(video) Teaser “Black Actress” Web Series – Less than 1 week left to donate

April 9, 2013 by

Here is a snippet teaser for “Black Actress” that I filmed a few months ago, big shout out to my girlfriends, Maya Washington, Antoinette Henry, Brooke Slade and Sharlyn Pierre for being apart of the teaser! Check it out below and let me know what you think 🙂

There is less than 1 week left to donate to this project that I believe in so much. All I’m asking is that you give $2 to the campaign, it may sound like a little but a little can go a long way! This has been a very interesting ride doing the indie gogo campaign and I’ve learned a lot about myself and my audience. I’m so grateful for all of the people who have donated to the campaign so far and lets keep going till we get $20,000!!

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(Video) Topic of the week featuring @blacknoisemedia @jabari @ashleyblaine @bestnewactress @briancwalker1

April 8, 2013 by

We’re in the home stretch so I’m pulling out all of the stops! This is the LAST week that you can donate to the “Black Actress” indie gogo campaign. The most important weeks are the first and the last when you’re doing crowd funding and we started with an amazing energy and momentum and I know we’re gonna finish with a bang too! Give what you can no amount is too small! http://igg.me/at/blackactress

The next video up, is a mega “topic of the week” featuring a bunch of my friends and peers in my industry that I respect and look up to.The video features Brian Walker (Executive Producer of Black Actress), Jabari Johnson (Filmmaker and Host) Ashley Blaine Featherson, (actress and creator of the new web series “Hello Cupid”). Iman Milner (Actress and CEO of Edge Magazine) and Michael “Boogie” Pickney (Director of Black Actress). In this video we discuss 3 questions: What has happened to TV/Film over the last 10 yrs for the decline in projects featuring people of color? Why have so many filmmakers had to turn to the internet to get their stories heard? and Does TV/Film today have an accurate depiction of women of color?

These are all questions that I talk about on a regular basis with my friends in the industry and ones that aren’t so I figured why not make a video about it and really get into it. Leave your thoughts in the comments and don’t forget to DONATE!!!

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(Video) Things people say/suggest/do when you’re doing an @indiegogo campaign

April 5, 2013 by

I’ve been doing my “Black Actress” Indie gogo campaign for about 30 days and the experience has been very interesting. I’ve had tons of suggestions on what I should do and say to reach my goal of $20,000 and most the suggestions come from a good place but don’t make any sense. Here is just a few of the ones I’ve gotten from my family. There’s only 10 days left, donate what you can, no amount is too small http://igg.me/at/blackactress

 

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(New Post) New Beginnings and Self Assessments – Happy Easter!

March 31, 2013 by

Only as an adult am I able to take in the importance of Easter. I’ve forgotten about the chocolate, the games and egg hunts and wearing pastel colors for an entire weekend and I’m finally able to see the true message, the beauty and the story. Easter is about new beginnings, a new sense of hope and love and new energy to continue the rest of the journey.

I feel people often forget about 2nd chances and the fact that we all get them and sometimes we even get 3rd and 4th chances if we work hard enough. There’s nothing that we do or have done that can’t be improved or resurrected with a fresh start.

Last night I did my first “self assessment”. I spent nearly 2 hours writing and reflecting on my strengths, my faults, my progression and how and where I can improve. This is something I’ve wanted to do for a while but I kept putting it off I think because I was a bit scared. In the past my idea of self assessment was more like “self criticism” having ideas or reflecting on things and only seeing the negative or beating myself up for not doing it as good as I could have. Being that way did nothing for me, got me no where and never felt like a new beginning. But last night was different, I was happy, I was genuine and it was an assessment rooted in self love. It was a true new beginning. It’s so important to be able to look at yourself and be confident and comfortable enough to have a real conversation on how to be better. If you need a fresh start, what and how do you plan on being different and how committed are you to making a positive change. Forgiveness is not just for some people or situations, it’s for everyone and it’s most important for you. I’m by no means perfect, I’ve made many mistakes and I’ll continue to make mistakes but I forgive myself. I’m constantly getting a 2nd chance and a fresh start and working harder every time at improving myself, my beliefs and everything that is a reflection of me.

If you’re brave enough to give yourself a real self assessment I strongly suggest you do it. Give yourself a new beginning. Happy Easter!

 

PS. I have to sing this song this week for an audition, the lyrics are a true reflection of my inner voice right now! My actions for the next week are all steps for my life to begin!

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(New Post) A REAL conversation about Degrassi….#tbt

March 28, 2013 by




 

This post may or may not get me in trouble but, either way “the trouble” will ultimately be a big release and the deflating of the elephant in the room. 

