The New York/Los Angeles Dialectic

As an actor, where you live is supes important. Wanna do theatre? You must live in New York, or perhaps Chicago before you move to New York. Or London if you're fancy. More into Film/TV/Commercial? Then obviously Los Angeles, or a smaller market to get started in first like Austin or Atlanta or somewheres in Canad-ia if you've got citizenship (or Australia for those descendants-of-good-looking-prisoners-who-generations-later-are-now-gorgeous-foreigners). But let's be honest. It's always been a New York versus Los Angeles decision, amiright? Not even just for actors, but for many of us hopeful millennials in all different career fields.

Some of my closest friends from college came to visit LA this past week from New York, and I was so pleased to see them react positively to their surroundings, and at the same time engage in a much-needed dose of New York-style witty/real conversation (which included the word "dialectic" which I had not heard/used since college). It was heartwarming to have my favorite New Yorkers love LA, because as a rare mythical creature who actually grew up in Los Angeles, I've had to defend my hometown many times while I was putting down roots in New York. Typical conversations might go like this:

Ext. Ivy League Campus Grassy Quad or Int. Ivy League First Year Dorm Room

Any Given East Coaster Who May Or May Not Be Pretentious: You're from LA? I HATE LA.

Me: Oh really? 

AGECWMOMNBP: Yeah. It's awful. It's the worst.

Me: Have you ever been there?

AGECWMOMNBP: Yeah. I accompanied my mom on a business conference trip to Anaheim when I was seven.

Fade Out.

What makes me even more of a unicorn/rarity is that I actually enjoy both cities. And I know what I'm talking about, you guys. I was born in New York but grew up in LA, and I spent my formative years going to college in New York. So at one point I was bicoastal - I had a dorm room in Manhattan and a bedroom in my parents' house on the Westside of Los Angeles. So clearly, I am an EXPERT.

Which is why all of these Buzzfeed/Thought Catalog type lists showing how different the two cities are and usually prizing one over the other are so disconcerting to me. Why, I ask, would two cities on the complete opposite sides of the contiguous United States (I'm sorry, the fancy New Yorker in me wanted to use the word "contiguous") nearly 3,000 miles apart have any cultural, social, atmospheric, geographical, or transportational (that's not a word; the unpretentious Angeleno in me made it up!) differences whatsoever?? It is just outlandish and completely crazy to think that these two cities would be different in any way, shape, or form, since they are both Metropolitan cities in America. Come on now! So, without further adieu, I present to you a response list proving how similar or arguably identical New York and Los Angeles truly are, framed in the context of what people my age might say or have said:

 

• New York is so expensive! The rent in LA is so much cheaper! But have you ever thought about the expense of having a car??? The car payments, gas, insurance, upkeep, and times when you get a flat tire/have to dip into your nonexistent emergency fund?
• There is so much traffic in LA. And the subway is so comfy and spacious during rush hour and the G Train always comes on time, right?
• I love to read during my commute on the subway in NYC. PODCASTS, bitches! They're the only reason I still get in my car. Thank god for Ira Glass.
• LA is so beautiful! And New York is really hideous. Especially during Christmastime at Rockefeller or in Sheep's Meadow during the first days of Spring. Ew.
• Every famous person in LA is the offspring of an already-famous-person. You have to know people! This is completely untrue in New York. Unless you're on the show "Girls." Or you're Patti Smith. I've considered signing into a auditions as "Gilli Apatow." What? I'm his niece twice removed (can you remove nieces?).
• There's nothing like New York Pizza! Or a Los Angeles burrito. Never-have-I-ever eaten Mexican food in New York without getting sick, or eaten pizza in LA that's remotely as good as a slice from NYC.
• People are so much smarter in New York. We have smart people here. They just write for TV Shows instead of working on Wall Street. 
• LA is a "city where the only cultural advantage is that I can make a right turn on a red light" - Woody Allen in Annie Hall. I hate to argue with Woody Allen, but we've got culture in LA! I listen to KCRW while making rights-on-reds all the time and I feel super informed while doing it.  But I will say that Angelenos never ever claim to be more cultured than New Yorkers.
• LA is so fake! An East Coast transplant may think this when first having moved to LA and trying to make plans with a native. It's merely semantics - just like midwesterners might say "pop" instead of "soda," Angelenos say "let's do lunch!" instead of "bye!" It's endearing!

I could go on and on, but you get the idea! Aside from some minor, microscopic differences, New York and Los Angeles are basically interchangeable. I've boiled it down into this very simple venn diagram, for the visual learners out there:

Basically, "New York versus Los Angeles" is a very important conversation that we need to keep having. Let's keep talking about it, in an open dialogue, and let's keep saying that one city is better than the other.

I'll leave you with these wise words, if you're thinking of making the move from one to the other: "Wherever you go, there you are."
 

The Actor's Key Showcase: International Edition

Hebrew is my first language. As a baby, my first words were "ma ze?" Hebrew for "what's that?" (I know, such a smart way to learn other words, right?).  I learned to read and write Hebrew at about the same age as I learned to read and write English, thanks to a special Hebrew school for Israeli-American kiddos that my parents schlepped me to twice a week. My mom proudly marked on my public school registration forms that English was not my first language...and I had to take an ESL test in 6th grade to prove to the Los Angeles Unified School District that I was proficient in English alongside some peers who were not too proficient...

