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Tricia Rockman Tricia began performing her shows and music routines at a very young age. Her major audience was her mother or her unsuspecting younger brother, although many of her concerts were performed for an audience of zero. Ironically, Tricia was the most timid child and her mother still tells her "I'm just so surprised how you ended up--I used to think you would have problems as an adult!" (Tricia's response: "Thanks for the vote of confidence! And who says I don't?" ;) To be clear, her mom is her biggest fan. While in high school, Tricia took a career personality test during class: the results indicated that she was best suited to be either a teacher, attorney, or actress. Having acted all her life, taught French for a year in Wisconsin, and trained as an attorney, Tricia now focuses solely on acting. . . . interesting how that kind of fell into place. After several theatrical performances during college and during her year as a teacher in Wisconsin, Tricia made the move to Los Angeles. Her tribe, Ho-Chunk Nation, awarded her a fellowship to law school. While she was accepted to some top schools on the East Coast as well, she chose UCLA School of Law, not just for the great academic reputation, but because of location, location, location! While many people comment to Tricia: "That's a great back-up plan" it is not, nor was it ever, her back-up plan; achieving higher education is never a back-up plan but a gift. Attending law school and taking the California Bar Exam are feats she did just for herself. She even tested for her California teacher's license immediately after the bar exam "just because." Tricia juggled law school and acting with as much ease as any other overbooked, sarcastic, goal-oriented perfectionist. Rather than working in a law firm during her 2L summer, she concentrated solely on acting, working up her reel, studying the craft, taking care of her body and mind, and rehearsing non-stop. It paid off and she was cast in "Garfield 2" as the featured British maid. Although she missed nearly 3 weeks of law school to film in October 2005, her major scenes did not make the final cut--whether unfortunately or fortunately is to be determined. See, Tricia's most mortifying moment ever happened while filming the last scene, a dancing sequence with animated Garfield and live animals! And it takes a lot to embarrass Tricia! In trying to match a shot from the day before, this time bringing in the animals (not at all house-trained), it was evidently some genius idea not to play the music from the day before! So there is Tricia, dancing in her maid's uniform to no music, having to interact with "Garfield" (aka plain air), and of course the entire crew is watching since it's the last day of shooting. It was embarrassing for about .5 seconds but Tricia got over it before the "dance" was over. Now, it's a great story and Tricia will do anything for a story! Let's see what makes it onto the DVD extras. She has had lead roles in several independent films, playing the protagonist role in Della, "Mary" in The Sacrifice, and the mother in Lonely Room. Tricia also did the backstage live reporting at the 14th Annual First Americans in the Arts Awards (the Native American Oscars) in March 2006. Her most recent project was as the subject of the documentary "Lawyer Walks Into A Bar" directed by Emmy-nominated director Eric Chaikin. The documentary is about the culture of lawyers generally and specifically about the country's most difficult exam, the California Bar Exam. Near the end of filming, director Eric intimated to Tricia that she was going to be the "Sex and the City"-type character. Again, whether fortunately or unfortunately remains to be seen. She had a camera crew following her for the two month duration of the bar exam prep course and solo studying; it made studying for and taking the three day California Bar Exam a very fun (yes, fun) and surreal experience. Tricia has trained with Michelle Danner at the Larry Moss Studio. There is a lot of focus on intentions, on techniques of Stella Adler, and on the techniques Larry Moss combines in his book; sometimes the work can get very emotional and its the brave actors that are willing to tap into that level of emotion. Tricia has also trained privately with John Kirby of John Kirby Studio, with the major focus on the training of Uta Hagen. She has also trained at The Groundlings, which she says has been the most beneficial training in her daily life. "You don't care about possibly having the wrong answer in a law class of 150 after you have gotten up in front of strangers, making weird noises and body movements for extended periods of time!" She is excited to resume training with them as well in between jobs this fall. Tricia speaks French and has studied and lived in Paris twice, both times without knowing a single person in France (and the second time without even booking a hotel room or securing an apartment before arrival!) She also moved out to California to pursue her goals without knowing anyone west of the Mississippi. Tricia exhibits a lot of courage and a willingness to take risks in life--the same kind of courage and risks she takes in her choices as an actress. She is a well-rounded woman, with life experiences beyond her years, and the independence and confidence to match. Above all, Tricia is thankful for the gifts she has been given. She believes very strongly that we are here to help one another and works for various causes, including: Native American tribal rights, prisoners' rights, breast cancer research, and programs for underprivileged children. She also teaches Sunday School and sings with the various choirs at church. She sits on the board of her tribe's Alumni Association (via conference call), leading a mentoring program for other youth who, like Tricia, don't realize the options and the steps to pursuing higher education. She is also currently editing an academic article she wrote as a law student regarding prisoner sexual violence behind bars. She is also a member of SAG, AFTRA, Women In Film, SAG Conservatory, and Native Voices. Tricia loves to tell her stories but most recently, Tricia realized she did not endure all the drama and comedy of her life simply to tell her stories to her friends. Instead, her life was played out in the hit documentary "A Lawyer Walks Into A Bar" directed by Emmy-nominated director Eric Chaikin. Please keep in mind that when a crew has countless hours of footage on a person, they may take the liberty of creating their "own" character. Suffice it to say, the film realized international success, winning film festivals and was chosen as the Ebert and Roeper Video Pick of the Week in September 2007. Tricia now pursues acting, works as a contract attorney, teaches law classes and provides legal commentary for shows as needed. | ||
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