(New Video) Headshots 101 – Actor Chats #blackactress

July 3, 2013 by

I recently got new head shots taken and I’m really excited about them! It’s a been a few years since I took new shots and I’m in a great place, stage and age in my life that I can honestly say I feel like there’s some new energy in my acting career!

The great thing about new head shots is that it’s a new start in some ways. Casting directors get to see you in a new light whether it be a little older, slimmer, more confident, new hairstyle or whatever you want, you’re breathing new life into YOU! I did my shots with a great photographer Pierre Gautreau who I’ve shot with many times before and he gave me the best advice, “a great shot is all about the energy that you give to the camera” and I found this to be true. I came into his studio like BAM and I felt like that through the whole shoot, I was relaxed and happy and at the end of the day my agents were happy and I was too with the final results.

Whether you’re an actor or not I think professional photos are a must have and can be used in so many ways! Check out my story about my head shots in the video below and if you’re an actor let me know your secrets to a great shot and if you’re not, consider getting some professional photos done whether for business or personal! xo

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(New Video) Happy Canada Day – Top 5 reasons I love Canada

July 1, 2013 by

Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian peeps! I absolutely LOVE being a Canadian!

I appreciated being born and raised in Canada the more I traveled and lived in other cities and as much fun and experiences as I’ve had all over the world, there is nothing like your home! Here is a quick video on the top 5 reasons I love being apart of this great nation! Enjoy your long weekend with friends and family and good food! xo

 

Top 5 Reasons

1. Diversity: Many people do not know this bu Canada is a very diverse place, especially Toronto! We’ve got a little bit of every culture here, it’s beautiful.

2. Cleanliness: Canada is one of the cleanest countries you will ever go to. We take pride in having clean streets!

3. The health care system: We take care of our own especially when it comes to health. It’s not a perfect system but it’s good and you will get top notch service when you need it!

4. Tim Hortons: In Canada we have a very unhealthy obsession with donuts and coffee and there is literally a Tim Horton’s coffee shop on every corner. I love donuts so this is a good problem for me.

5. Friendly: Canadians are extremely friendly and easy going people and there’s nothing wrong with that!

Happy Canada Day!

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(New blog post) 7 Step prescription to Self Love #selflovesaturday

June 29, 2013 by

As you guys may know I’ve been on a very serious “self love journey”, it’s been going on for the last year and a half and the change in my mentality has changed my life in an amazing way.

Having “self love” is not having conceit or being self absorbed but instead it’s is being aware and appreciative of who you are and what you want and need in life to life a better positive life filled with LOVE. I encourage everyone to start a journey in Self Love whether it’s taking small steps or big steps, you won’t regret it, I found a perfect 7 Step Prescription to Self Love written by Deborah Khoshaba, Psy.D for anyone who doesn’t know where to start, take a look at these steps to get you started.

  1. Become mindful. People who have more self-love tend to know what they think, feel and want. They are mindful of who they are and act on this knowledge, rather than on what others want for them.
  2. Act on what you need rather than what you want. You love yourself when you can turn away from something that feels good and exciting to what you need to stay strong, centered, and moving forward in your life, instead. By staying focused on what you need, you turn away from automatic behavior patterns that get you into trouble, keep you stuck in the past, and lessen self-love.
  3. Practice good self-care. You will love yourself more, when you take better care of your basic needs. People high in self-love nourish themselves daily through healthy activities, like sound nutrition, exercise, proper sleep, intimacy and healthy social interactions.
  4. Set boundaries. You’ll love yourself more when you set limits or say no to work, love, or activities that deplete or harm you physically, emotionally and spiritually, or express poorly who you are.
  5. Protect yourself. Bring the right people into your life. I love the termfrenemies that I learned from my younger clients. It describes so well the type of “friends” who take pleasure in your pain and loss rather than in your happiness and success. My suggestion to you here: Get rid of them! There isn’t enough time in your life to waste on people who want to take away the shine on your face that says, “I genuinely love myself and life”. You will love and respect yourself more.
  6. Forgive yourself. We humans can be so hard on ourselves. The downside of taking responsiblity for our actions is punishing ourselves too much for mistakes in learning and growing. You have to accept your humanness (the fact that you are not perfect), before you can truly love yourself. Practice being less hard on yourself when you make a mistake. Remember, there are no failures, if you have learned and grown from your mistakes; there are only lessons learned.
  7. Live intentionally. You will accept and love yourself more, whatever is happening in your life, when you live with purpose and design. Your purpose doesn’t have to be crystal clear to you. If your intention is to live a meaningful and healthy life, you will make decisions that support this intention, and feel good about yourself when you succeed in this purpose. You will love yourself more if you see yourself accomplishing what you set out to do. You need to establish your living intentions, to do this.
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(new video post) Come see me in @BremenRockCity in @Toronto_Fringe Festival

June 28, 2013 by

Guess what?! I’m gonna be on stage in Toronto for the Fringe Festival! I’m apart of an amazing show called, “Bremen Rock City”.

