Letting Go, Letting God (aka The NEW Nicole Maxali)

My very first VLOG!!! So excited to share it with you...it's 6 minutes long, but well worth it! Enjoy!



And a major inspiration for the new cut, Miss Lily Allen (I heart her new song "The Fear"):

Next Project: My One Woman Show!

I'm currently in the process of creating my first One Woman Show. As this is a new endeavor, I'll be honest in saying that I don't know what I'm doing. So I enlisted the services of a Mr. Kamau W. Bell (Kamau has been profiled in The San Francisco Chronicle on three different occasions, including not ironically during Black History Month. The SF Weekly called him, "smart, stylish, and very much in the mold of politically outspoken comedians like Dave Chappelle and Margaret Cho". He currently has his own One Man Show playing at The Climate Theater in SF). He is also the instructor for the Solo Performance class I've decided to take to help in my process of writing my show.

Now, I won't say too much as I do not want to give away any of the surprises, characters or content of my own piece. But I will say, that this is the hardest creative endeavor I've experienced in my whole 10 years of performing. As compared to stand-up comedy, this most certainly took longer to get over my own fears of judgment and condemnation. As the topic of my show is very near and dear to my heart...I had to come to terms that in order for me to expressively shine through this project, I had to tear down the walls that kept me safe and secure from strangers and even worse...fellow comics.

Last night, I was finally able to do that (after three weeks of being in this class). I was able to have fun and finally feel free on stage with my writing and with my piece. I admit there's more work to be done with my writing, my commitment to my characters & my story's arch. But at least the hard part for me is over.

And so this morning (as I slept through my alarm for bootcamp! darn it) I had another one of my crazy dreams. I was inside a house with four friends, we hear this growing sound getting louder and louder. As we look out the window, there's thousands of helicopters flying above us. All in one direction. Like a swarm of thousands! All different colors, shapes, types, sizes...A lot of them very colorful. And so I looked it up when I got into work. And this is what I found...

Helicopter
To see a helicopter in your dream, represents your ambition and achievements. You are in full pursuit of your goals. Alternatively, you may be experiencing a higher level of consciousness, new-found freedom and greater awareness.




Hmmm...Awesome!

Inspired by...Dr. Horrible!

So my BFF from NYC sent me this viral video...with acute bronchitis & 3 hours of "resting" time before I head out to the closing night of my own Musical (Love in the Time of Breast Cancer)...it was exactly what I needed.  Thank, Em!

It's 45 minutes, but SOOOO worth your time:

It's Official....and inspiring...

America has elected it's first Hawaiian born/Black-American President...Barack Obama!

The feelings of hope and inspiration overwhelmed me as I sat on my couch that evening, thanking God for all the people that came out to vote that day. Showing the masses that Love does overcome Fear, that Hope does overcome Terror & that Change does overcome Stagnation & Decay!

As someone said:

"Rosa sat so that Martin could walk...
Martin walked so that Obama could run...
Obama is running so we all can fly!"

With that said, "YES WE CAN!!!"



Oh and on another INSPIRATIONAL note, another thing became official that week... which I feel is equally blog worthy...I officially got to open for Dave Chappelle at the SF Punchline!!!! As some of you know, I landed a 5 minute guest spot for him this past June. But last week I got a whole 10 minute opening spot...meaning it was just me and Dave on stage that night.

Dave is a really stand-up guy. I wrote more on the subject on my Myspace Comedy Page (www.myspace.com/spiderpig07707). But here's one of the pics we took that week:

I'm a PRODUCER..."I produce dreams, baby!"

So it has been a very long and bumpy road to the opening night of the musical "Love in the Time of Breast Cancer". Exactly a year ago, Maggie Suarez & I had this brilliant idea of doing a musical written by women, directed by women, acted by women...that would inspire women.

