November 2010 Newsletter November 24, 2010

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! I’ll be headed to my hometown, Houston, to visit family and catch up with friends. I have so much to be thankful for, but I’m sure what you want to hear about is my next film role!!! YES, I have landed the female lead in an indie political thriller! I am really excited to be back on a film set. We start shooting early next year and as I am able to reveal more details, I’ll pass them on to you. The film is called “False Colors” and will be directed by William Norton.

The screening of Ave Maria in Arizona went great! I’ve included a picture of me at the screening. I am so proud of my work in this film and can’t wait until you can see it. The film will be released on DVD next year.

 

I told you back in July that I started training for a marathon and created a YouTube channel to document my journey. In case you weren’t able to follow my journey, I ended up injuring BOTH my quads and was unable to run (even walk!) for almost 2 months. I overcame my injury and ran my first race – a HALF MARATHON on November 7th! Of course I made sure and documented it all, so if you’d like to see how it went, here’s Part 1 and Part 2. This month, I want to recommend that you try something you’re afraid of or never thought you could do. Along my journey someone said a known quote from W. Clement Stone to me that, after my injury, really resonated. “Always aim for the moon, even if you miss, you’ll land among the stars.” Aim for the moon!!!

With Love,

Joanna

 

September 2010 Newsletter September 24, 2010

I am really excited, because the feature, Ave Maria, that I shot with writer/director Chris Aurilia has been accepted into the International Horror and Sci Fi Film Festival! The newest teaser trailer can be viewed at this link.

The festival will take place October 14-17 in Arizona. The screening will be at 8pm on October 16th. I will be in attendance, so if any of you out in AZ can make it, I’d love to see you there! Click here to purchase tickets.

The last time I wrote you, you heard about my littlest dog, Churro, passing away. It was very tough and I still miss him so much. I wasn’t sure how long the healing process would take or if I would even be able to bring another little dog into my family for while. I decided to visit a shelter and I am happy to let you know that I have a new furry member of my family! His name is Moe and you can see a picture of him below. My recommendation this month is to ADOPT! I can’t tell you how sad I was to walk into that shelter and see THREE dogs to every cage because of the overcrowding. When I brought Moe home, he came from one of the BEST shelters I have ever seen, but he had fleas, was malnourished, sick, and it took him a good month to finally get over the trauma of being in such a situation. Please, if you are considering opening up your home to an animal, check out the shelters in your area first. A great resource for searching for adoptable pets is PetFinder.com.

With Love,

Joanna

(and Moe!)

July 2010 Newsletter July 20, 2010

I hope the summer is treating you well! It’s definitely HOT now! Quite appropriately for the summer heat, the OUI/DUI PSA I did is re-airing in Arizona. Click here to check it out.

I got so busy in June that I didn’t get to send out a newsletter update. I had a great final performance of “Sex, Relationships, and Sometimes…Love” on June 13th. I was really happy because my mom was able to attend. I also have some sad news. The same day as my final performance, a coyote attacked my littlest dog, Churro, the one that I walked the Nuts for Mutts walk with. I had to make one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever had to make. He’s in heaven now and I can’t wait until we are reunited on the Rainbow Bridge.

Over that past couple months, I’ve been going through the Artist’s Way course with my best friend, Maria. For those of you unfamiliar with the book, the author, Julia Cameron, describes it as “a spiritual path to higher creativity.” I wasn’t sure how much I’d get out of this 12-week course before I started, and now I don’t want it to end. I HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone who feels stuck. You don’t have to be an artist. You can do it alone or in a group. Each week you read a chapter and complete various tasks. From the work we’ve done, Maria was inspired to start a blog and I have a second YouTube channel up. I’d love for you to check it out. One of the things I’m doing with my new channel is document my journey to running a marathon that I started training for on June 14th. I think you’ll be especially interested in the Week 1 video, because I talk about Churro. It’s updated just about every week, so you can follow my journey if you are so inclined.

In Light & Love,

Joanna

June 2010 June 7, 2010

6/7/10: Joanna has a new YouTube channel: Joanna’s Journey

6/6/10: Joanna performed in the 6:30 and 7:30 shows of “Sex, Relationships, and Sometimes…Love” at the Renegade Theatre. See her final show in this run on 6/13 at 6:30.

May 2010 May 18, 2010

5/23/10: UPDATE – Joanna will be in the 7:30 showtime of “Sex, Relationships, and Sometimes…Love” tonight. Upcoming shows with Joanna: 6/6 she will be in TWO showtimes – 6:30 and 7:30, 6/13 she will be in the 6:30 show.

5/16/10: Joanna had a great first performance in “Sex, Relationships, and Sometimes…Love” tonight at the Renegade Theatre! Her next performance will be on May 23rd at 6:30pm.

5/9/10: Joanna has been cast in Joelle Arqueros’ GLAAD nominated monologues show, “Sex, Relationships, and Sometimes…Love“!