This is a show for families that kids and adults will appreciate, with amazing music! I’m super excited to be apart of such an amazingly talented group of people so if you’re in Toronto or you’re visiting from July 4-14th, I’d LOVE for you to come see me on stage! Go to bremencity.com  for tickets and more details

Show Dates & Times

12:45pm – Thursday July 4

7:15pm – Saturday July 6

4:00pm – Sunday July 7

11:30am – Monday July 8

7:30pm – Wednesday July 10

12:30pm – Thursday July 11

2:45pm – Friday July 12

5:00pm – Sunday July 14

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(New Post) Andrea Lewis talks “Black Actress” & Working with @IssaRae on @VibeVixen

June 26, 2013 by

Hey guys! A few weeks ago I did a fun interview with Vibe Vixen to talk about my upcoming web series, “Black Actress”, being a women of color in entertainment and working with the amazing Issa Rae. Check out the interview below and a big thank you to Vibe Vixen for the feautre!

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If Kerry Washington taught us anything this year, it’s that 2013 is the year of the black actress. Although the plight of brown-skinned thespians is a never-ending story, the emergence of web series like Issa Rae’s Awkward Black Girl not only gives us meaty characters, but it allows for creative freedom. For Canadian industry vet Andrea Lewis (Degrassi, Cadet Kelly), this new media breakthrough makes being a black actress more exciting than ever before. Her upcoming series of the same name will spotlight the quirky everyday life of Cory Bailey, a mildly successful actress struggling to overcome Hollywood roadblocks.

Vixen recently caught up with Lewis to talk about teaming up with Issa Rae, running a successful IndieGogo fundraiser and her craziest audition experience.

VIBE Vixen: Is there camaraderie between you and other Toronto entertainers?
Andrea Lewis: Yeah! Any city or place you come from where there’s multiple people pursuing the same career, you definitely meet everybody and get to know everyone fairly well, whether it be on a professional level or friendship wise. I’ve always been blessed and very fortunate that I’ve lived in different parts of the U.S. and I always have friends there that are from Toronto. So, I’m never far from home [in a sense] which is really good.

Is there one person in particular you count as a close friend?
I’m really close with Melanie Fiona. She’s been my girl for many, many years. Maybe because we’re both Canadian. We both have West Indian background. She’s just a truth teller. Melanie keeps it real all the time. She’s always been my closest friend.

At what point did you realize being a black actress was going to be difficult?
I knew being a black actress was going to be difficult when I was 14. I started in the industry when I was only a toddler and I think if there’s one big thing you learn right away, it’s who you are or what you are in terms of the protocol and list of parts. There was always projects that wanted the token person of color. I was going to auditions that wanted people of color period and not just black girls. Everybody’s there and they’re just trying to fill one role. You learn that very quickly. It’s eye opening. It makes you take a stand, whether you’re going to stick by the stereotype or you say ‘Eff it, I’m going to create my own opportunities.’

Did you feel the same way on Degrassi?
My character a lot of the time was the token girl of color in a scene. She wasn’t necessarily significant. I might’ve been in a ton of episodes. I might’ve been in advertising and all kinds of things, but you didn’t always know things about my character or you didn’t get to hear her speak. I used to ask and talk to them about developing my character a little bit more and giving me a little more shine, but it was always fairly difficult. That’s just the system unfortunately. Luckily, we’re in a time now where the first lady is a black woman and you have TV shows like Scandal. There’s a real sense of turning around to bring in more people of color.

Canada is not like the U.S. in the sense that we don’t have a Canadian BET. We don’t have shows that have a full cast of black people. It is a feat itself to have been on such a recognized show in Canada and the U.S. as a person of color. That is an accomplishment.

Read the rest here

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(New Blog Post) Monday Inspiration – “Unlocking the truth” …Be YOU

June 24, 2013 by

I saw this video late last week and wanted to post it immediately but I got a little busy, but a late post never hurt nobody! Anyway, this has got to be one of the most inspiring videos I’ve ever seen. Two boys Malcolm Brickhouse and Jarad Dawkins formed a heavy metal rock band, Unlocking the truth and despite getting bullied in school by their peers they are sticking to being ORIGINAL! To see this kind of confidence at such a young age is beautiful. I’ve heard people say many times that you should always remain a kid at heart and watching this video you see why. If we had the spirit of these 2 young boys we’d all be confident, comfortable and sure of ourselves for who we are and what we want in life. I hope Malcolm and Jarad continue on this journey because the sky is really the limit. Don’t let anyone tell you what you should be, be you, believe in your dreams and watch the journey unfold better than you could’ve imagined.

Unlocking The Truth – Malcolm Brickhouse & Jarad Dawkins from The Avant/Garde Diaries on Vimeo.

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(New Video Post) Surround yourself with the perfect team – goal #24

June 19, 2013 by

#24 – Surround yourself with the perfect team!

This is one of the goals that I’m currently working on and I will admit, it’s a little bit of struggle for me right now but I’m ok because I recognize that this is a transition period for me. Having the right group of people around you is key to reaching a high level of success. You need people that are like minded, inspire you, encourage you, motivate you and you are able to do the same for them.