Little did we know the drama filled road ahead of us! From day one we experienced drama with past cast mates, to fighting for funding, to finding the perfect team of talented/committed artists, to finding a venue, to personal life drama...there were plenty of times we both wanted to say "forget it". But we didn't! We stuck through it all...And reminded each other, "Just wait until opening night!"

And that night finally came! Last night was our OPENING night. And as the cast came out for curtain call and the crowd came to their feet with applause and jubilation, all Maggie and I could do was laugh! From sheer exhaustion and appreciation that the long road to that moment was over!!! We finally accomplished what we set out to do. And it was beautiful.

This morning I found an article online about our little musical that could...in Asian Week. There were many times in my life that I've been proud of my accomplishments, but this moment is one of the few that makes me SUPER proud of what I can accomplish with just faith, support (from my team/community) & my dope ass hustlin' skills!

Read the article here:

Not the Usual Song and Dance: New musical raises breast cancer awareness in the APA community

SAN FRANCISCO — October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, has come and gone, but everyone must continue to shine a spotlight on the disease to overcome it, especially Asian Americans. While the incidence of breast cancer among APAs is generally lower than among most other ethnic groups, recent studies have shown that they are also rising the fastest.

Breast cancer awareness is the goal of the new original musical, Love in the Time of Breast Cancer, presented by Pinays Maintaining Sisterhood Through Art in conjunction with the South of Market Health Center, playing through Nov. 8 at the Off Market Theater in San Francisco.

Written by Gayle Romasanta and directed by Fides Enriquez, the production is both funny and inspiring, and meant to encourage every woman to be the “author of her own story.”

The show follows the story of a breast cancer survivor and her journey to live life to the fullest in the aftermath of the devastating disease. It is filled with music and movement pieces, complete with dancers costumed in chemotherapy outfits along with both normal and cancer cells.

Nicole M. Villanueva, the show’s co-producer, emphasized its relevance to Asian American women.

“This musical is especially important because of the rising rates of Asian American women diagnosed with breast cancer today,” she says.

According to the American Cancer Society, cancer is the leading cause of death in the Asian American community, and in fact breast cancer is the number one cause of cancer mortality among Filipino American women.

“That is why 90 percent of our cast and crew is in fact Filipino American,” Villanueva said. “From our lead actress, our writer, our composer and our director, down to our light operator and box office volunteer, we are a group of talented Filipino American artists giving our time and talent to such a worthwhile cause.”

The music was composed by Brandon Bigelow with musical performances by Esperanza Catubig, Roberto Divina, Giovannie Espiritu, Michael Dorado and Stephanie Sampang.

Pinays Maintaining Sisterhood Through Art aims to inspire women to have the courage to break through belief patterns and societal conditioning that has traditionally left them unable to realize their full potential. The group uses creative productions in hopes of changing the biases against Filipina American women and creating an avenue for open dialogue among Filipinas.

Love in the Time of Breast Cancer, Nov. 7-8, 8 p.m. (special matinee performance Nov. 8 at
2 p.m.), Off Market Theater, 965 Mission St., San Francisco. Tickets are $20 ($15 for seniors/students) at Brownpapertickets.com.

Life Lessons, Breakin' Boxes & Producing Art!

So on this journey of self-love and personal growth...I've learned some key lessons:

1) Question the current beliefs and patterns I currently own...if they no longer suit me or are ingrained with fear, let them go! Especially ones that were inherited by my parents, society, peers & religion. This rings especially true since I've started producing the musical, "Love in the Time of Breast Cancer" (Original & NEW!) and since I've opened myself to the possibility of love again.

2) It's no one's business but your own! Whether it's your health, love life, family, work, etc. You can ask a million people their opinions but ultimately, the only one that matters is yours! Validation is a slippery slope...and with the age of Myspace/Facebook/Friendster (who the hell Friendster's anymore?), people are in search of constant validation. I've been guilty of this in several instances...but yet again, as Russel Peters noted to me last month: "Just do you!"

