My Twitter #BraveBirthday Bonanza!

On Friday, I turn 30. And MAN am I psyched. My 20s have been great, but this is is the decade of bravely asking for what I want, refusing to be limited by fear-based beliefs, and demanding the best from myself and those around me. I'm calling this Friday #BraveBirthday.

More than anything, I wake up day after day wanting to work with my dream director, Paul Feig. Whether he's working in TV or film, he's making stories with funny women that are silly, touching, empowering and damn funny. I know that's where I belong, I can feel it in my bones! (Not to mention that I'm basically Melissa McCarthy's kid sister.) So I'm owning my power--I've created a Twitter Birthday Party to ensure that my message reaches him as easily as possible. :)

I'll be tweeting to him a few times throughout the week, with a bunch of them then spaced out over Friday, so there are oodles of chances to party hard with me. Would you like to join my party? It's super easy--you can participate by retweeting, favoriting, or even a separate tweets to build the buzz! Click below:

• Tweet 
  "My funny actress friend @JenPonton 's birthday wish is to work with you, @PaulFeig: http://tinyurl.com/PaulFeig"
• Tweet
  "Happy Birthday, @JenPonton--I hope you get to connect with your dream director @PaulFeig! http://tinyurl.com/PaulFeig"
• Tweet
  Or share your experience with me!

Of course, if you have a closer connection to Paul than Twitter and would be open to helping us connect, I would be so incredibly grateful. :)

I am so excited to celebrate and usher in this big, bold decade with a BIG, bold call to action!

xo
Birthday Girl Jen

A Year of Quantum Leaps

Hey friends!

Last we touched base (yikes. I know.), I was in the middle of an epic tech for Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre. The show was *wonderful*--here are some of my favorite reviews:

We had a MARVELOUS run with a wonderful audience response! After doing my first play in over 3 years, I jumped back into TV with both feet. I had a super-fun guest star opposite Victor Garber on The Good Wife in the new year, a positively KICK. ASS. Pilot season, and then finished up the spring with my very first top-of-show guest star on CBS' Blue Bloods season finale!

Whew--is that a good enough catch up? I've been a busy gal--AND in the middle of lots of life changes. Some are amazing, some are leading me to spend more time with my loved ones than ever before. But the most exciting one? Well, I'm hoping I can share that one with you soon. :)

<3 p="">Jen

My Off- Broadway Debut!

I'm currently on my break from giant tech day #1 for Rattlestick Playwrights Theater's new play, HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS AND THEN KILL THEM! We've been in rehearsal for the last 3 weeks and, though the news was top secret for a while, we're now just days before opening and sooooo excited!

I'm working with absolutely incredible and fierce people; our playwright, Halley Feiffer, recently wrote and starred in the film HE'S WAY MORE FAMOUS THAN YOU, and just appeared in Ethan Coen's play WOMEN OR NOTHING. She's hilarious with a really quirky, dark, sharp voice, and I love doing her work!

We begin previews on 10/23--come check us out!

What I Did On My Summer Vacation, By Jen Ponton

Ah, a summer relatively-disconnected from social media! It was serene, but trying to get back on the blogging horse once you fall off? WOOF. You guys, please pardon my absence.

Let's catch up--because soon enough, it'll be time to keep you current with some SUPER DUPER EXCITING STUFF THAT I CANNOT WAIT TO TELL YOU. :D

Since we last convened:
-I worked on JJ Abrams' new show, BELIEVE! It'll be a midseason premiere on NBC this winter. :)
-I beat feet and got out of town for a few days, and even took my husband horseback riding for the first time. We had a BLAST, and it provided me with the oomph I needed to get through a busy season!
-I worked on Deborah Kampmeier's new film, SPLIT, a really powerful, earthy and mythic story about feminine power.
-I worked on my dear Horror Hottie Kelsey's new film, ENCHANTMENTS! Here we are on location at the Enchantments shop in the East Village:


-My film KING KELLY is now streamable on Netflix! Fair warning: it's dark dark dark, and super gritty. But it's damn funny and we're amazing. So check it out!

