Hello, my name is Anne, and I’m a gamer.

For some people, that title is a hidden secret, but I shout it loud and proud. I would not be the person I am today without the friends I’ve met online. I’ve been to visit them, they’ve been to visit me. They were there when I started writing my web-television show, they were there when I was trying to heal the hurt of losing my first love, and they’ve been there for every audition whatever the result. They cheer me on, they cheer me up, and they do it all from every diverse walk of life you can imagine.

My personal crack: World of Warcraft. As an active member of the World of Warcraft (WoW) community, it was only a matter of time before a friend brought the web television series, The Guild, to my attention. It’s one of those shows that lovingly pokes fun at our community and sheds light on all the aspects of our gamer relationships and experiences. Even more amazing to me is that The Guild has amassed it’s own loving and supportive web community of WoW players, console gamers, actors, artists, students, and everything in between. Some of us even began playing WoW together on the Zangarmarsh Server in the Alliance guild “Knights of the Guild.” It was the perfect way for The Guild’s international fan base to connect, share our love of the show, and play the game together.

A huge cornerstone of that community is our fearless Guild Leader, Jim Quon. He does everything from managing the guild, to creating events for everyone to participate in, to reaching out to new players in order to help them learn about the game and feel welcome in the community. He also played a special roll to me by talking to me about my own series, O-Cast, and giving me great feedback. Whenever I had doubts or frustrations, he pushed me to keep going and to trust my instincts. He even became an active member of our fan base and always plays a part in O-Cast community events.

On the night of June 15th, Jim suffered a massive and unexpected stroke. He was rushed to a local Critical Care Unit, and while he was in a coma, it was determined that he had experienced a severe hemorrhage right near his brain stem. His breathing, heartbeat, and other vital functions were no longer working and he had to be placed on life support. Unfortunately, the doctors cannot operate and are saying chances are slim.

However, he has recently begun taking breaths on his own!  We are all thankful for this sign that his body has begun to recover, but he is still too weak to be taken off life support.

We must still hope and work to help him towards recovery. He has NO medical insurance and keeping him on life support is costing his family THOUSANDS of dollars a day.

Whether you’re a friend, a fellow/former guildie, a fan of O-Cast or The Guild, or ALL OF THE ABOVE, I implore you to act on this call to arms and help us save Jim’s life.

Here are the ways you can help:
-You can join the Save Jim Quon support group at: http://ow.ly/200Kt
-You can donate ANY amount of money via PayPal ($1, $5, $10, $50) at: http://bit.ly/9R9NQz
-You can donate ANY amount of money via CHECK by making it out to Tina Simonton and mailing it to “932 Larkspur, -Apt. G, Oak Harbor, Washington 98277, USA
-You can follow @SaveJimQuon on Twitter and spread the word about our efforts.

To see an example of the outpouring of love and support, watch this video of the online vigil our guild is having. After two days, it’s still going strong: http://ow.ly/201PS

Thank you for taking the time to read this and to try to understand what Jim means to us all.

Sincerely,
Anne Richmond
Actor. Writer. Gamer. Guildie.

I’ve also added a new Graphic Design/Art page to my site as I have begun freelancing in this area and thought I should have something to represent those pursuits here.

If you know someone in NYC looking to hire in these areas, please contact me at annerichmond (at) mac (dot) com. Thanks!

Box Full of Wasps Theater Collective: We have finally come up with a working title for our show, thanks to Melissa Sussman! The piece is now called Harmless Stories. I think it will be a really special show when all is said and done. There is a killer fundraiser party in the works, so keep your ears tuned for that.

O-Cast: The show is currently on hiatus! I would like to personally thank everyone who voted for us during the open Streamy nomination period which ended today. It meant so much to see so much support from our viewers. We can’t wait to shoot the remainder of the season and tell some more of our story! We’re dependent on viewer tax deductible donations, so if you want to learn more about how you can become a part of our production, see our donate page. You can also read a recent review of the show on Small Screen Video Scoop. If you haven’t seen it, here’s O-Cast Episode 6: THE PLEDGE!