3) In conjunction with that...don't let people tell you what you can and CAN'T do! Since I've started stand-up, people will easily chime in about what I should and shouldn't be doing with my comedic career. And as I appreciate the advice, I'm not JUST a stand-up comic...I'm a producer, an actress, a writer, a director...an ARTIST. So if I feel that my focus right now should be on the art form of producing a musical...then that's where my focus is going to be. I think it's hard for others to understand that artists can be multi-faceted and organized. And for what I want to accomplish in this lifetime...that brings me to my next life lesson:

4) I'm where I'm supposed to be!


Listening to: "Feelin' Good" by Michael Buble

Birds flying high
You know how I feel
Sun in the sky
You know how I feel
Breeze driftin' on by
You know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me
And I'm feeling good, I'm feeling good

Dragonfly out in the sun you know what I mean, don't you know
Butterflies all havin' fun you know what I mean
Sleep in peace when the day is done
And this old world is a new world
And a bold world
For me, for me

Stars when you shine
You know how I feel
Scent of the pine
You know how I feel
Oh freedom is mine
And I know how I feel
It's a new dawn
It's a new day
It's a new life
For me

And I'm feeling good
I'm feeling good
I feel so good

Get Cha Mail Order Slaves! (Sponsored by Lombardi Sports & Google Ads)

There are three incidents of mail order brides being killed in the US over the past decade.



In September 2003, 26-year-old Ukrainian engineer and mail-order bride Alla Barney bled to death on the floor of her car after her American husband Lester Barney, 58, slashed her throat in front of the couple's four-year-old son, Daniel. Lester fled with Daniel from the scene in the parking lot of the boy's daycare center, but after an Amber Alert was triggered, he turned Daniel over to a friend and was himself taken into custody by police. Alla had been granted a restraining order against Lester a few months before and had been given temporary custody of Daniel.



Susanna Blackwell met her husband through an international marriage broker called Asian Encounters and left the Philippines to settle with him in Washington state in 1994. The husband, Timothy Blackwell, physically abused Susanna, including one incident in which he choked her the day after their wedding. Susanna reported the abuse to the police and obtained a protection order against him. While awaiting divorce/annulment proceedings in a Seattle courtroom many months later, Susanna and two of her friends were shot dead. Blackwell was convicted of murdering all three women.



Anastasia King, a young woman from Kyrgyzstan, was found strangled to death and buried in a shallow grave in Washington state in December 2000. At the age of 18, Anastasia had received an email from a 38-year-old Seattle man, Indle King, from a mail order bride website. He flew to her country and they were married soon after. Two years later, after considerable strife, Indle wanted another bride. He was allegedly unwilling to pay for a divorce so he ordered a tenant in their Washington home to kill Anastasia. Weighing nearly 300 pounds, her husband pinned Anastasia down while the tenant strangled her with a necktie. Both were convicted of murder. King's previous wife, whom he had also met through an IMB, had a domestic violence protection order issued against him and left him because he was abusive.

Maxali Manifests Dreams...with the help of Dave Chappelle!

So one of my dreams came true last week: I landed not just one BUT three guest spots at the SF Punchline for comedic genius, Dave Chappelle!

It was an AMAZING experience. And I do feel blessed to have been asked by the man himself! And even more blessed to be able to talk and hang with him during the shows. He said a lot of things I needed to hear so early on in my comedic career. One being that "starting in stand-up is the hardest thing a person can do" And to "just have fun up there". I learned a lot last week!

"I took a risk with Nicole, not having seen her set before...But she did good."
- Dave Chappelle 6/11/08 @ The SF Punchline

Thanks for taking that risk on me, Dave! And Thanks DH (Dave's Homie) for vouching for me and my peeps that week!

Green Graffiti

Only in San Francisco! This is dope:



Read more here:
http://www.inhabitat.com/2008/06/18/reverse-graffiti-san-francisco/