…just in time for the long holiday weekend! Enjoy!!
Click on the image to read the article!!
I’m still reeling off the high of spending two weeks at drama sleepaway camp, I mean, at The Eugene O’Neill National Music Theater Conference, where I got to act and sing in a workshop of a new musical, Borderline, written by my dear friends, Aryanna Garber and Benjamin Velez. It was such a joy to return to The O’Neill campus, where I spent a few days before studying abroad at The Moscow Art Theater School through NTI for a semester in college. This was nothing short of a magical experience, and I’m looking forward to seeing where this production goes next. Check out our announcements in Playbill and Broadway World, and scroll through some photos from the workshop performances and behind-the-scenes fun at theater camp, I mean, at The O’Neill…
As the proud owner of a 2008 Honda Fit that recently passed its smog test, it was truly an honor to play the role of “Michelle Rodriguez” in the absolutely hysterical musical parody of The Fast And The Furious at Dynasty Typewriter on June 15th. This was a fully-fledged production with all original music that played to a sold out house, and I had the most fun ever on stage. If you missed it and are in LA, stay tuned for when our next performance will be…we’re hoping to do a full run! In the meantime, check out these photos from opening night by Andrew Max Levy!!
The Comedy for Coin fundraiser benefitting CNT Productions, a video production company created by and creating for women, POC, and LGBTQ+ communities, was a success! I had a blast during my set and watching the other amazing comics’ sets, as evidenced by these photos!
Tomorrow! Wednesday, 4/24, at 7:30 pm. Hope to see you there!
Like many smartphone-addicts yesterday, I was locked out of all of my social media. Insta, Facebook…the works. It also just so happened to be the day that I published my second piece in McSweeney’s. Without social media I wondered: WHERE ARE MY LIKES? WHERE IS MY VALIDATION? Kidding (sort of). But beyond not being able to satisfy my social media cravings, I realized that if I don’t share my writing, no one will know it exists. So I’m posting it here…for posterity…and also for likes. Please love me???
Click the photo below to read said humor piece!
And if you haven’t seen me blast it on social media, check out the Podcast Imagined Life by the amazing team over at Wondery (whom you might know from viral podcasts like Dirty John or Dr. Death). I wrote a freelance episode of Imagined Life — episode is called “The Winner” — narrated by the incredible Virginia Madsen (if you listen until the very end, she says my name! And she even pronounces it correctly!). Click the image below to take you to the podcast (or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcast fix).
Nothing screams* “holiday season” like a Lifetime thriller, amiright? Super excited to announce that I’m in “Stalked By My Patient,” airing tonight on the Lifetime Movie Network!
*see what I did there?!
Did you know that nurses in Lifetime movies have their hair and makeup done really nicely??? If you didn’t know that, or even if you did, you should tune in!
Hello! I have a new humor piece up on Nikki Finke's (of Hollywood Deadline fame) site, Hollywood Dementia. Drive some traffic to it, readers!
It came! It went! It was great! I'm still recovering! Check out the photos from the sketches that I wrote, when I attempted to rock a power suit on the red carpet, and when I met Rachel Bloom (!!).
Thank you so so much to everyone who came out to see the show!!
We've all heard that cheesy simile of how being a working artist is like being the CEO of your own business, right? In that spirit, I'd like to report that my "company" had a productive fourth quarter! What a hectic and exciting fall we had here at Gilli Messer Actress/Writer, Inc...
Let's recap!
SEPTEMBER
The web series I created, wrote, and acted in, The Drunk Lonely Wives Book Club, screened at and was an official selection for the Downtown LA Film Festival! We screened at LA Live.
OCTOBER
YouTube Red released Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes On Television. I guest starred in episode 5 alongside Ryan Hansen and Samira Wiley!
The Drunk Lonely Wives Book Club screened at and was an official selection for the LA Femme Film Festival! We screened at LA Live...again!
Found out I was a finalist for Film Independent's Project Involve.
NOVEMBER
In November, I updated my reel. But really, November was the month of MEME QUEENS, the web series I co-wrote and acted in with my comedy sister Jessica Caesar! We released a full season of the show on Elizabeth Banks' female-driven comedy platform, WhoHaha, on YouTube, got tons of great press on the show, and even did a live interview about it. If you haven't watched MEME QUEENS yet, what are you waiting for?!
DECEMBER
I shot a fun supporting role in a new indie film that I'll tell you more about later when I'm allowed to! In the meantime, here's a BTS photo of me on set!
Found out I was a finalist for the Fox 21 Writers Lab.
Would it even be a month if we didn't have another screening of The Drunk Lonely Wives Book Club? In December, the show was an official selection for the Hollyshorts Film Festival's Monthly Screening Series. This time, we screened at the TCL Chinese Theatre!