May 2010 Newsletter May 13, 2010

I am very happy to announce that I have landed a role in Joelle Arqueros’ play Sex, Relationships, and Sometimes…Love! I’m excited, because I saw Joelle’s play almost a year ago and really enjoyed it. Now, I get to be a part of it! I make my debut this Sunday, 5/16, at 9pm at the Renegade Theatre (fka Actors Playpen) located at 1514 N Gardner St in LA. After this Sunday, I’ll be in the 6:30 showings on Sundays. Come on down and have a great night out! You can buy tickets at the door or call 310-226-6148 or 323-769-5566.

This weekend, not only do I have my first performance in the play I was just cast in, but I’m also attending my first SoCal Renaissance Faire!! I can’t even tell you how much fun the Ren Faire is! Even though my diet is mostly raw/vegan now – I make an exception for a good time, and at the Renaissance Festival, there’s all kinds of food (including the infamous Ren Faire turkey legs) for a good time!! Not only that, but there are unique vendors, colorful characters, and shows of all kinds throughout the day. If you haven’t been to one yet, check it out. You’ll have a blast and be waiting for it every year like me.

With love,

Joanna

April 2010 April 30, 2010

4/18/10: Joanna walked her dog, Churro, in the Nuts for Mutts walk-a-thon! With everyone’s help, she surpassed her fundraising goal.

April 2010 Newsletter April 22, 2010

The Nuts for Mutts Walk-a-thon was so much fun! I’ve never seen so many dogs in my life! Here’s a picture of me and Churro at the finish line. You can tell he’s tired, haha! And guess what?? I not only met my fundraising goal, I surpassed it! With everyone’s help, we raised $400 that will help many wonderful doggies in the community. THANK YOU so much to those of you who sponsored me! I couldn’t have done it without you.

Ok, it is a complete understatement to say that I like Halo. If you don’t know what that is, let me tell you that it’s my favorite game to play on xbox!!! I am so excited because the beta version of the next Halo game is coming out on May 3rd!! I will be busy ALL DAY that day, haha! The game is called Halo Reach and it’s a whole new take on Halo’s usual online multiplayer setup. So what do I recommend this month?? If you’re into videogames, pick up Halo ODST so you can try out Halo Reach beta with me!

With love,
Joanna

Joanna Ke Needs Your Help! March 24, 2010

I need your help! On April 18th I’m going to take part in the Nuts for Mutts 5k walk-a-thon to benefit three great organizations: New Leash on Life Animal Rescue, The Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center and the Calabasas Rotary Club.

Anyone close to me can tell you that I have a passion for animals. I have 3 dogs, which you can see in the picture to the right. Aren’t I lucky to have such handsome boys?? I’ll be walking with my littlest one, Churro! Supporting New Leash on Life means a lot to me since my dogs are rescued animals who wouldn’t be alive today if it weren’t for organizations like NLOL that give animals a chance at a better life and set a gold standard for pet rescues.

Right now, registration for the walk is at an all-time low. I’ve set my goal for fundraising at $300. Would you help me by sponsoring me on the walk? Even if it’s just a few dollars, anything you can give is appreciated! I would LOVE to surpass my goal!

To sponsor me, click on sleepy Churro below! In my next newsletter, I’ll let you know how much we raised and share pictures from the walk! Please help me in making a difference in animals’ lives.

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*If the above link does not work, copy and paste the following URL into your browser: http://www.nutsformutts.com/walk2010/walker.asp?walker=JoannaKe

Thank you!

Joanna

March 2010 Newsletter March 12, 2010

I have wonderful news! I’ve booked a commercial!! It’s for a company that does cable, internet, and phone. I am ever so grateful to be working on this. Filming is this week and I’ll let you know more details when I can. From what I know now, it will only air in 5 cities since the company isn’t national. Also, the SyFy project I was working on did not pan out. In the end, I’m happy because it means that I’m meant to be doing something more important!

I was introduced to raw food about 6 months ago and my diet is about 80% raw/vegan now. Before that, I had only briefly heard of raw food but had no idea what it was! I imagined people eating bits of raw meat and dining on carrots and celery – NOT very appealing! I always disagreed with the idea that “if it tastes good, it must be bad for you.” Fortuitously, I found out that having a raw food diet is NOTHING like what I had thought! A raw diet is consists of eating uncooked, unprocessed and, ideally, organic fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and grains. The main reason for not cooking the food is because all those wonderful enzymes that help us digest are destroyed when heated above 118 degrees. I want to share a recipe for raw chocolate mousse with you that I hope you will try! I’ve been making it a lot lately, because chocolate is the BEST and WHO can say no to a totally healthy AND yummy dessert?? Click Here for the recipe and let me know what you think! This month, I recommend you give raw food a go and feel the difference when you eat live, whole foods.

With love,

Joanna