Hey February, the best thing ever happened to me at the end of last month… Maddy arrived!!! I’ve been waiting on my best friend to arrive since I got here in November 2017 and now she is here and we can finally find places together and be merry. Yippee!!!
So what has happened since the start of 2018 and my acting career? A Lot than I thought.
But first!!! OMG Aussie actors… international actors…. There is NO information on this that I can find online. But on two separate occasions, I have been told stories of actors without permanent residencies not being able to do Union work. This is because, if the production wants to gain the cheap Ontario incentives, they HAVE to employ residents and turns out A LOT of productions, want to gain the incentives. So it makes more work for the permanent residents and less work for sad suckers like me with a work permit. This is probably why all my actor friends moved to Vancouver and I can’t find any Aussie’s over this side trying to act. Each Province has its own policies and laws so, you're best moving to Vancouver where it is all a bit easier. I’m gonna stay here for a while until my french is 100% and I’ll join you over there in a year.
Now on to my progress so far, I signed with an agent. No, not that one. I had a meeting with one of the Top 5 agents in Toronto and it was pretty clear within the first 10 minutes that I wouldn’t be signed because I wasn’t Union and recognised yet… but it was a wonderful meeting regardless. Instead, I signed with an equally wonderful and hard working man at Angie’s Talent. It’s not the highest ranked agency, but out of all the agents I met with, it’s definitely the most business savvy and fast-paced feel I like. I’m one of about 30 actors on the roster and I am ready to book.
And with a new agent comes new headshots… or not new headshots? Turns out my best friend is amazing at photoshop and now all of my previous 1 billion headshots can be re-edited and coloured to match my red hair. And all for the cheap price of nothing. She is the best. Check the updated ones above. Photographed by Mansoor Noor.
Already, there is a huge difference in the amount of auditions I am getting, and that’s just from submitting myself freelance. And even a lot of newer shorts/ features are paying gigs here. So it’s win/ win. Practise your craft more and get paid for the stuff that provides “experience”. It’s the kind of acting life I imagined Sydney would be like, but never lived up to. So far, I have done about 6 self-tapes, I had an commercial casting and two paying short films castings. And I’m working on one next weekend. My first Toronto short film! So many firsts! It’s a nifty script about the lengths people go to in the fashion industry, I play the Commentator of the runway event. It’s quite hilarious, I’m looking forward to it.
In other news, my music guy has given me a date on when he will be completed, and so the Zombie Bro post-production business is slowly shutting down… which means the Zombie Bro Sales and Festival Business can start thriving. Next month, we will have submitted it to our first big festival, TIFF.
I've uploaded a skit titled "NUDIE RUN" as part of Maizie & Mez. It's a short we filmed in 2015 and I finally got it up! And then another one is coming... just tweaking some ADR for it and you can have a watch once it is posted but have a look a the bloopers to wet your appetite.
And lastly, I bought my first phone plan. Maddy convinced me to invest in an iPhone 8+ and it's sitting in its box waiting for it’s Lifeproof case before it breathes life. A friend once told me to get a better phone, on glancing at my instagram pics and to him, I say, just did bestie. And so, in an ideal world it means I’ll start taking cooler photos and post more content and get so many followers that I become so “inspo”, but if I don’t (more likely) at least the rare pic of me travelling won’t be so blurry.
And that’s all for now. Maddy and I house-sitting for a few people while we find a place to live in and I’m still working at that little old Boardgame store. Oh and here's the Zombie Bro Movie poster- I'm so excited!
See you in my birthday month,May
