Friday, August 15, 2014

Super Angie... let's do it!


 
How many times do you come up with a good idea but after giving it a shot, it just doesn't work?

Did you quit on your good idea?

Did you decide your idea just must not have been as cool as you once thought?

Now, picture you child (or try to remember back to being a child).... learning to read, ride a bike, taking swim lessons...  Most of the time, the first try isn't successful, right?

I remember when my oldest son, Dallin, was learning to rock climb. He was only 6. We were all new to the sport of rock climbing and bouldering. We had an awesome gym in Utah (Momentum in Sandy) that we went to. They have a fabulous kids wall and Dallin was learning how to read a route and make it around the corner of the wall.  It took a lot of practice. You were practically upside down, going around this sharp corner.  He fell. Again and again and again, he fell. Week after week. He fell.  And the one day, he did it! OH MY GOSH! He did it! He made it around the corner.

About that same time, Dallin was in kindergarten, learning to read. It was hard.  We would always remind him that if he kept at it, he would conquer reading, just like he did rock climbing. 

Now Dallin (age 13)  has very little difficulty reading, rock climbing or anything else he puts his mind to. He learned early on that failing, is just part of the journey to succeeding.
 
   
I LOVE THIS QUOTE!

I remember in elementary school, I fell in love with performing. I really LOVED to sing and dance, but I was kind of an ugly duckling and I was told a few times I wasn't all that great. BUT I KNEW I HAD POTENTIAL. 

I became friends during my Junior high years with a girl named Sarah Baskin. Sarah was a professional actress. She did shows on 5th Ave in Seattle. Like serious, Broadway type of shows. Sarah was amazing. But you know what was even MORE amazing then her impressive resume? Sarah BELIEVED IN ME! She gave me confidence to sing along to her audition tapes.  When I was in 7th grade, my brother was going to audition for ANNIE at his high school. I found out there were auditions for kids to come and be the orphans. Oh man! This was my big break...or so I thought. I didn't get a call back. Sarah did, and she was awesome in that production. My brother also got a part-- as DADDY WARBUCKS!  So i went to every single show. I saw front row. I had the show memorized. I snuck into my brother's room and read the script. I learned all the songs. I sang them day and night. 

 The next two years, I spent time training. Training my acting. Training my reading skills for auditions. Training my singing skills. In 9th grade, I was cast as the lead, Fern, in Charlotte's Web  Web.  That was AMAZING!

Next I went on to H.S. knowing what I wanted to do. I wanted to star in a show! I auditioned for all the shows my sophomore year. I was in them all, but not as a lead. I was in the chorus, or in the background.  Unlike some fellow cast members who assumed this meant it was okay to slack off, I came to every rehearsal. I went the extra mile to find out who my back ground character was. I volunteered. I got to know more about the theater, lighting, sets, ticket sales. By the end of that year, I was the director's helper.  Not only was I learning and growing in acting, but I was learning the ins and out of directing!

11th grade was a HUGE year. Our school was torn apart. We had to go part time to another H.S.  It was interesting to say the least. The coolest part though, was they were building us a BRAND NEW BEAUTIFUL theater.  We were going to open that theater with THE SOUND OF MUSIC.  Oh gosh! I was excited. I auditioned.  I ran anxiously to the hall way...where was my name? Did I get a call back?  No.  I was cast as one of the background nuns.  I was crushed. Really crushed. I mean, the nuns sing some incredible songs that my choir was learning, but I wanted to be one of the kids. I looked young enough. Why didn't I get a call back?

I went to my choir teacher and told him how I felt.  He wasn't in charge of auditions and he wasn't directing any part of the show except for the nun's chorus.  He told me something that changed my life. "Call backs for the kid parts is today after school. Just go."  But my name wasn't on the call back list! "Go anyway"

And so I did.

And I got the part of Louisa.

My acting career really took off after that. More leads. Directing shows. Scholarship to college. The lead part in a USA Network show. Commercials. Short films. Extra work on Everwood and Disney films.

What if I had quit after that first Annie audition? Or what if I hadn't even tried because someone in elementary school told me I couldn't do?

So, what are YOU going to do to MAKE it happen?  Do you just WANT it to happen? Do you just WISH it would happen? Or are you going to MAKE IT HAPPEN?

Let's talk. Find me on FB. https://www.facebook.com/superangielockets

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On Belay

On Belay
Brennan Top Roping

Climb On!

Climb On!
Dallin top roping