I was very blessed to grow up on television. My longest gig was on the the show Degrassi: TNG where I had the chance to play the character “Hazel” for 6 seasons.  I had an amazing experience on Degrassi, I was a teenager on top of the world! I traveled, I met fantastic people and I started to develop a fan base, there wasn’t much more I could ask for….

Actually I lied there was a few more things I could ask for and that was mainly to get a CHANCE. In my 6 year run of being on the show I only had ONE major story line around my character and all the other episodes I was the token dose of color or a glorified extra. This experience was incredibly frustrating for me. I was on the show when I was just starting to recognize my own potential and let my imagination run free and so the last thing I wanted was to be stifled creatively on a major platform. Whenever I would talk to the executives about ideas I had or expanding my character in any way, it would always get shut down or pushed to the side. I worked on an album with Universal Canada while doing the show, to get out some of my creative frustration out and suggested to some of the people at Degrassi to let me sing and instead they made my character a “bad singer” lol. It’s easy for me to laugh at the ridiculousness of that now but at the time it wasn’t funny at all! I used to think I was crazy while being on the show because as much as I would be included in episodes and advertising campaigns it always felt like there was another force trying to shut me out. I ignored it though, tried my best to continue to plead my case for why I believed my character should be developed a bit more and continued to do my best on the show and be grateful for the opportunity. So many people had pointed out to me that as black girl in Canada it was great just to see my face on the screen and so I continued on.

Recently I had a conversation with a filmmaker in Canada who had worked with me while I was on Degrassi and he unfortunately confirmed to me the feelings that I had always had but never wanted to admit to. Degrassi had an issue with my race. He told me how the writers and producers had no intentions of developing the story lines of my character unless it was to enhance the story of one of their other white characters. They had some plans for some of the other black characters on the show but their ideas were only to cover the usual stereotypes that we see of people of color on television teen pregnancy, petty theft, basketball, broken family homes etc and he usually had to fight with them to think out of the box with those characters to not have them go down the road of the usual cliches. He told me to get them to do the one major story line that my character had was like pulling teeth and after a few more years of working on the show he had to leave because of the blatant hierarchy system that they had in place and he couldn’t work with people who didn’t share the same beliefs.

This conversation, hurt me but it didn’t surprise me. I knew I wasn’t crazy all those years and it sucks to think that there are people who think like this and treat kids this way but unfortunately this is the world that we live in. I’m always offended when I read or hear someone say “Hazel was my least favorite character” or “Hazel didn’t do shit on the show” I recognize that “Hazel” is not me and I shouldn’t take it to heart but it always stings just a bit because I know that “Hazel” and myself never got a chance to shine on the show for very ugly reasons.

TV land and the entertainment business is a tough place. Its sad to think that we still live in a world where we have to fight for equal rights whether it be for marriage or just to get a story line on a tv show. At the end of the day, I would’ve loved to see some things done differently while I was on Degrassi but I was still grateful for my opportunity because it helped me in many ways for my career.  The experience on that show has strengthened me and inspired me to keep fighting and working my damnedest to change someones perspective on women of color and it inspired a lot of my ideas for my web series “Black Actress”. No one said the journey was going to be easy and that’s what keeps it interesting, if I can learn to turn a negative into a positive I think I’m going the right way.

Don’t Forget To Donate  —> http://igg.me/at/blackactress

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Dealing with Betrayal…Am I able to get over it?

March 28, 2013 by

Of lately the word “betrayal” has been floating around in my head, I know that might sound really weird but that’s how my brain works. The idea was first sparked from watching the last episode of Scandal (which if you haven’t watched you REALLY should). In that episode one of the characters is having a very hard time dealing with betrayal and even though the person that has betrayed him has apologized and is trying  to make it better he just can’t get past it. Something about that moment struck a big chord with me and I couldn’t stop thinking about it. The more I let the word bounce around in my head the more and more sad I became. This week I’ve been feeling a bit like an emotional wreck and I can’t understand why so what have decided to do? Come to my blog and talk about it of course.

I have a few people in my life who I associate with the word “betrayal”. First I want to talk about just the word alone though, the definition says “to be false or disloyal” but the interesting thing is that we all have different levels of what we consider “betrayal” or being “disloyal” and that usually is where the problem lies. How my actions effects each person in my life is completely different which is why it is very easy to not understand why or how you’ve hurt someone or how they’ve hurt you. The people who have betrayed me if they were to be asked what they think they’ve done or if anything at all, their answer more than likely wouldn’t be the same as mine. But the thing I’m struggling with is how to get over the feeling of betrayal or do you ever?

