Becoming a Superstar

There is no special way to become a Super Star or any one path to follow to get there.  I think sometimes about how some of our favorite TV and Movie stars got there.  They did not get up and say "My goal is to be a SuperModel or Movie Star" necessarily.  But, they also never set out to land at the community Theater level and never get higher.  A lot of people just get caught up in the steps or they back down because it is a lot of work.  In all honesty, the difference is in the dedication.  How dedicated are the people who support the Child Star and what they sacrifice or create for the Youth Actor to rise up the chain.  Acting is no different from other careers...it is important to put in the time and acquire the skills necessary to handle larger projects.

Another hidden aspect to finding success (I believe), is the Law of Attraction.  The more focused the interest, the greater the draw.  We here at the Salgado-VanGyzen home are Disney Channel fans. We have very selective TV and Movie tastes.  When Annika was very very young and was first being introduced to TV shows, there were many to choose from. As a new Mother, I recalled that I grew up watching Sesame Street mostly.  Other favorites were Mr Rogers, Electric Company and Tom & Jerry.  Where Annika was concerned, we opted on a new addition to our TV family and that was the Disney Channel.Some of the shows she watched as a preschooler were PB&J Otter, The Wiggles, Rolie Polie Olie, HigglyTown Heros, Jojo's Circus and Little Einsteins.  It was wonderful to have these shows to help her grow with and learn from.  We visited Walt Disney World for Annika's 5th birthday and it was the best family vacation I could have ever experienced and I believe that all three of us enjoyed it completely!  Our deepset LOVE for Disney was set in stone.

                                         Annika age 5, 2006 at Hollywood Studios, Hollywood & Vine



A few years later, Alex was born.  Somehow between the 9 months of pregnancy and the first 6 months of his life, Annika hit a TV-Growth spurt.  She was 6...then 7 and suddenly, she was too big for the Little Einsteins.  I nearly missed the memo.  I had not noticed that her TV need and interests were changing.  I would come into the room and find her watching The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.  I wasn't sure how I felt about this show.  I didn't yet see my child being ready for some of the more mature aspects of this non-cartoon.  On the show, twins Zack and Cody live in an upscale Boston Hotel where their Single Mom, mother is a lounge singer.  The colorful characters that surround them are nearly as outrageous as the silliness that ensues.  But as a Mother myself, I felt that my child was learning to talk, speak, and mimic mannerisms that are theatrical and unrealistic.  With this kind of influence, how was she going to develop the necessary skills to adapt to reality?  I feel that TV images can be dangerous to a child's deveopment and should be carefully selected.  This is why shows like SpongeBob were never part of our experience.  But eventually I realized that I could familiarize myself with her programming and decide what it was that she liked about the show.  What was funny?  What was intriguing about the characters?  Was it good or total garbage?

I became a fan of the show myself!  And then Hannah Montana and Wizards of Waverly Place, and many more.  No TV shows are perfect in the subject matter or connection to reality, but what Disney does right far outweighs what they do not.  They are a commercial-free station and have a large variety of programming for kids of various ages and tastes.  Between shows they offer "shorts" which are as interesting as the full shows.  As for the show that started it all for us, The Suite Life, it has become our household favorite.  My personal favorite is Mr. Moseby who is played by Phil Lewis.  So I became a fan and a Lover of All things Disney.  After reading The Secret in August of 2010, I learned that we attract to us the things we Love.  When Annika arrived for her Audition to Celebrity Actors Camp, I was delighted to discover that the Camp had brought along an actual Celebrity to hear the Auditions, and it was none other than Phil Lewis himself!

So here we are on the precipice of great opportunity, and I am reflecting upon the journey.  Where did it actually begin?  Who started the passion for this journey?  Who's desire is it really?  Many people have cautioned us Parents of Youth Actors to be sure that the child wants this.  Every one of the people I have met along this path are here because their children are pushing for it, working for it and really truly desire to be Actors!  Adrian has been an amazing coach and has shown the kids and us Parents how to help them get there.  He introduced us to his friends in the business so that they might have an idea that we exist.  And from here on, we must continue to follow his example and set in motion the steps needed to secure success.  It doesn't hurt to LOVE it!  It only helps!  The more we LOVE something the more we draw it to us.  When the Love is gone, the dream will end.  I hope I do not wake up too soon!

The Results Are In!

