Film and VO projects take the stage this summer

The last month or so have been super interesting in Amanda land! It's been an exercise in adjusting my expectations and examining my goals as an actor. As you may know, the majority of my acting training and experience lies in the theatre world. I've generally considered myself a theatre actor first and felt that was the path I would find the most success. What I've been finding lately is that the theatre community of Chicago can be a real tough nut to crack - it's a beautiful, vibrant, and diverse community of actors that I love and continue to support through patronizing the groundbreaking work that happens all over this city -- I recently had my mind BLOWN by a ridiculously excellent production of Round Heads and Pointed Heads by Bertolt Brecht - who even does Brecht anymore, and well? It was killer. Major props to Red Tape Theatre. (PS if you get a chance, check out Jesus Christ Superstar at they Lyric Opera of Chicago, opening April 27th - my husband Jonah is part of the singing ensemble and understudy for Caiaphas, and it's going to be out of this world - this is the US premiere of the 2017 Olivier Award winning production from London and will be doing a US national tour later this year)

But recently I just haven't been able to make a whole lot click for myself in the the theatre world - I've been auditioning and putting myself out there, getting a few callbacks here and there, but nothing really working out lately. And that's okay! These things come and go in waves, and rejection is part of the game. I'm not "quitting theatre". But what I HAVE noticed is that I seem to be booking more voiceover, and slowly but surely more on-camera gigs than ever. It's a super different audition/submission/preparation process, but for the moment that seems to be where my art wants to take me. So I'm forging ahead with gusto! One door closes, you open a window (or something like that). I'll still continue to audition for theatre projects that interest me but I'm really excited about further diving into the VO and on-camera side of acting. 

One of the big things I'm jazzed about right now (aside from bookings for the summer and my new demo reel) is my plan to chop off a bunch of hair and get new headshots and a comp card that I can shop around to agents. Once I get those shots back, get ready to see a bunch of new photos around the site! 

So what's on the books right now? Here's a quick breakdown:

• Audiobook recording for Hushed into Silence, the sequel to Whispers from the Cove - due late Summer
• Voiceover for webinars as needed with Core Digital Marketing (one in the can, more to come!)
• 1 day shoot for a student short film, The Chase as a main role.
• 1 day shoot as an extra in the film, Ken: The Motion Picture
• 3 day shoot as supporting role in the feature film, I Married Black
• Recording a new episodic podcast Shadowcatcher as one of the lead protagonists in June
• Backstage Manager (back again!) for the Congress of Future Medical Leaders and the Congress of Future Science and Technology Leaders at the end of June.

Oh yeah, and I'm joining the beach volleyball recreational league again this summer ;) 

We'll see where all this takes me, but it's exciting territory to discover for sure. Sometimes you have to circumvent traditional paths to success and forge your own trail. Onwards!