it was a long week/weekend

but it was totally worth it! for all of you who didnt know ill just recap a little bit. I went to LA for an acting/talent convention. At these types of conventions, well known agents, casting directors, and management companies come together to look for new talent whom they can help get work.

some people enter this convention only looking to model, some enter this convention only looking to act, some enter the convention with dreams of becoming a singer, and some havent made up their mind yet and decide to go for it all. for me, i want to market myself as an actress that can sing. (meaning i like to sing, but acting is my passion) i mean, look at nicole kidman, gwenneth paltrow, catherine zeta jones, etc…. get my drift?

I signed up for soap, sitcom, monologue, commercial print, trendy runway, tv real people, cold read, and singing.

soap= a script made for a girl or boy of a certain age group division (10-15, 15-18, 20 and up, etc…) that is memorized and performed in front of the camera after slating.  there is another actor sitting behind the camera that reads the other part. you do not see this person on camera. the actor slates and tells the reader which script she is using so that they can prepare. for example:

girl:  hi my name is amanda jones, i am 20 years old from seattle washington, and my number is 1234. i will be reading from the script amanda and jarrod

and then she begins.

the same thing happens with sitcom.

with monologues the actor performs their 1 minute prepared and memorized monologue in front of a panel of judges without a mike or camera. a line of girls are against the wall waiting for their turn.

for comercials you perform your memorized commercial in front of the camera.

commercial print does not have to be attended because you already did your work for that previously with a photo shoot from the agency and the photos are just being judged by the agents.

trendy runway is pretty much showing off your body in trendy clothes. this is for girls who are not high fashion (meaning over 5"8" ) you wear an outfit that expresses you but also makes your best aspects look great so that the judges can see how well you can sell certain clothing items! i loved strutting my stuff!

cold read is when you are given a script in the afternoon and are asked to recite it in the evening in front of the camera with a reader. just like soap and sitcom except that you get to look at the script from time to time.

and singing is well, singing!

it was expected to slate at all of these competitions except for singing.

by the way, slating is saying your name, age, where you are from, and what contestant number you are.

lol ok i did not make this short but here it goes.

i did very well in all of my competitions but i did my best in soaps. by using the method of substitutional situation (taking a personal experience from my life that was similar to the one in the script and focusing on bringing it back to life)

in fact i did so well that out of the 500 or so people in the whole convention competing, i won best soap over all. and was given an award!  and you know what? before they even announced it, i whispered to my mom " watch, its going to be me"  i have never been more confident in my entire life.

that soap also got me many callbacks from managers and agents whom i should be getting some phone calls from within the next couple of weeks. i got lots of great tips and took many notes as well to help start marketing myself in the seattle area.

i did what i expected of myself and i won best out of 500. this is my very first accomplishment in hollywood and i am very excited!

first things first, new pictures and resumes, getting them out to as many agents as possible, and getting myself on film whether its student films, independent, etc! i am very excited to see whats next!

thank you to all of you who have believed in me and have supported me throughout this! i love you all!