X-Files, Battlestar Gallactica, anything by Joss Whedon, The 4400, Touching Evil
Books
Any books by authors Guy Gavriel Kay, Anne Bishop, Octavia Butler, Karen Chance, Patricia Briggs, Patricia McKillip, Robin McKinley, Carrie Vaughn, Jacqueline Carey, Charles de Lint, and L.A. Banks.
About me: I am an African-American/Cherokee/Scottish actor-dancer from Maine, who was living in New York until early 2009. Now I live in South Korea. I also work as voiceover artist, choreographer, and director, and I have been a union production manager for almost ten years. I am also an avid tanguera and dance more hours than I sleep per week.
Mouse over the images below for more information about them.
Check out some of my recent work by clicking on the links below:
What's Doing Currently
Life's Passing Me By
"Life's Passing Me By", known lovingly as "the little film that could", has been accepted to a few more festivals and received a couple more awards recently. It was chosen for the African Diaspora Film Festival in October in NYC. It was nominated for Best Picture and I won the award for Best Actress at the Staten Island Film Festival 2009. LPMB was also chosen for the Independent Features Film Festival and won the "Audience Choice Award". It screened in NYC at Symphony Space July 24th at 7 pm. You can also purchase the film at Indieflix.com. $9.95 for the full dvd or $4.95 if you would like to stream it for 30 days. Click here to check it out! Scroll down for more information about the film and official website information.
South Korea
I moved to South Korea to work as a teaching artist for a year. So far it's been an incredible experience and I'm having a great time. I will begin a blog soon, and I'll be sure to post the link here.
South Korea Updates-October 2009
In addition to teaching, I have been able to keep performing in Korea, which has been awesome. I danced as part of a benefit concert in the early summer, performed an excerpt from my one woman show as part of the Bucheon International Performance Art Festival, recorded a series of audiobooks, played a foreign mom in and educational dvd series, and most recently I was one of four models in Giordano's fall ad campaign. (That was a totally trippy experience. My face was EVERYWHERE!) Currently, I am choreographing a couple's wedding dance and prepping to teach an Argentine Tango workshop at El Tango Cafe, an awesome tango club in Seoul. It's been a crazy couple months. I am looking forward to a vacation!
Recent Gigs Makin' Whoopee
Just before moving to Korea I shot an internal promo for The Game Show Network's new version of the Newlywed Game with Carnie Wilson. She was a blast and the script was largely improvised, so the six of us playing newlyweds had a great time arguing with each other. Check out some of the footage via the link above.
Lay Down Your Head
I directed the music video below for the awesome Brooklyn-based duo, Happy Ending in December. The video for their award-winning song, "Lay Down Your Head" was a spec project for Stickboy Studios. (Read: micro-budget). Visit Happy Ending at www.myspace.com/happyendingsongs to hear more great tracks by the band.
Hoi Polloi
I had the awesome opportunity to workshop "The Less We Talk" with Hoi Polloi, directed by Alec Duffy in late 2008. "TLWT" is a choral theater piece with clowning. The full production will go up at The Ontological this spring. Check out the website for all of the details. Thank you to everyone who came out to our "guerilla" theater performances of the workshop run all around New York.
Twist of Fate
Twist of Fate is a feature film by the very young, very talented KaMeek Lucas Taitt. I played a supporting role as a psychologist who attempts to help one of the main characters. A mystery/love story, the project will premiere in May, and features music by Pharrell's new artist Kenna. Check out the most recent trailer via the link above.
Department of Education Project
I played the mother of a 13 year old (Good grief!) in a film series for the Department of Education about internet safety. My daughter was being cyber-bullied via a myspace-like social site called myface. It was a funny couple days.
Wildflower-The Series
Wildflower was a pilot I shot with Reina Productions in the fall of 2008. It's about a dancer/martial arts vigilante. I play the main character's extremely crazy best friend. The website has "sort of" launched, and you can purchase the full pilot on Amazon.
Tango Practice Kerrie Welsh was kind enough to shoot Tom Wisniewski and myself at an early morning tango practice. You can check out some of her awesome footage here.
IMDB
Two films I played principal roles in have won major film awards and one of them has received distribution and can be rented via Blockbuster and Netflix, or purchased at Target and Wal-Mart. This of course means that I suddenly have a page in the Internet Movie Database (imdb). How weird is that? Click on the link above to check it out.
9 Steps from St. Anne's Street
I completed the run of the workshop performance of "9 Steps from St. Anne's Street" by Carolyn Nur Wistrand, as part of the "Girl Power Festival" produced by New Perspectives Theatre Company in August. The Festival is a showcase for work generated by the Women's Work Lab, a structured artistic environment for the creation of new plays by female playwrights. "9 Steps..." is about a family of women practicing voudou in 1800's Louisiana. We ran August 18th-22nd. Click the link above for more info.
