Chantal's Hollywood Adventures

Hey Guys,  I hope everyone is ready for a great sunny weekend (unless your in somewhere like England because it will probably be raining, sorry) I know that I am.  I can't believe I finished school now over three weeks ago, it's gone so fast but I've enjoyed every minute of it. I'm currently sitting in a little coffee shop with my passion fruit ice tea whilst I reminisce to myself about all the great memories I've made over the past year here in LA.  Looking back on my life from when I was in England to now I cant believe how much my life has changed. People warned me before I moved to LA that I would come back a completely different person and I always thought to myself, can people really change to that extreme, but this year in LA has proved to me that the experiences you go through can impact your life drastically and change you as a person. I have learnt so many lessons out here but the one that has really stuck with me is remembering that everyone in life...

Hey guys, So.. things here in LA have been super crazy. We have finally finished our first twelve weeks of classes and I went to San Francisco for my very first thanksgiving with my family, which was so much fun. Now that I have returned I am in the process of rehearsing for our exam play at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. The play that I will be doing is Wendy Wasserstein's Pulitzer Prize winning play 'The Heidi Chronicles' and I will be playing the role of Heidi. The Heidi Chronicles is an iconic play that speaks a very strong message to the audience. The play follows the life of Heidi through the decades from 1965-1980 whilst she tries to find her place within society and how this fits in with the rise of feminism. Heidi is a very interesting character and I am so glad I get to play such a rounded, strong, independent character. When I was first given the character, I had a complete overwhelming feeling. This is such a strong play and I want to bring Heidi to ...

'Is drama school essential as an actor or is a complete waste of money?' This is a tricky debate and is not a decision to take lightly. As someone such as myself who has attended many acting classes and been to various drama schools I feel that there are both pros and cons to attending drama school. I don't believe there is a right or wrong answer to this question as every actor will have a different opinion depending on their personal experiences. For this reason my response to this debate is that it is all personal preference to that individual.  Some actors swear by drama school and believe that it has shaped and developed them into better and more confident actors, whilst, others believe it has made no difference in bettering their careers and now all they have to show for it is  £30,000+ in student debts.  Firstly I want make clear that I wouldn't go to drama school if you are not 110 percent sure that being an actor is for you. Acting is a craft that is very speci...

Hola Amigos,  I cannot believe how fast this last year has gone. Today is officially my two weeks notice. In exactly fourteen days today I will be heading off on my latest adventure. I will begin with a three week trip to San Francisco to visit family and then onto LA to start my new adventure at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. It feels so surreal. I have dreamt about this move since I was about twelve years old, when I would draw pictures of myself under the Hollywood sign, with my name up in lights and now it's almost here.  Yesterday I rang up EE to cancel my phone contract and when the lady asked me why I was leaving, I  jumped with excitement that I was finally able to say that I was moving to Los Angeles. "Wow I was not expecting that. That's fantastic, so your going to be actor?" the lady says in delight. 'Yes, yes I am" I reply eagerly. "Well that's definitely a good reason to cancel your contract with us". Hearing other peo...

Hey guys, Sorry I haven't updated you in a while on my adventure to Hollywood, but I've been so wrapped up in my visa application and preparing to finish Central that I haven't had any time to blog. I have been waiting for this day, since sending off my application to AADA because today is the day that everything changes. I have finally finished at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and have undertaken my very last unit with a reflective presentation (which went great by the way) and now I am on the way to my next big adventure at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA). Last Thursday was the day that I was finally having my visa interview at the US embassy in London. Waking up  at 5:30am  I realised that in all my excitement I had completely forgotten to have my photos taken for my application. My interview was scheduled for 8.30am and there was no way I could turn up without these photos. I frantically starting googling 'US visa photos near the ...

Hello My Lovelies, My mission to AADA is well on it's way. My excitement has taken over and I've already started to prepare my acting folder, making room for lots of new monologues and am attempted to polish up on my American accent (you know, just in case I may need it). I am so excited to know that in four months time I will finally be able to ditch my thick woolly jumpers for some cute little dresses and shorts. I have also managed to meet many of my fellow class mates (via Facebook of course!) and everyone seems really cool, which lets me know already that it is going to be an amazing year (or two). There is quite a diverse range of people in the class, coming from all walks of life, which is amazing. I can also finally share my excitement with other people now, rather than annoying my friends and family by going on about AADA and moving to LA 24 hours a day. It's nice to be able to share your thoughts and feelings with people that understand you and know what you go ...

Hey my lovelies, Today is a pretty exciting day for me as I have officially enrolled and sent off all my forms for The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. I am now just waiting for my I-20 form so I can finally apply for my visa. The next step for me is to get a start on my fundraiser as I now only have seven months until I leave. I know it sounds like ages away, but there is still so much to sort out and with my third year at Central coming to end, I really have to focus on my dissertation. When I started fundraising I thought it would be as simple as setting up a page and people would donate, however, I was sadly mistaken. It involves so much more than that and can be quite disheartening when you don't get any donations. Back in November I sent out about 200 letters to a variety of organisations in the arts and I only received three replies, which unfortunately were all rejections. It did make me lose confidence in my fundraiser. I soon realised that I had managed to get t...

Hello my lovelies,  So today I'm going to my top ten little on recording monologues. Whether it's for your showreel, video audition or just to upload to You Tube there's a few things you should and shouldn't do.  When I first found out I would be doing a video audition for The American Academy of Dramatic Arts as I was unable to attend the London auditions because I was teaching drama in India, I wasn't quite sure how to go about it. Although auditioning via video means you can keep changing it until your happy, it also means you have to put in extra effort as you will be competing with face to face auditions.  As I hadn't  done much screen work or any recording in a while, I decided that it would be a good idea to get in contact with an acting coach. After searching for a while I found this fantastic coach Claire Storey . Claire really encouraged me and gave me some great advice for filming monologues. After getting in ...

So recently I've been super excited and nervous about the fact I'm moving to Los Angeles and going to the American Academy of Dramatic arts in July. I know it's still eight months away but having so much to prepare for, I can't help but think about it.  I have bought myself a little preparation notebook, which I've labelled 'Chantal's Hollywood Plans'. I know it may be a little silly, but it's the only way I can keep everything organised and work out what needs to be done. I have so much to do that I feel almost like I'm preparing for a wedding or something. I have visa's, driving licence's, apartments, fundraising and so much more to sort out all before May. I've never really been one of those people to leave everything until the last minute, in fact I love to organise things way in advance, as you can probably tell.  This is a big deal and I guess it's not as easy as booking holiday, it's way more complicated to sort ou...

Hey boys and girls, So I just got back from LA a few days ago and it was amazing. My cousin got married in San Francisco and my sister and I were lucky enough to be her bridesmaids. We thought while we are in California why not take a road trip to LA. We left  for LA two days after the wedding, which took place a gorgeous vineyard an hour away from San Fran. We decided since my sister and her husband has never seen LA that we would take the coastal route through the mountains stopping off at Santa Cruz, Carmel and Santa Barbara on the way. We planned it out so well.. well we thought we had. A day and a bit travelling with a stop off to a Motel in Santa Barbara and be in LA by the afternoon. We had our plan all worked out, so we packed our stuff, waived goodbye to Pleasant Hill where we were staying with our cousins and off we went. I was so excited to stare out the widow in admiration at the sea with the wind blowing in my hair, the music on loud, sun glasses, looking cool. This ...