By Guy Camilleri
I absolutely dig writing for Yo! Venice newspaper!
I’m also grateful to Sam Cantanzaro (editor of Yo! Venice) for providing me this fantastic platform as an actor, acting coach and writer. It’s also a space for me to continue working on being a fully self-expressed artist. And, as you have come to know, I’m passionate about living right here in Venice. Living in Venice speaks to the small-town beach boy at heart that I will always be. I’m reminded of growing up in Cocoa Beach, where I was fortunate to have a view of the ocean from my bedroom window and could hear the ebb and flow of the ocean.
After leaving Cocoa Beach for Hawaii, living in Venice Beach brings me back to the glorious years (15+) on Oahu, minutes from the South Shore where I spent hours and hours, surfing.
I’m of the opinion, that anything more than 10-15 minutes, whether by car, bike or on foot to get down to the beach, just doesn’t make sense. It causes my head to go upside/down, I get blurry-eyed… and eventually, I start to feel that I’m losing focus on what’s important to me. Bottomline, I need to wake up and go to sleep very near to Mother Ocean! I say this literally, as I’m writing this column in the parking lot at the beach.
Being a resident of Venice also affords me a group of friends that feel much like the family I never had along with a community of actors, writers, directors and creatives from all walks of life. And, now that I have RAW acting studio right here in Venice at the Electric Lodge, I am once again minutes away from doing the very things that reflect who I am and what I want back from the world. I am deeply grateful for knowing precisely what it is I need to keep me grounded and to the community that welcomed me with open arms.
I speak often about the importance (to me, that is) of living a life of play/service. I feel now that I’m doing that very thing and that there is a fine-line between a daily dose of play (for me) and simultaneously being of service (to others). To play and be of service to a such a diverse community of human beings who are also on the hot pursuit of experiencing a life of being fully self-expressed has jacked up the joy factor in my life.
As of this issue, my column will now be on a monthly basis in place of bi-weekly. Writing once a month affords me the time to dig deeper into what is informing me at the moment, the issues at hand in the industry, and finally to write more about ‘the intimacy of an authentic moment’, which is at heart of what I am committed to and practice at, daily.
Rock On!
Guy Camilleri is a Venice-based actor, acting-life coach, and screenwriter in Venice Beach, CA. His classes on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings at the Electric Lodge are packed with actors, writers, directors and creative people from all walks of life.
His private coaching specializes in building undeniable characters for film, television, stage, auditions, self-taped auditions, original material, solo shows, reels and self-expression in any field of interest. To register and/or audit a class or to book a coaching session, visit www.rawactingstudio.com. Follow Guy and RAW acting studio on Instagram and Facebook.