This year I’ve had to make a few cuts to some of my friendships because these relationships weren’t serving or inspiring me anymore and I wasn’t inspiring them either, so it was time to move on. You’re not bitter or upset, you just able to recognize when it’s time to look for something more. So like I said this is a goal that is transition right now so I’ll have to do a part 2 on when I’ve gathered the perfect team, but the key message in this video is to look around and make sure that you’re surrounding yourself with the perfect team.

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(New Post)Because I’m a Fan and inspired at the same damn time! – Jayz Magna Carta Holy Grail

June 17, 2013 by

Damn you Jay Z for endlessly raising the bar to almost untouchable levels and constantly making me overly excited for any project you’re doing!!

I saw this commercial/I’m a better business man than all of you jerks endorsement deal last night and I felt the way I always feel while watching JayZ, “HE’S SO AWESOME, How can I be as awesome as Jay Z?!” Am I the only that feels that way? I hope I’m not full blown crazy but as an artist (which naturally makes me 50-75% crazy) I’m always in awe and so inspired by what Jay Z manages to do as both an artist and a business man. He’s incredible! He always raises the bar visually, musically and as a business man, you just can’t help but be inspired by him! So mark your calendars because I have and July 4th should be a very good day!

P.S The soundbites in this video are all perfect! “We don’t have any rules everyone is trying to figure it out that’s why the internet is the wild wild west” Perfectly said!

http://www.magnacartaholygrail.com/

 

 

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(new post) #SelfLoveSaturday – Choose to be happy

June 15, 2013 by

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I discovered sometime last year that if I want to be happy I had to purposely do things to be happy, I had to change my life!

Living a happy life comes in all shapes and sizes and it all starts with you and I truly feel that having self love and living a happy life go hand in hand. You have to choose to love your self and you have to choose to be happy! Here are 15 tips small tips to being happy that I found on Emmaorwhatever.tumblr  that I thought were perfect ways to “choose to be happy” and a few of the steps on this list were told to me when I begin my journey to being happy. So if you’re feeling down and want to see a change or feeling great and want to continue do so check out this list and let me know if you try any of the steps!

1. push yourself to get up before the rest of the world – start with 7am, then 6am, then 5:30am. go to the nearest hill with a big coat and a scarf and watch the sun rise.

2. push yourself to fall asleep earlier – start with 11pm, then 10pm, then 9pm. wake up in the morning feeling re-energized and comfortable.

3. erase processed food from your diet. start with no lollies, chips, biscuits, then erase pasta, rice, cereal, then bread. use the rule that if a child couldn’t identify what was in it, you don’t eat it.

4. get into the habit of cooking yourself a beautiful breakfast. fry tomatoes and mushrooms in real butter and garlic, fry an egg, slice up a fresh avocado and squirt way too much lemon on it. sit and eat it and do nothing else.

5. stretch. start by reaching for the sky as hard as you can, then trying to touch your toes. roll your head. stretch your fingers. stretch everything.

6. buy a 1L water bottle. start with pushing yourself to drink the whole thing in a day, then try drinking it twice.

7. buy a beautiful diary and a beautiful black pen. write down everything you do, including dinner dates, appointments, assignments, coffees, what you need to do that day. no detail is too small.

8. strip your bed of your sheets and empty your underwear draw into the washing machine. put a massive scoop of scented fabric softener in there and wash. make your bed in full.

9. organise your room. fold all your clothes (and bag what you don’t want), clean your mirror, your laptop, vacuum the floor. light a beautiful candle.

10. have a luxurious shower with your favourite music playing. wash your hair, scrub your body, brush your teeth. lather your whole body in moisturiser, get familiar with the part between your toes, your inner thighs, the back of your neck.

11. push yourself to go for a walk. take your headphones, go to the beach and walk. smile at strangers walking the other way and be surprised how many smile back. bring your dog and observe the dog’s behaviour. realise you can learn from your dog.

12. message old friends with personal jokes. reminisce. suggest a catch up soon, even if you don’t follow through. push yourself to follow through.

13. think long and hard about what interests you. crime? sex? boarding school? long-forgotten romance etiquette? find a book about it and read it. there is a book about literally everything.

14. become the person you would ideally fall in love with. let cars merge into your lane when driving. pay double for parking tickets and leave a second one in the machine. stick your tongue out at babies. compliment people on their cute clothes. challenge yourself to not ridicule anyone for a whole day. then two. then a week. walk with a straight posture. look people in the eye. ask people about their story. talk to acquaintances so they become friends.

15. lie in the sunshine. daydream about the life you would lead if failure wasn’t a thing. open your eyes. take small steps to make it happen for you.

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(new video post) Quick fix bad hair day tricks – “when in doubt just frizz it out”

June 13, 2013 by

My schedule has been crazy lately and I haven’t had much time to make sure my hair is prim and proper for every meeting and appointment and unfortunately my curly hair has a 3-4 day expiration period before I start to look full blown crazy so here are some quick fixes I’ve been doing lately to fix my hair when I’m in a rush all while embracing what I’ve got! 🙂

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