When a relationship of any kind goes through a traumatic experience and there’s hurt and loss of trust, pain and weariness which ultimately leads to one or both parties feeling betrayed, what can you do to mend that feeling for yourself? I have a very hard time being fake, people think because I’m an actress I can just plaster on a smile and give hugs anytime of the day but that’s not true. If I’m uncomfortable and if I don’t feel safe there’s no faking it. I can’t hide how I feel and it will show in everything I do. I’m that person who’s acting really quiet all of a sudden and I need to leave early, that type of uncomfortable. 

But I’ve been asking myself, why do I still have that feeling of betrayal? Why can’t I shake it? I think it’s because I stopped feeling safe. I think that’s what the simple definition of “betrayal” is, the loss of safety. Your secrets, your truths, your jokes, your ideas, your heart, your love, your vulnerability no longer feels safe in the arms of this person. Even when you try to mend the wounds, try to turn a new page and start a new chapter you can’t because you’re different. You’re eyes are open in a way that isn’t good for the relationship, they’re open wider but your walls are higher the lock on the door is tighter and you don’t want to change it.

I’m struggling with the feeling of betrayal because I feel betrayed by people I loved and felt safe with and now I don’t. Will I get over it? Only time will tell but I think thats the only “cure” for betrayal; time. Taking time away, moving on and letting go of the feelings that still hurt you.  So tell me, have you dealt with betrayal? Did you get over it? How?

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Inequality for women, deportees & home again – A conversation with producer Jennifer Holness

March 26, 2013 by

I love Jennifer Holness and Sudz Sutherland! A film making married couple who are making some serious strides for people of color in Canada and shedding light on heart wrenching truths from the Caribbean. They have a new film in theaters called, “Home Again” about 3 deportees born in Jamaica but raised in Toronto, New York and London who have now been sent back because of criminal charges to survive in a land that they no nothing about. The film is very gritty and has a fantastic story. I was proud to be a Canadian – West Indian and watch this great film on the big screen and especially proud of both Sudz and Jennifer who put everything into getting this film made. I had the pleasure of speaking to them both about the film, life and the struggles of being a black person in film in Canada. Check out the interviews below.

 

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(video) Hustling and Confidence discussed by @ATWcurls & @missandrealewis

March 22, 2013 by

There’s only 25 days left in this campaign which means time is officially going to fly by! DONATE NOW!! This whole thing is because I want to change the game, do something great and finally put OUR faces in the spotlight, stop all the stereotypes and the lack of color on the screen and bring in the change that we all want to see in 2013!! Please, Please Donate to this project, I can promise it’ll be worth it.

Latest video is with my homie Antoinette Henry from “Around The Way Curls” she’s a blogger, a hustler, an actress and a singer and truly an inspiring person. We’ve had many discussions about not having confidence, living to your potential and following your passions as an entertainer. This industry ain’t easy but when it’s in you, it’s just in you and the best thing you can do for yourself is give it your all! I appreciate everything she says in this video and I can’t wait to see her win that Tony! Share your thoughts in the comments.

 

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(video) @Chescaleigh and @MissAndreaLewis discuss why they don’t like auditions

March 17, 2013 by

My homie-lover-friend Franchesca Ramsey aka Chescaleigh does it all! She’s a youtuber, comedian, natural hair guru, host AND an actress! She and I share a similar story in the fact that we do so much that sometimes people forget one of the main dreams we’re going after is acting! In the words of Franchesca, “you have to do other things to help you while you’re waiting for the “acting” to start” lol. Those words have never been more true, acting is a “hurry up and wait” type of profession with everything you do, from getting an agent, being on set, taking classes or going for auditions. I have a real love hate relationship with auditions that I’m trying to improve. I recognize it’s a necessary part of my profession but if I can skip it I will! Check out the latest video with Chescaleigh and I discussing why we don’t like auditions. #BlackActress What part of your profession could you do without?

Donate, Share and Tweet! http://igg.me/at/blackactress 

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(video) “We’re all stereotyped” – Tatyana Ali #Blackactress

March 15, 2013 by

 

Tatyana Ali is our guest star in the first episode. Listening to her story was so inspiring and exciting for me, it brought tears to my eyes. My journey is very similar to hers, both of us are West Indian, been in the industry since we were kids, started out doing commercials and print ads for major department stores. Finally moved up to Television and literally grew up on TV.

Her maturity and strength in this industry is incredibly inspiring to watch. Since doing The Fresh Prince of Bel Air she hasn’t stopped, she’s produced, written and starred in many different projects be they big or small but she hasn’t stopped. Speaking to her I confirmed what I already know, when you love something you can’t stop fighting for it. Thank you Tatyana!

Please Donate, Share and Tweet #BlackActress

http://igg.me/at/blackactress

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