Jake Lipman, actress

Purim Pastry and other Treats

2012-03-06T19:56:00.000-08:00

I love to bake. Especially cookies. My current cookie craving is my husband's Aunt Eileen's beautiful hamantashen for Purim every year, which arrived today in a USPS box. I came home from the gym and jammed one in my mouth and it was divine.

What's a hamantash, you ask? It's a triangular cookie with filling peeking out of the center. Old school fillings include prune or poppy seeds, but my favorite is apricot jam. The soft cookie dough has a slightly sweet and lemon-y flavor, like a very soft linzer cookie, minus the WASP-y name and confectioner's sugar.

I also love that the cookies are a kind of Jewish joke. They're made for the Jewish holiday of Purim, and the cookies mock the tri-pointed hat of Haman, the villian in the Book of Esther. Basically, it's a badass cookie that looks wholesome but has a bit of a sly sense of humor. It's a cookie after my own heart.

Aunt Eileen, I'm coming over for a baking lesson!

Smart Actress Viewing Party

2012-03-04T19:26:00.000-08:00

This afternoon I hosted a viewing party for my new web series, Smart Actress and I am relieved to say it was a blast.

Right before the first episode crossed my television screen in my living room, in front of the cast, crew, and my husband, I got nervous. I immediately think of every last thing I would change, if I could.

But seeing everyone's smiling faces, and hearing the immensely cheerful theme song (by Sweet Soubrette) once we hit play, I felt truly happy because it was out there, at last. And then people laughed! And applauded! And hugged me and my co-creator, Sherry Locher! Ahh, there's nothing better than hearing people laugh.

And then Brady Adair, one of my favorite people and star of Episode 2 (coming this Thursday, March 8!), gave me such a boost. He said, "You're like Tina Fey, Jake! You're a writer, producer and actor!" I honestly could not think of a better person to whom I could aspire to emulate.

Leaping Forward

2012-02-17T16:56:00.000-08:00

I love the mysterious little gift of a leap year: a whole extra day in an otherwise jam-packed month.

Last weekend we shot the majority of principle photography for the first five episodes of web series Smart Actress. My co-creator, Sherry Locher, and I wore many hats: director, script supervisor, hair-fixer, and mother hen, feeding our actors and DP, David Schulder. It was a blast, and over so quickly.

Tomorrow we shoot the remaining scenes, mostly between Sherry and me. And then David begins editing and we will release an episode a week in March, starting March 1. Holy cow, that's soon.

And I'm ramping up for my next stage production, Humans Anonymous. Getting in paperwork to AEA, casting notices up and hundreds of actor submissions thus far, drawing the artwork for marketing materials, buying set pieces. My list is long, but I love me a list.

Like I said, that extra day at the end of the month is a gift, and I'm going to keep hopping, skipping and leaping along. It'll be here before I know it.

[Fill in the Blank] Actress

2012-01-29T10:38:00.001-08:00

This weekend has been a lot of fun, because I'm in pre-production for my web series, Smart Actress, which I co-created and will co-star in with Sherry Locher.

We met up yesterday with our director of photography and editor, David Schulder, and walked through the various locations for the shoots, which are happening in February. Then Sherry and I met to solidify the other logistics.

Today I sent off e-mails to everyone we've cast in the series - about 30 people, all told. Some will be playing less featured roles, but I want to make the shoot worth everyone's time, so we are going to showcase everyone in a mini-featurette we are calling Fill in the Blank. Everyone will choose the adjective that best embodies the kind of actor they are: quirky, serious, etc.

Bottom line: I'm really excited/nervous/making lists. There's something really empowering about making your own work. More to come!

Solo Inspiration

2012-01-24T20:32:00.000-08:00

If the theme of my Jake Lipman blog is how my show business life is a series of funny juxtapositions, I have to talk about my love of solo shows. The very name sounds like an oxymoron, right? Solo. Show. A solo is something you do in privacy by yourself, and yet a show is public. And great solo show is deceptively simple, but profoundly affecting.

Like my conversation tonight with a fellow solo show artist. I had coffee with the amazingly talented actress/singer Sarah Aili. We met because I produced two sections of her solo show, The Glory of Love, in my production company's Plus One Solo Show Festival, and we talked about her application to be in the New York International Fringe Festival. She's launching a new website soon, but you can check her out on Twitter @sarahailimusic.

Sarah has an incredible voice and has the most joyful way about her. Her solo show is a funny, musical rumination on her singing and acting life, which pays homage to her grandmother's borscht belt singer days. It's honest and great theater, without any of the baggage people sometimes create in solo shows (and that ultimately give the genre a bad name).

I can't wait to see her show as she collaborates and develops it further and gets into the Fringe (I know in my gut it will!). And talking with Sarah about her solo show made me feel entirely reinvigorated to jump into my next project, my web series Smart Actress. Is the inverse of e pluribus unum also true?

Smart Cookie

2012-01-16T11:52:00.001-08:00

My favorite things in life are always a juxtaposition of seemingly opposite traits: straight-laced on the surface, silly underneath.

If you are following me on twitter @jakelipman, my fan page on Facebook, or on my blog at www.JakeLipman.com, my posts are a mix of sweet and salty. That’s why people call me smart cookie. I am on-the-ball but in a warm, gooey kind of way.

To kick things off right for this blog, I’m going include my recipe for perfect chocolate chip meringues.

Whoah, Jake, meringues? Slow down. I’m no French pastry chef, here.

No sweat, they’re easy and yet look sophisticated. How do you like that juxtaposition?

Chocolate Chip Meringues
Ingredients:
2 egg whites
3/4 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (the mini ones are perfect for this!)
1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees.
Separate the egg whites (this is the one tricky part, so keep the yolk intact to ensure it doesn’t taint the egg whites).
Using an electric mixer, beat egg whites until stiff, gradually adding in the sugar and vanilla.
Fold in chocolate chips (Feel free to customize with chopped nuts, other flavorings like mint, or butterscotch chips).
Drop by rounded teaspoon onto a cookie sheet lined with tinfoil.
Bake 22 minutes.
Let cool.

Yield: about two dozen.