femme fatale ;)

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6/29/2016

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Well. This has quite possibly been the busiest month of my life. I'm completely serious. 

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Hollywood Fringe Festival took over my life, and I couldn't be happier that it did. I produced and performed in "The Human Test Subjects", which won the Encore Producer's Award. I performed in the critically-acclaimed and award-nominated immersive theater experience "The Truth". And I found the time to make small cameo appearances in "Live from the Grave: It's John Belushi".

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When I wasn't breathing hff16 like it was the only oxygen I could get, I was rehearsing for a staged reading of a dramatic TV pilot: "Guns and God: Lines in the Sand" (it's a pretty dramatic title, isn't it?) 

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I also wrote and performed in my very first sketch show. I won't admit this in person, but I secretly prefer seeing my writing do well over my acting. That's the introverted way, I guess!

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I just got cast in my first children's theater production at the Santa Monica Theater. Thank goodness, since I was beginning to freak out about how I would live my life suddenly going from 8 shows a week to nothing, nada, zilch. 

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I just couldn't let that happen ;)