Jorja Fox's Year Off

Actress Jorja Fox was a cast member on the popular crime show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation for a number of years before leaving the show to take some time off and recharge her batteries. She had been feeling exhausted with the show’s production schedule. Despite this, the producers invited her back as the hit show begins its 10th season, with a change in the status quo and more shocks, surprises and plot twists in store.During her year off, Fox wasn’t idle. She kept herself busy via her independent theater company Honeypot Productions, which she co-founded.

“I produced a musical about the singer Dusty Springfield. We did that in Los Angeles and it was super funny; it was the biggest production that I had done to date. A lot of productions are very small, you almost can’t even say they’re professional, and this one was glitzy and glamorous and we had a real theater and real musicians in it and it was a lot of fun. We now have turned that play into a screenplay. So we’re sort of shopping that around to hopefully make it into a movie.”It wasn’t all work for the actress, though. She found the time to take up recreational hobbies as well.

“I took up the drums. I never really played the drums. There was a rumor that I played the drums and that’s not true. (Laughs) I don’t have a band yet, it’s just been really fun to play music and it’s really fun to do something just for the joy of it, not because you’re doing it for a job or for a future job.” Fox was also able to visit different places. “I traveled a lot. I spent a lot of time with my family and some friends that I didn’t get to see over the last ten years. My family’s scattered all over America and Canada, so I packed a bag and I went to visit everybody and got to go to Costa Rica and went to Alaska and it was really good for me.”It was a difficult situation when she left CSI. She felt exhausted, and knew it would be a huge risk for her career: “I love to do different things and when you’re so fortunate to work in the same place for 10 years it’s also really scary, because, you know, people were really nice to me at work and to go someplace new, with new people, I just never know what to expect. I don’t know if they’re gonna be happy. But I love to do indie films, I love to do stage, play music and these kind of things.”Talking about inspiration, particularly as it applies to her creative endeavors, she says, “A lot of time going out and being in the world is really helpful. I look for stories; I like to tell stories of people and places that maybe aren’t like my own. I’m so interested in the whole world. And it’s exciting to see a story that you don’t get to see everyday.”

Catch Season 10 of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation on Wednesdays, 10 p.m. on AXN.With thanks to Gabriel Narciso.

* * *

Neil Gaiman returns to Manila on March 17 at the Rockwell Tent to announce the long-awaited results and winners of the 3rd Philippine Graphic/Fiction Awards! On the 20th Julio Iglesias shows how a real man does it at the Araneta Coliseum. And finally, on the last two days of the month there’s an amazing double-bill of indie music: on March 30, Jens Lekman plays at Mag:net Bonifacio High Street, and on the 31st Kings of Convenience play at Whitespace! What an awesome month for good music.

* * *

Ramon De Veyra blogs at www.thesecuriousdays.com.