-And...the super-exciting upcoming news...I'm making my off-Broadway premiere in a major theater this fall! Can't wait to share details with you--it's gonna be BOSS. :)

<3 p="">Jen

An Agent (and much more!)

What's up, my friends? Yeah, it's been a chunk of time again--I'll get back in the groove, eventually!

So last news you got was that I'd completed a tremendous workshop of agents and CDs--and from it, I ended up finding the most WONDERFUL agent, and we signed just last month! We have such a great rapport and I'm just over-the-moon about our partnership.

While she and my manager have been taking good care of me, pilot season has been BUSY! Three pilot auditions, interspersed with lots of episodics and films. I have been feeling so blessed and it's just been non-stop! The most exciting bit of this is that one of the films is with my dream team, a studio director and producer who make work that resonates SO much with me, and every time I see their work, I see myself in it. So fingers are crossed that they loved what I sent them! If not this one, planting the seeds for later on down the line. :)

Amongst all these auditions, I've had the big win of booking my first pilot ever--and it's with one of the hottest show runners in TV! We just filmed last week, and I'm returning to another set later this month and working with one of my favorite comedic actresses!

Stay tuned on more news coming atcha! :)

<3
Jen

Heeeere's Jenny!

What a nice blog hibernation! Now that all the craziness of THE DRUNKEN CITY, the holidays and my newest venture has cleared, I'm SO ready to share again with y'all. :)

THE DRUNKEN CITY opened immediately after my last blog post and ran for 3 successful weeks. What an awesome starter project to produce! Sam (EP) and I were able to hustle in ways I've certainly never been able to before--we were calling press, inviting industry and doing our darnedest to get buzz just through our work alone (when a publicist bails on you, you get to test your efficiency). We even got Backstage to come and give us a review--thanks, Jonathan! :) And thank YOU to all the friends and loved ones who donated to the production and/or attended--this was a huge success because of you! Below are 2 of my favorite shots from the run:





The holidays provided a nice respite, complete with babysitting a Golden Retriever puppy and watching the entire series of GIRLS and GAME OF THRONES. :)

And finally, 2013 has been electric, having just completed a HUUUUUGE acting and networking workshop/class/intensive wherein I met with and auditioned for 16 casting directors and agents. It's right on time, too--getting some more face time before pilot season, as well as meeting some great agents now that my manager and I are looking to expand our team!

More fun news to come, my friends--I'm back!

<3>Jen

"The Drunken City" Stumbles In!

My friends, what a jam-packed Fall this has been! From working on GIRLRILLAZ to starring in and co-producing this awesome play to my film KING KELLY premiering, there's been so much buzz!

This Friday, "The Drunken City" (my play) finally opens at the WorkShop Main Stage Theater! We have had an EXTREMELY eventful production already, all the way from when producer/star Sam and I began talks about the show. We've weathered oodles of cast and creative swaps, budget surprises, and a freaking HURRICANE, and here we finally are, our show about to be on its feet!

This has been my first time producing, and I'm SO glad that I wanted to--I have learned SO much!

• I might panic every other time ever, but not while producing. Nnnnnnope. Cool as a cucumber, and each obstacle has just been that--an obstacle, something to be moved around or jumped over. Without any effort! This has been an exercise in continuously thinking outside the box.
  
• My career coach has conditioned me perfectly for this moment. Since working with her, I have learned over and over to think outside the box, to eliminate my limiting beliefs, and to believe that there's a way to achieve nearly anything (even by myself). With a foundation that has been undulating for months, Sam and I (both Dallas-ites) continue to engage endless 'Plan B's, making things happen all by ourselves OR by unorthodox means.
  
• Producing is hard, but so worth it! I can't tell you how many text/mental/verbal high-fives Sam and I have throughout our day as we plow through and around the obstacles that come up. This has been so affirming for our show, but also for us and how dynamic we've learned to be!

We open FRIDAY and run for 3 weeks--won't you come on our and see our baby? :)
http://drunkencity.brownpapertickets.com

<3 p="p">Jen