Actress Confessions

The Quest to Become a Leading Lady

My name is Sofia Gian a.k.a Actress Confessions.

I always wanted to be an actress but it's interesting how life can side-track you.

I felt like I woke up one day working in a corporate environment, crunching numbers, instead of doing what I always wanted to do - performing.

Years passed and I found myself missing the creative lifestyle that I had originally planned for myself. I didn't want to look back at my life and wonder what if...

So a couple of years ago, I went back to college and started part-time classes in acting. I also professionally train at Odyssey Studio in Toronto.

My belief is that no one gets ahead without focusing their time and effort into it. I've decided to write this blog to hold myself accountable for my own success. Every day I do one thing that moves my career forward. I document it here.

Please join me in my journey...

  

Day 560 - 570 - The Weigh In...

Sometimes things that people say stick with you...I'm not sure why we as individuals tend to have selective hearing but its true...

I once was speaking to a really well known acting teacher here in Toronto, he drove me mad in many ways...he's one of those teachers that tries to tear you apart then build you back up...unfortunately all he did was instill self-doubt and make me hate him. 

He did say one thing that stuck to me about 6 months ago...

He said "I can train you as a character actor or a leading lady, the choice is yours, but that means that you have a lot of weight to lose...."

I think that comment hurt, it hurt because he was unmasking something about this industry that I already knew - the cruelty.

I ensured that my physical health became a bigger priority in my life, a focus on looking good and making myself feel good...

6 months later...workouts 3- 4 times a week...a nutritionist....a meal plan = 30 pounds shed...and a whole new approach to I way I see myself and the possibilities that I've opened for myself in the acting realm.

What I Learned

560 - 570 - All things are possible. Even when we can't see the end goal.

Day 559 - Booked: I Am Corporate Enough!

What a feeling when someone says that they want you to work on their project. I was all stressing about my last audition, but it turns out I didn't have to. They called me today to offer me the gig.

Awesome!

Day 557 - 558 - Audition: For a Role that I Actually Do During My Day Job

I work in a corporate environment and I've always wondered what it would be like to audition for a role based in a corporate environment. Would the casting department find me "corporate looking" or would they believe that I was "corporate enough"?

Here is my situation: I got a pretty sweet gig where I work during the day and by sweet I mean that I have a position that carries quite a bit of responsibility.

That's my reality. 

So... here's the make-believe: 

I go in for a corporate video audition and I'm looking at the sides for a cold read, the casting director says "Ya, she's way too young to play Anna".

Ummm....ya..... this fictional character Anna has the job I currently have. 

Instead they select a young mid level newbie for me to read.  Yes Mr. Casting Director, please continue the stereotype that young = inexperienced and naive.

So I dumb it down a bit..

I read the text that has a lot of technical jargon that only one in my daytime job would understand. It makes sense to me. I laugh inside because any actor coming into the cold read won't even understand what the character is talking about. Shows how great the selection of sides was...

Then they let me know that they are going to send the tape to the client and they will pick the people they feel are corporate enough.

Ok, great...please get back to me and let me know if you think I'm corporate enough. Perfect.

The insanity of this business...