so last Sunday (15th of August) i auditioned for International Talent Showcase. this showcase is basically an invitation only convention for new talent around the country to perform for the best agents in the US, Europe and Asia. its an amazing opportunity for everyone. so i did the audition and it went pretty well. i sang (a little of 'Caught in the Crowd' by Kate Miller Heidke), i acted (we were given a small script to read) and i danced (i did a small piece from my 'Cowboy Casanova' piece). the scout- Sharon- really liked it. and everyone loved my accent, score! anyway we were told a little about the whole thing, then we all went home anxiously waiting the phone call the next day. now it was not that everyone was gonna get a call back, we all knew that some people wouldn't. yet just after 10am that Monday i got a phone call saying they wanted to see me again! i was so excited, jumping around the room and squealing the whole time! the next thought was already in my head but pushed to the front by someone who i live with. what if its a scam, what if they're trying to take advantage of not only me but everyone else who was at the audition... so i spent 3 hours on the internet checking them out and this is basically what i found.
They are legit, they are covered by the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and have an A rating with them. which for those who are not in the US is really good, the BBB is the place you go to if you have a complaint with a business. and it also proves that they are actually a business and not just some front for the money.
There are some people who say its a scam- that they only want your money, yet i only found those reports from people who had not gotten a call back (suggesting that they were upset and were just venting...) also yes they ask you to put down $500 as a deposit, but when you actually get there they say that what ever you can put down to begin with is fine. they are not really strict on the whole money aspect as long as it is payed off before the convention (and with a whole year, its not hard).
I also called the hotel where they hold the convention The Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami, and the person who i spoke to had nothing but good things to say about it. they have had it at the Doral for the past 3 years (Sharon explained that they switch it up between this Hotel and another- i can't remember the name of it, but someone who was at the call back had, again legit) and they guy on the phone said that everyone he had spoken to or had come across had been the real deal and were very nice.
Also on various websites (they're official one and their facebook page) there were all good things- i know, they only put the good things on there right. but still for the amount of people that attend these things (about 200 max- and thats from all over the whole country) the good definitely outweighed the bad.
Also they tell you in the intro that they found a star of movies Mena Suvari from the American Pie movies. i checked this out and on IMDB.com is says that she attended a modeling convention before getting picked up for the movie, but thats all. i couldn't find what the convention was called, but i'm assuming that it was ITS. but still...
Overall i think the whole thing is legit and worth it. i am still gonna try and do things myself- gotta get some help from various people though. :) and i'll keep you all updated on everything that happens with it all!
Tell next time
Katie
xo
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
RENT No Day But Today
so anyone who knows me, knows i'm a musical freak. and i mean freak, and proud of it! my favourite musical is RENT. for those who don't know what RENT is about about its basically a group of 20- somethings living in New York in 1989/ 1990 and their life in the middle of the AIDS epidemic. its an amazing play and really sheds a light on tings that really need to be talked about; when the play was written in 1994 and today in 2010. thats part of the reason i love it, is its real and gritty and not afraid to really say whats happening. and its still relevant today as it was over 10 years ago because of the core message of love and living life in the moments.
i first found RENT through the movie version of the Broadway play. it had just come out on DVD (not in theater's, otherwise i would have found it much earlier) i watched it for the first time and i was intrigued. the first song Seasons of Love (in the movie, i know its at the beginning of the second act in the play) i liked, but it wasn't until about 20 minutes into the movie, that i was hooked. after the first ballad Glory we hear 3 knocks at the door and Mimi enters with Light my Candle. i loved it from then on. from Roger and Mark to Collins and Angel. i could not get enough and have been a total Renthead ever since. :)
sadly i found out that RENT finished its 12 year run on Broadway in 2008, before i got the chance to go and see it. but coincidently that same year i sang Seasons of Love with my school choir as part of my Senior year. it was so cool, cause my younger sister and i sang the solo pieces. not only was it so much fun but that song hold such a special place in my heart now. :) i was crushed that i would never be able to see RENT on the stage until it was revived in a couple of years (which could span anywhere from 2-3 to a complete decade), then i found out about the Hollywood Bowl production. Neil Patrick Harris of How I Met Your Mother was directing it and several of Hollywood's biggest names were going to be in it such as Vanessa Hudgens, Nicole Scherzinger, Collins Pennie and Wayne Brady. but i was not concerned with the cast i was simply overjoyed that a) it was being revived so soon, and b) that it was gonna be at a place and time that i could go and see it! i was ecstatic that i was gonna be able to go! the only down side was i had to drive for 8 hours either way to get there, because i had to work i only got to stay 1 night, and being alone in LA can be a little frightning, but i was okay. the upside? i got to see RENT! i saw Tracie Thoms (though not a big actor, she's the one i was most excited to see!) perform the role of Joanne live! (she was in the movie and the final Broadway cast- which was filmed, and of which i have the dvd), i now have a RENT shirt, it was the closing night so everyone was giving their absolute best and to top it all off i got to Moo with Maureen! i'm not even kidding when i say if i died tomorrow (touch wood that i don't) i would be happy. i saw my favourite musical in the whole world live, and i never thought i would!! i could not be happier!
so as they say in the play there really is No Day But Today.
Till next time
Katie
xo
i first found RENT through the movie version of the Broadway play. it had just come out on DVD (not in theater's, otherwise i would have found it much earlier) i watched it for the first time and i was intrigued. the first song Seasons of Love (in the movie, i know its at the beginning of the second act in the play) i liked, but it wasn't until about 20 minutes into the movie, that i was hooked. after the first ballad Glory we hear 3 knocks at the door and Mimi enters with Light my Candle. i loved it from then on. from Roger and Mark to Collins and Angel. i could not get enough and have been a total Renthead ever since. :)
sadly i found out that RENT finished its 12 year run on Broadway in 2008, before i got the chance to go and see it. but coincidently that same year i sang Seasons of Love with my school choir as part of my Senior year. it was so cool, cause my younger sister and i sang the solo pieces. not only was it so much fun but that song hold such a special place in my heart now. :) i was crushed that i would never be able to see RENT on the stage until it was revived in a couple of years (which could span anywhere from 2-3 to a complete decade), then i found out about the Hollywood Bowl production. Neil Patrick Harris of How I Met Your Mother was directing it and several of Hollywood's biggest names were going to be in it such as Vanessa Hudgens, Nicole Scherzinger, Collins Pennie and Wayne Brady. but i was not concerned with the cast i was simply overjoyed that a) it was being revived so soon, and b) that it was gonna be at a place and time that i could go and see it! i was ecstatic that i was gonna be able to go! the only down side was i had to drive for 8 hours either way to get there, because i had to work i only got to stay 1 night, and being alone in LA can be a little frightning, but i was okay. the upside? i got to see RENT! i saw Tracie Thoms (though not a big actor, she's the one i was most excited to see!) perform the role of Joanne live! (she was in the movie and the final Broadway cast- which was filmed, and of which i have the dvd), i now have a RENT shirt, it was the closing night so everyone was giving their absolute best and to top it all off i got to Moo with Maureen! i'm not even kidding when i say if i died tomorrow (touch wood that i don't) i would be happy. i saw my favourite musical in the whole world live, and i never thought i would!! i could not be happier!
so as they say in the play there really is No Day But Today.
Till next time
Katie
xo
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