The Failure Club

Yesterday my 10 year old asked me "What do you want to be when you grow up?" and I projectiled back in time to when I was 10 and I told my mother I wanted to be a Broadway star.  Andrea McArdle had done it in Annie and I wanted to, too.  My mother said "Forget it, you're a little Chinese girl, no one will give you parts, your heart will be broken."

I wrote a letter to Playbill, asking if that was true, and they wrote back something to the effect of: "whether you're Oriental or Occidental, the life of an actor is hard."  There went that dream, and countless other "unrealistic" goals in years to come.

I never thought that in my 40s I would finally speak back to that loving but fierce Tiger Mom, and say "I'm doing it, I'm pursuing my dream of becoming a writer.  Yes, it's competitive, yes I may fail.  But I'm doing it anyway."  For the first time, I don't need to act like anyone but myself.

I am thrilled to see that Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) is developing a documentary-style program for Yahoo! called "The Failure Club."  He is casting 7 brave souls who are ready to face their fear of failure in order to achieve their life's dream.  I did think, briefly, of applying.  But I think I'm too old to play Annie.  I'm happy to write about those who do, though!

So, fear not, Facing Forty Upside Down family - Turn on your cameras, tell your story.  Say what you really want to be. 

Deadline's tomorrow, Oct 7 - Apply here:

http://www.warriorpoetscasting.com/apply.html

We can't wait to see who gets in!