AND YES, I REALIZE A QUARTER HAS THREE MONTHS, NOT FOUR, BUT I HADN'T UPDATED MY BLOG SINCE AUGUST, OKAY???
Throughout the entire fall, I was writing for the CBS Sketch Comedy Diversity Showcase, which goes up next week at the El Portal Theatre in North Hollywood!! If you're in LA, reserve your tickets HERE now!
Hope to see you there!!
-Gilli
Some amazing updates to share about Dog Park, the short film I wrote and acted in:
- We WON Best Comedy Short at the Nice International Film Festival
- We WON Best Editing at the Madrid International Film Festival
- We are nominated for Best Actress in a Short (aka yours truly!) at the Berlin International Film Festival
- We were just accepted to the Silicon Valley Film Festival, which takes place in NorCal in mid-December
- We are nominated for Best Actress in a Short (again, aka yours truly!) at the Action On Film International Film Festival in Las Vegas, where our amazing director, Katie Enright, is also nominated for Best First Time Filmmaker (get it girl!)
- The short is screening TONIGHT at 8 pm in the Action On Film International Film Festival in Las Vegas. If you happen to be in Sin City this evening, come support us and buy tix HERE
All of these exciting updates have led me to declare today DOG PARK DAY. So Happy Dog Park Day, everybody!!
- Gilli
Mes amis,
It's no secret that I've always been quite the francophile, and as of late, my artistic and cultural passions have been coinciding. Last month, I played a French teacher on American Housewife, and now, two of my writing/acting projects are being featured in film festivals in France: The Drunk Lonely Wives Book Club is heading to Paris as part of the Paris Play Film Festival this summer (check out our page HERE), and Dog Park is at the Nice International Film Festival in Southern France this week, where it's nominated for Best Short and Best Director! I think this is a a good excuse to eat a croissant.
Newly edited with a fresh clip!! Check it out!!
Watch me TONIGHT on American Housewife! 8:30 pm on ABC!! In the meantime, please enjoy these adorable yet mildly disturbing photos of me:
Thanks for watching!!
xoxo,
Gilli
Between working as an actress, an academic tutor, and just living in Los Angeles, I spend a lot of time in the car. Needless to say, podcasts have become as essential to my driving routine as Waze or gas (okay, maybe not that essential). From The Moth to This American Life to Serial, a good story gets me through the traffic (and even prompts me to sit in my car until I finish a story, if it's that good). Up until now, the only time my voice has ever "appeared" on a podcast was in an episode of the Nerdist Writers Panel Live Show, in which I asked a question, so, yeah...though I'm a huge fan of podcasts, I've never been on one: that is, until today! Shortly after publishing my first piece on McSweeney's on Valentine's Day, a fellow humor writer contacted me on Twitter and invited me to be a guest on her writing podcast, Behind the Prose. I think that is the most 2017 thing I've ever said, but it's the truth! Check out the episode I'm featured on as well as other episodes hosted by the amazing Keysha Whitaker by clicking on the image below:
If you like what you hear, be sure to subscribe via iTunes or blogtalkradio!
A Valentine for the dystopian times we live in, written by moi!
Read it, share it, comment on it, laugh at it, and enjoy it below.
XOXO,
Gilli
Calling all dog lovers and anglophiles: Dog Park, the short film that I wrote and acted in, has just been accepted to the 2017 London International Film Festival! I'm proud to announce that the film is also nominated for Best Comedy Short and Best Actor. Here are the official laurels as proof so you know I'm not making this up:
This is exciting news for many reasons, obviously, but especially because this project marked the directorial debut of my dear friend and partner in crime, Katie Enright. Congrats, Katie!
Check out some fun stills from the film below. And yes, that's a pig actress.
The festival runs from February 11th to the 18th, so if you happen to be in London, come watch and support us!
Cheerio,
Gilli
Earlier this week was the 15th Annual ABC Discovers Talent Showcase, which I was lucky enough to participate in as a writer for my second consecutive year! A scene that I wrote was featured in the New York showcase at New World Stages in 2015, and this year I got to experience the same showcase on my home turf here in LA at the El Portal Theatre. Don't believe me? See the selfie evidence below (featuring the lovely and talented Jessica Caesar):
Still aren't sure what to think? Check out the official press release HERE!
Thanks for the support!
xoxo,
Gilli
GoodGame, the hilarious web series I work on, is back from hiatus with new episodes! Check out the latest below, and be sure subscribe to our YouTube channel and watch episodes 1 - 3 if you haven't yet. It's like Friday Night Lights - okay, it's nothing like FNL - but it IS like FNL in that you can watch this whether or not you play video games and still enjoy it (the way I love me some Tim Riggins even though I know nothing about football).