-The Odyssey: This idea is very much in the beginning stages, but I am currently looking into directing Mary Zimmerman’s The Odyssey sometime in Fall 2010. More info on this as it becomes available.

Thanks for checking in!

-Anne

I also wanted to post O-Cast Episode 5: The Thirteenth Wheel for everyone’s viewing pleasure. Be well and stay warm!

While Bryan was away in Michigan at a family event, I attended the Big Screen Little Screen Meet-up for November and presented O-Cast. We screened Episode 2: Speed Dating and took questions for a crowd of viewers and fellow web series producers. It was useful to get their reactions and to spend time speaking with everyone at the event. We also saw a lot of other interesting work from our peers. Outside of the dramatic and comedic series we expected, we saw everything from online cooking shows to rountable sex forums. The more I dip my toes into this industry, the more vast it turns out to be! There’s more scope than I could have ever imagined.

Bryan and I also realized that we had a lot of people wanting more O-Cast than we were giving them than simply an episode every two weeks. With that in mind, we created a new release schedule including more interactive and behind the scenes events for the show.

God Chat LIVE is our new series that features a cast member on the Mondays when we aren’t releasing an episode. We gather in our forum chat room and everyone is free to ask any questions about working on the show and about the actors’ other projects. The second half of the chat is spent answering questions as the god they play on the series. We had our first God Chat LIVE on Monday featuring Peter Coleman as Hades and we all had a great time with everyone who turned out for the event. I can’t wait for our next one!

Today is especially exciting because we’re releasing our first edition of The God Blog. Every other Wednesday, one of the gods will write an article to give some insight into their experiences since falling to earth and taking up residence in New York City. For this weeks blog entry by Artemis: Goddess of the Moon, the Hunt, and Chastity, got to:

http://www.o-cast.com/blog

If you haven’t had a chance to see Episode 3: Derailed, look no further!

Things have been in full swing since we premiered the first six episodes of O-Cast in NYC on October 22nd and then released the first two episodes online on the following Monday! For those that don’t know what O-Cast is:

Now, only four days later, we’ve amassed over 3100 views on the first two episodes. It’s so exciting to finally have our show out in the world where it can be enjoyed! I’ve grown accustomed to doing shows in NYC where people have to travel if they want to see my project, but it’s been so incredible to be able to share our work with people world wide at the click of a button. It’s a whole new ballgame. We’ve just been so lucky and so honored to be as embraced by our peers and our new friends on the web. O-Cast is such a labor of love for the cast and crew and I want to thank everyone out there that is helping to put us on the map.

Here are episodes 1 and 2 of O-Cast Season 1!

If you want more details on O-Cast, you can head to our website at http://www.o-cast.com, designed by the ever-fabulous Leah Johnston! You can also check out press about O-Cast here and join our online community here to chat with other fans about the show, mythology, and tips on other web series to look out for!

This weekend I am performing at The Comic Strip on the Upper East Side of NYC! This performance is the culmination of an eight week stand-up comedy class I was enrolled in by WomanAroundTown.com. Each Monday I attend a class taught by D.F. Sweedler with several other amateur comedians and we workshop our material and continue to develop 5 minutes of material. Then, I chronicle my experiences for Woman Around Town in weekly articles. This Saturday, October 31st, my classmates and I are all getting up in front of a live audience to perform our sets! It has definitely been a wild ride and if you want to read about it, The Comic Strip has set up a blog directly attached to their site so that everyone can keep up with my comedic adventures! If you want to come see me perform, here is the information on the show:

When: 5:15 PM on October 31st

Where: The Comic Strip (1568 Second Ave btwn 81st and 82nd Street)

Price: $12 cover and $14 drink minimum

Call ahead to confirm your attendance: (212) 861-9386

When you arrive, tell them you’re there to see me!

Thursday, October 22nd
at Katra | www.katranyc.com
217 Bowery, NY, NY 10002
Doors @ 8:30PM, Screening @ 10:30PM
2 for 1 Drinks from 9:30PM to 10:30PM and
2 for 1 Drinks from Midnight to 1:00AM
Admission to the screening is FREE

Also! Check out our new layout on the O-Cast website!