Chantal's Hollywood Adventures

Hey Guys, So.. my last month in LA was a bit of crazy one. My apartment lease was up at the end of April so I didn't really have any other choice but to move into an air b n b for the remainder of my trip. I'm still not too familiar with the different places in LA so choosing a place that wasn't too far from my my campus, where I was still currently working limited me to only a few places. The first one I moved to I only lasted for two days because it was probably the most disgusting place I had ever stayed in. The place turned out to have nearly twenty people living in the one house with, where the neighbours would play music all through the night and I was grace with a pair of stained sheets on my bed. Refusing to stay there anymore I decided to leave and move to another apartment close to Beverly Hills. Although it did cost a fair bit more at this point the money wasn't really an issue, so I finally moved into this new place. It seemed really nice unt...

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...

Hello my lovely readers, I can't believe I have been in Los Angeles for nearly six months already. After a long twelve weeks of classes and two weeks of rehearsals for our exams play, the first semester is finally up. The last six months in Los Angeles have been a roller coaster, but have been the best months of my life. In just one semester at The Academy I have learnt so much and allowed myself to grow in confidence and as an actor. I have made the best of friends and had so much fun experiencing the nightlife and going on many adventures around LA. I've also had an amazing time reconnecting with a good friend of mine from England who also happened to be studying in Los Angeles at the time and I definitely feel this has given me a feeling of being at home.  The day after my exam play I was so excited to go and pick up mum from the airport who had come all the way from London to spend winter break with me. We went to stay in the Avalon Hotel in Beverly Hills for four days ...

Hello my lovely readers, This blog is definitely way overdue and from now on I will make sure that I start updating it more often. Everything in LA has been so crazy that it's been difficult to keep up. I have now been living in LA for almost two months and I absolutely love it here. Every week is a new adventure. Last week I went to the Disney Hall in downtown LA to experience the work of classical musician Stravinsky with a very good friend of the family. It was an amazing experience, I have always taken an interest in classical music but was never something I had experienced live before, so this was definitely something different and new for me. This not something I would have really had the chance to see back home so it was nice to try explore something different. I enjoyed it so much that I was luckily enough to have the opportunity to attend another classical concert in Glendale, which was put on specifically to raise money for underprivileged children. It was a lovely ex...

Hello my lovely readers, I have now been in LA for the last three weeks and still can't quite believe I'm here. I feel like I have done more in the last three weeks than I have in my whole time living in London. It's so exciting, yet so daunting at the same. Being here at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts has probably been one of the most amazing experiences of my life, I have learnt more at Aada the past few weeks than I  did the whole year that I was at Italia Conti.  Sitting in my acting class listening to my teacher talk about objectives and intentions I just felt a massive sense of clarity regarding what I am here for and knowing that this is where I am meant to be. I am working with the most amazing and talented actors and teachers that it doesn't quite feel real. I just keep thinking to myself that I am so lucky and proud to have made it this far. I become so much more aware of my skills and accepting of my little flaws. Before coming to LA I didn...

This last week has been a bit of a roller coaster for me. Sitting in a little coffee shop in the Grove waiting for an appointment at the Apple Store is the first time I have really had a chance to reflect of my first week at AADA. On Wednesday I finally moved into my apartment, which was probably the most stressful day of all. I got the school housing orientation with CHS regarding my appointment and with no explanation I was told by the advisor of CHS that I was being moved  to a totally different apartment. When I asked the reason he responded with "because I said". He seemed completely unapologetic and responded with rude abrupt answers when I enquired about things to do with the new accommodation. I was already feeling overwhelmed and anxious by the fact that in only a few hours I would be left in LA by myself and he had no interest in making the experience positive for me. I went to my apartment that day feeling quite stressed and upset. I was hoping that I would feel ...

Hey Guys, So after talking about my preparations and my excitement to move to America for the past year, the day is finally here. At the moment I am currently sitting in the garden drinking coffee and enjoying the sun whilst I write my first blog post in the USA. I can't believe that it is finally here and I am thrilled to be able to share my latest adventures with all you lovely readers. Waving goodbye to my mum, dad and sister at Heathrow airport I realised that I was finally on my own and ready to start this new chapter in my life. Even at the age of twenty-four I had never really been away from my family for longer than a few weeks and I now had to learn how to be a grown up in the real world (a very scary thought). This is something I felt was extremely important for myself as I was hoping it would allow me to gain a bit more Independence and force me to not always rely on my parents for everything. After leaving my parents for security I was ready to board the plane. I ...

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...

Hey guys,  So today I'm going to be discussing how to prepare for an audition or casting, as well as, letting you in on a couple of my own casting disasters.  I've been auditioning now since I was about eight, whether it was for school productions, films, TV shows or drama school, I have been through them all. Although I have had some amazing feedback from casting directors, I've also had my fair share of outright cringing and disastrous auditions. This has definitely been a learning curve for me and has taught me how to do things differently.  Before we start, there's one thing I'd like to mention. You may follow all the tips and audition your little heart out, but still not get the part.  This doesn't mean that you weren't good. Rejection is all part of the process and I have learnt this throughout my career. I used to let rejection get in the way of my other projects. I constantly felt that I couldn't act as I didn't get as many auditions...