Sonny and Michelle Aren't There
"Sonny and Michelle Aren't There" was shot over the course of one weekend in the summer of 2008, and will be completed in late summer 2009. The film was written by award-winning playwright, Brian Trzeciak and directed by me. Kat Green DP'd and provided our awesome location, Kerrie Welsh also DP'd, Adam Chimera was our sound engineer, Monica Coello was our makeup artist, Dan Renkin was our fight choreographer, Janelle Lannan our PA, and Charles Rooke swooped in at the last minute and donated an incredible amount of film equipment. Our AMAZING cast included Lauren Currie Lewis as Michelle, Jason Blaine as Sonny, and in a bunch of random stuff, Josh Hartung. "Sonny and Michelle Aren't There" is the first joint project of Stickboy Studios, a partnership between writer/designer, Brian Trzeciak, and myself.
Stonington Opera House..
I returned from Maine in late July, where I was performing at Stonington Opera House in "As It Is In Heaven". "As It Is..." is an exploration of a turn of the century Shaker community, complete with reconstructions of Shaker dance and music by a performance historian. We had the honor of performing our last evening at the only remaining Shaker Village in Sabbathday Lake, Maine, for the four remaining Shakers in the world. It was a rather intense experience to put it mildly.
Me
"Me" with Inverse Theater Company completed its run in late May and we received some awesome reviews. Click here and here to read two of them. "Me", a play with rock music, is a semi-autobiographical portrait of Kirk Wood Bromley, the playwright, as told by 12 people playing one character. The run was a blast and the music, by resident composer John Gideon, totally rocked the house. Performances ran May 3rd thru 24th at The Ohio Theater on Wooster Street in Manhattan. Visit the website via the link above for more info.
The Mixed Girl Monologues
I had a great time performing excerpts of my one woman show, "The Mixed Girl Monologues" as part of the Spork Festival which ran February 5-9, 2008 at Theater 54 in midtown. The festival boasted some awesome performances, and it's definitely worth noticing in 2009.
MacBeth
I completed performances of "MacBeth" with Oberon Theatre Ensemble at the Lion Theater on 42nd Street in March. Performances ran in repertory with Michael Weller's "Ghost on Fire" from February 14-March 8, 2008. Check out one of our favorable reviews by clicking here.
Commercials! Commercials!
Uh huh. That's right. I shot some commercials the fall and winter of 2007. I was an angry bride in the on camera, voiceover, and print spots for Bridezillas on WEtv. If you're in the Midwest you've probably seen my spot for Michigan Dental. (Thank you to all my Midwest peeps who have emailed me about it.) You can also see it here. I'm the jogger who can talk without making siren noises. (It's sort of a high concept spot.) Or you can catch me talking about the wonders of Oreck Vacuum Cleaners on late night tv!
Life's Passing Me By
"Life's Passing Me By" is a romantic comedy about a young woman named Dora (played by me) who can give everyone else spectacularly good advice, but whose own life is basically a huge mess. A story about all those people who act like they have it all together, when they really, really don't, "Life's Passing Me By" was written and directed by the wonderful Mark Cabaroy, a Queens-based filmmaker I cannot say enough good things about. Check out the website for the trailer, screening dates, and info on the awesome cast!
UPDATE "Life's Passing Me By" was chosen to be part of Anthology Film Archives New Filmmaker's Series. It screened July 23rd to a packed house at AFA in Manhattan.
UPDATE 2 "Life's Passing Me By" won 1st Place at The Indie Gathering Film Festival in Ohio in the Comedy/Drama Feature Category!
Paula's Reel
Yes. That's right. It's my reel. And you can watch it below or visit my personal website at paulawilson.info to see a higher quality version of it.
Grass Under Ground
"Grass Under Ground" is a film short, written, directed, and edited by the extremely cool, extremely talented Steve Dackson. It was shot over one weekend last fall, and the original script was 34 minutes long. Steve did that wonderful rare thing where he let Jack P. Dempsey and myself shoot the entire script in one long 34 minute master take as the first shot. It was awesome. The finished product is much shorter, since Steve is also a kick booty editor. Check out the finished film by clicking on the name above. You can also check out Steve's other work by clicking here.
UPDATE "Grass Under Ground" screened September 20th at 10 pm as part of the New York Film and Video Festival at Village East Cinemas. Click here for more info.
Pied
"Pied" is a film short written, directed, and produced by me. It was shot over one 14 hour day in lower Manhattan. I had a wonderful cast and crew. My DP was the amazing Yvie Raij. You can check her out by clicking on her name. My fabulous leads were Kira Sternbach and Denise Greber. Check them out also. The CGI portion of the film is being designed and created by the incredibly talented Jason Scott Jones. Visit him too!
