Share this:
Tweeter Sisters are back. One of them is having microphone issues with her… chest. It’s now a gag. Hehe.
We’re all looking under our chairs for stickers that would tell us who won the special Build-A-Bear bunny on our tables… our table didn’t have a sticker under any of the chairs. We went by the closest birthday. It was pretty funny watching everyone get on the floor to look under their chairs.
Introducing our speaker Marissa Jaret Winokur, Tony-award winning actress from Hairspray and Dancing with the Stars.
“I don’t do speeches, but I do talk shows!” The Tweeter Girls are building her a set. She has a host, the “world’s greatest interviewer,” Christopher Youngsman. And there’s a theme song.
“Beautiful sunny, warm… Florida.” Yeah right!
“How does someone get to become a lead in a Broadway show and win a Tony?”
“I was doing Broadway shows, and I went to L.A… and I did a little movie called American Beauty. I had one line, ‘You are so busted.'” The producer of the movie told the people who were doing Hairspray about her. She was the first girl who auditioned, and she got the part.
No designer came to her with a dress for the Tony Awards. Anna Wintour (The Devil Wears Prada) swooped in and got her a designer and a dress. It was a very magical experience. She was very sweet. Marissa went to her daughter’s birthday party to serve the cake because she was a big Hairspray fan.
She went back to L.A. to live there, developed a bunch of shows with ABC. She didn’t know most of the important people she met. She’s very optimistic, climbed over people to introduce herself to Steven Spielberg once. (Funny story.) She went to parties to get face time with people, not eating and drinking, just being very social.
Clip from Dancing with the Stars. (I don’t watch. Is this a tango?) Rehearsed all the time, 8-10 hours a day. Lots of blisters. Her heels were always too small. She got on the show because Belinda Carlisle had dropped out at the last minute, and she basically stalked them to get herself on. She scored a meeting that the producers didn’t generally do, and pitched herself as someone who would be accessible for the audience. It would be good for her career, she figured, and she got really excited about getting scores of 6. Red carpet media room after she finished dancing each night. She talked to all of the media outlets, including the bloggers, not just Entertainment Tonight and the entertainment magazines. She did everything to get as much exposure as she could. People who didn’t go to the blogs, didn’t post the Facebook updates, didn’t so as well in the voting.
Marissa was two months away from having a baby during Dancing with the Stars… Cervical and uterine cancer survivor forced her to have a hysterectomy. She had a surrogate carry the baby using her eggs. Now she’s a working mom.
Being a working mom is really hard. She went back to Broadway to close Hairspray when her son was four months old. Adorable video clip of her singing her vocal exercises while wearing her baby. Covering his ears for the long, loud notes. He’s eating his bib and dancing. That was awesome.
Dancing with the Stars furthered her career more, but Hairspray got her through cancer. Her son came up for her final curtain call at Hairspray wearing a tiny Link Larkin costume.
“How do you use Facebook?” Her fan page and her friend page is the same page, despite agents and managers. She’s very social and wants her fans to feel like they’re part of her life. People would Facebook pictures they took with her at the stage door. Being a mom on Facebook has been really helpful. Gave her son peanut butter at age 1, and he broke out in hives… posted a picture on FB and got messages from people reaching out to her about other things to watch out for with peanut allergies.
“How does Twitter affect your life?” She’s slow and steady. She was blogging for People magazine about her weight loss, decided to tweet before she ate… didn’t lose any weight because it wasn’t a deterrent for her. She did eventually lose weight though. She went to the Biggest Loser ranch and blogged from there. (Does she call Twitter blogging? I’m confused!) It was her first time away from her son. “Thank God for the Internet!”
Twitter let her talk to other moms who did “Lose Weight with Marissa.”
Her People blog is going to become a book. Cancer, surogacy, Hairspray, being a mom, being an overweight actress. Yay for book deals!
Marissa and Christopher are working together to make a new children’s show.
“What is blogging?” She just mentioned the Facebook group I set up and the fact that I said I’d be blogging this! She doesn’t know it’s me, but how awesome for the shoutout! (Squee!)
Video of Marissa and her son going to My Gym, doing a little vlog. She’s going to do voiceovers in her “mommy wear.” Hehe. Putting on makeup and getting ready for a meeting. Her son is “helping.” Most of this is normal mom stuff. She’s running late, forgot to get gas, had to go back for her car keys… Mom stuff.
I really liked this format.
Q&A
“I just want to thank you for putting a picture of yourself in a bikini on the front page of your Web site.” She had actually talked about a possible billboard ad with her in a bra, but they said she wouldn’t win a Tony if she did it, so she opted out.
“How did you do that… as Tracy Turnblatt in Hairspray?” She felt like Tracy while she was on DWTS because it was like reprising her role… in real life. The fat girl trying to win the dance contest. She really related to the character, which is why she did so well in the part – and won the Tony for it.
“What would you say about women who decide to give up their careers when they become moms?” It’s really hard. She got more no’s than yes’s her whole life. She has lost a lot of that drive, that need to get more work. She doesn’t have to fill a void in her life that drove her to work, work, work. She has to work, so she does, but she wouldn’t be as happy if she didn’t continue working. This is her path. She has a hard time finding balance. She just wants women to be strong and pursue their dreams.
“What is harder, training for DWTS or living with a newborn?” Living with a newborn! Now that he’s a year old, it’s switched.
“Have you ever been criticized for how much you share about your son in public?” No. “Sharing is how we all learn to make ourselves feel normal.”
I decided to ask a question: “I’m the one from Facebook who said she was going to blog this. What is the one thing you’d like us to take away from your experience?” Kids will absolutely change your life, and it’s great and it’s wonderful, but you have to continue growing and evolving and being a part of this world… not just going into Mommyland. She doesn’t fly off and do six month movie shoots, but she still does work. Children are our priority, but we can’t disappear from this world. If we work at home, that’s great, but stay part of the world and be social.
“How can you successfully do it all?” Managing your time properly. Figure out your schedule, and you can go far with that.
Q&A is over. The Tweeter Sisters are back. More prizes being given away. There’s a big raffle drum on stage. Two more giveaways.
Culinary gift basket with Disney cookbooks and lots of little gadgets. And the winner is… Janet Carpenter. She’s at our table!
And the grand prize drawing… Cinderella and Prince Charming are here! Drumroll via everyone hitting the tables. Cecilia Mecca won tonight’s stay at Cinderella Castle. I think we all hate her right now. (But congratuations anyway, I guess!)
Lunch time!
Disclosure: I paid $350 to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration in Walt Disney World. Included in my conference fee: our room at the Polynesian Resort, Park Hopper tickets, the conference sessions, most of our meals, and a few little extra surprises. That being said, my opinions are my own, and my blogs posts about the experience are my honest opinion.
That’s me: Christina Gleason. I’m a writer, editor, and disability advocate. I'm a multiply disabled autistic lady doing my best in this world built for abled people. I’m a geek for grammar, fantasy, and casual gaming. I hate vegetables. I cannot reliably speak, so I’ll happily conduct business over email or messaging instead.