I guess it was all worth it. Besides all of the usual benefits of being bilingual, lately, my Israeli side has played quite a role in my career prospects. I've auditioned for some projects in Hebrew and even for some roles that require an Israeli accent. I must say, I have a newfound respect for foreign actors who have to worry about learning material in another language on a daily basis (in addition to all of the other things we worry about before an audition). Even though it's my first language, it's not the language I'm used to auditioning with! With so much American television content coming from Israel these days (um, Homeland!!) it's a skill I've been working to use more and more, professionally speaking.

This Monday and Tuesday, I'll be doing just that! I'll be performing in the Actor’s Key 2013 Spring Showcase: the International Edition. This 75-minute piece directed by Carmen Aiello aims to showcase diversity in culture by featuring scenes in foreign languages and English. I will be performing a scene in Hebrew (and its English translation!) with my talented friend Rosie Moss.

All of the information can be found HERE and you can watch a promo video for the showcase HERE

If you're in LA, please come watch! I mean, look how attractive and international-looking our cast is:

Hope to see you there!

And in case you missed it, you can watch the latest episode of How Men Become Dogs HERE (I'm shooting the next installment tomorrow with a very exciting special guest star...details later!).

SHABBAT SHALOM EVERYBODY!

Comparison: The Silent Killer

Hey Party People.

As I recover from my holiday weekend, I'm feeling like I need to address this topic that is constantly burdening me...and I have a feeling some of you can relate. If, in the last 24 hours, you scrolled through your Instagram feed and felt in some way inadequate about your Memorial Day BBQ/plans/or lack thereof - i.e., looked at other people's pics of FUN and were like, why aren't I having this much fun right now?! Why didn't I think to serve sparkling lemonade in adorable mason jars at MY barbeque? Why don't I have a normal adult person job that lets me actually enjoy a three-day-weekend? And so forth - then I'm talking to you (and also am here to remind you that Memorial Day is meant to be about honoring those who have served our country - yes! - so don't feel bad if your plans weren't spectacularly manic and pixie and dreamgirlish). Well, I'm not really talking to you, but with you. Because this is the type of internal monologue that I know I have had and that is really difficult to avoid in this day and age of tweeting/liking/stalking/posting/pinning et. al.

I know I'm not the first to touch on this subject. It's kind of been beaten to death already but I'm still searching and pining for answers. When it comes to the evilest thing I can do to myself - unnecessary COMPARISON - I feel hopeless. Most of my trusted friends would advise me to simply unplug. Indeed, we are all in awe of that person who is way too cool for social media. I applaud him/her for his/her bravery. Often not having a Facebook profile sends as strong a message as having one. To me, it says, "I am way too busy living life to take part in this menial behavior," and that's awesome. But I also think they're missing out sometimes. I know I would miss staying in touch with my family and friends in Israel and elsewhere overseas if I deactivated my Mark Zuckerberg creation. And beyond that, since I am an actress, I really cannot afford to not have some kind of online presence, and I imagine that is true for many other careers as well. I rely on twitter and Facebook and YouTube to circulate content that I'm acting/singing in. To keep in touch with contacts. To approach new contacts. To invite friends, family, and industry professionals to live performances. To provide anyone interested in hiring/working with me with an easy way to politely stalk me. It goes on and on. Not all Hollywood professionals are linked in, so to speak, but many are. So unplugging is not a viable solution for me.

So far, the only answer I've come up with to help me not slide down the slippery comparison slope and die a slow death by comparison is to compare myself only to...myself. It's great to compare yourself to others when it helps...but when all it does is hurt you...not so helpful. Day to day, I may not feel particularly satisfied with my current success. But when I compare it to where I was a year ago, the picture gets a little brighter....usually. And sometimes, a lot brighter. This time last year I wasn't even in the union. What?! What was I even thinking?! I was probably thinking, "look at that other person who is in the union. Why aren't I in the union yet?!" If all else fails, I just compare myself to my grandmother and where she was at my age. You know what she was busy doing while she was my age? Surviving the Holocaust. Yeah. So shut up, Gilli. Your life is not that bad. It's fabulous. And people worked pretty hard to stay alive so that in turn, you could have the privilege of being alive, so really, show this comparison bullshit who's boss. YOU.

Wow, sorry, that got a little dramatic.

I'm happy to report that even though I do maintain the occasional social media profile, that I have been busy living life lately and haven't had that much time to necessarily document and hashtag all of it online, which is refreshing. But I think it's high time to share some of it!

Here's a VIDEO my friend Stephen and I made, featuring an original bluegrass-y song that he and his buddy wrote. We've been rehearsing together a lot over the past six months and have our first full set coming up at the end of June! I got to sing with him at a really fun gig last Saturday night as well.

Next up, I've updated my REEL a bit. Check it out if you're bored!

I've also been working on a really great webseries and EPISODE 6 which I'm in premiered today! Woohoo! Watch it. Share it. Comment on it. You know what to do. And get ready for Episode 7.

I've also been rocking it out in acting class with Mary Lou Belli for the last three months, and have met some amazingly talented people along the way. As the self-appointed "Avail Princess," I've been on avail for many exciting projects and though I didn't book them, I'm feeling myself inch closer and closer to booking some good stuff. Finally, I'll be performing in the Actor's Key International Showcase later in the month with my friend Rosie. We will be doing a wonderful Woody Allen scene - get this - first in Hebrew, then in English. Like the Holiday Showcase I performed in last December, the amazing Carmen Aiello will be directing. Cool. I think A-Year-Ago-Gilli would be very impressed with Right-Now-Gilli. She might even try to compare herself to her. At least that's what I tell myself.

Okay. Unplugging now.

Gilli