UPDATE Since shooting the short, "Pied" has expanded into a series and is being completely revamped and reworked as one of the Stickboy Studios in-development projects. We are also waiting for the return of our lead, Kira Sternbach, who is off in London performing in the premiere of Neil LaBute's new play. Go Kira! Keep checking back here for more details as we get closer to production.
Rising Circle Theater Collective
Rising Circle Theater Collective is a group of young theatre artists of color dedicated to producing work that reflects the world we live in, both through the development of new pieces and unique restagings of pre-existing works. I appeared in their production of "American Family Project", which explores the meaning of family in 21st Century America. A combination of movement and theater based upon actual interviews, "AFP" ran March 1st-March 11th at Teatro La Tea in NYC. Have a look at one of our many favorable reviews here!
73
"73" is an independent sci-fi short by award-winning filmmaker M. Asli Dukan, in which I play the title character, 73. You can check out the trailer by clicking here. Ms. Dukan is also the director/producer of the documentary, "Invisible Universe" which explores African-American's contributions to, and involvement in, speculative fiction and fantasy. Both projects rock the house. Check them out.
Death of a BBoy
An independent feature, directed by Willis Petrie, in which I play a very corrupt music manager.
"Death of a BBoy" premiered to a SOLD OUT house January 4th!!! Thank you to everyone who came out and gave us their feedback.
Due to the great feedback, DOBB screened again, February 10th at 12 Miles West Theater.
UPDATE! DOBB was accepted to The Hollywood Black Film Festival and will screen in Cali in June! Check out the myspace site for more info.
UPDATE 2! DOBB received Honorable Mention at the Paul Robeson Film Festival, as part of the Newark Film Festival.
TWWT & NBT Winter Monologue Festival
This Woman's Work Theatre Company and Next Big Thing present an evening of monologues by emerging playwrights each January, and I was chosen to perform one of them! The show ran January 25-27 at The Rock Theater to packed houses. I had the honor of performing a monologue from Renita Martin's beautiful play, "Blue Fire on the Water". She is a playwright to watch, so keep your eye on her.
Loco 7
A movement based theater company led by artist Federico Restrepo. I appeared in their production of "Open Door" at La MaMa, December 1-17. We've received some great notices. Check out our reviews in The New York Times and BackStage!
The Loco7 website was recently updated with footage of "Open Door". Click here and select "Open Door" to see the show in action! I've also recently become a full company member. Take a look at the Company Page for information on the actor/dancer/puppeteers that make up Loco7!
More Loco7 news! The final installment of Federico Restrepo's dance/puppet/theater trilogy, "Room to Panic", is running at La MaMa ETC, October 4th-19th, 2008. My schedule didn't allow me to perform this time around, so I am returning to my roots and stage managing the production. It's a gorgeous hour long piece, so if you have the time, come check it out. Click on the link above for more info.
Fluid Motion Theater and Film
I appeared in their production of "The Great Conjurer" which ran at The Kirk Theater October 20th thru November 4th. Check out one of our reviews. And here's another.
All My Children
Yes. "All My Children". I have a recurring under-5 as Nurse Jeri (a.k.a. Nurse Annie. It's a long story.) in Pine Valley Hospital. My next episode airs November 25, 2008 on ABC at 1 pm.
Elisabeth Withers
One of the stars of "The Color Purple" on Broadway, a kick booty singer, a total professional, and super nice, too! Her debut album dropped this fall and I danced in the video from her first single. Check out the video by clicking on the link above.
Hey Paula, How are you girl? Hope the new year is treating you good. I see that you're always reaching out to me and with my crazy retail hours I swear I have no social life. Thanks for thinking of me and you may just whip my ass on the dancefloor. I may pull a muscle lol. Hope you're well. Take care...muah! xoxo Monica
Hey girl, thought of you, I was in Brooklyn a few weeks ago and met my friend at that place we went to that had the champagne spritzers half I think, but it was a different place now. (guess ive been away too long lol) Wondered if you were still in Bk but I didn't have your number. Hope you are well:)
You have a secret admirer. Her name is Laura C… no, no, let’s call her L. Cheadle. She’s requesting your presence at her show next Friday, and if you would like to be reminded again, please let her know:
Friday, October 17th -- The Bitter End Show starts at 8:30 PM 18+; $7
Hey! Thanks for wandering around with us!!! The kids had a great time! We will def be back as soon as I spy another hotel deal, there is so much more to see and do! Cam wants to go up into every tall building there is. We were leaving the city and he spied the Woolworth building and yelled "Wait, I didnt go up that one!" Too funny.