Annika pictured here with Matt Timmons and his Brother in Providence CAC 2011

I am having a lot of fun documenting my nine-year old daughter's journey from average kid to aspiring actress/superstar!  I am going to be posting plenty of blogs sharing about how making the phone call to Celebrity Actors Camp has launched us into a new and exciting phase of life.  My last blog entry about Annika's Showcase at the Westin Hotel in Providence was the summation of the weeks she had spent in Celebrity Actors Camp in Providence which ran from mid-February until Late March.  During that span of time, Annika participated in Training by Well-known stars of the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon.  These are exceptional Actors and Talented people who happen to Love the Kids and work really well with them.  I think I can speak for all the parents involved when I say what an amazing experience this has been for them!

So, as with any Program, there comes an endpoint and at the endpoint we must evaluate.  Our children experienced an Audition Showcase where they prepared a Monologue and delivered it to several Casting Agents and Talent Agents from around the country.  These people were hand-selected by the Camp Leader, Mr. Adrian R'Mante.  For us parents, the moment of truth would come when we saw some results.  We were all asking ourselves the same question:  Did my child perform well enough to be called back?  Will they Be represented?  Will there be something that comes next for them or not?  I think most of us agree that we will continue to pursue Acting and Modeling now that we are better versed in how to communicate with people in the Business of Movies, Tv and Modeling.

Giovanni Samuels from Suite Life of Zack and Cody with Annika and another Camper from Providence.

From the feedback that has come in over the last week, from Monday until now, I have seen some good results for Annika.  She was called right away to come to Boston and meet with a potential Agency called Model Club Inc.   MCI is a reputable Agency with 25 years of experience and they cover the entire New England Area.  Today (Friday) we eagerly await an email response to determine their level of interest in her.  But then there was some very interesting and doubly exciting news that came from the Showcase too. We parents knew that Adrian was planing to bring out Mr. Larry LaFond from Hollywood.  He Casts for Nickelodeon!  I personally was extremely thrilled to know that my little baby was going to perform her Monologue for a Professional of his caliber with his connections to the Hollywood TV network.  Larry was kind enough to review the children and send a written letter to share the names of his 15 or 16 favorites.  This list, which I now call the "Short List" is where my true happiness lies...for my daughter's name was on it!  Annika M. Salgado.  That's my girl!

For now, I am content.  There is so much work to do if a person is to succeed in a tv show, movie or any sort of acting career.  But for today, we are simply content! 

~Annika's Showcase~

On February 13th 2011, I changed the course of my life with a single spontaneous phone call...and as they say, the rest will be history!  Already so many amazing situations have come along and experiences that I am grateful we have gotten to have!  From this point forward I feel a greater sense of control over how to manage each step of our path.  I had been hoping for a new adventure for my career, but I never would have chosen ACTING...or for my child to be an ACTOR!  It makes me laugh a little actually, because I still feel like I am being dragged along for the ride (so to speak), and yet, I have to do all the researching and calling and typing and paying and ordering and listening and asking.  I find it extremely rewarding in a way.  It is wonderful to use my skills of negotiation, and my strong skills at marketing, networking and just creating relationships in general.  The Acting Business is all about relationships.  And not as people may think- "it's who you know"- when actually, as Adrian R'Mante has taught us, it is more about WHO knows YOU.
And so it is very important to make the proper impressions, make the impressions quickly and never stop smiling.  I cannot imagine anyone more skilled at doing this than I am!

So I would like to tell the story of the day of Annika's Audition Showcase.  From the beginning of Acting Camp, we were always aware that Celebrity Acting Camp and Adrian R'Mante had the connections and the desire to not only train the children to pass auditions successfully but also to provide them with the opportunity to experience a real audition and hopefully to act as a springboard for their careers.  Thus resulting in yesterday's Talent Showcase where Adrian invited Casting Directors and Talent Agents to come out and hear the children audition.  There were approximately 50 children and 4 Guests who came to hear the auditions.  The auditions were recorded so that Adrian could continue to share with Industry people.  On Sunday, inside the Westin Hotel in Providence, nervous parents and young actors lined the hallway of the second floor corridor and waited patiently for their 5 minutes of fame.

When it came time for Annika's audition, she was in there for about 5 minutes which is what we expected.  She came out smiling but also ran directly to me and threw her face into my belly.  I felt her shaking and sobbing a bit.  when I got her to withdraw her face it was red and she had tears in her eyes.  I wiped them away, smiling at her and asked, "these are happy tears, right?".  She let out a giggle and said "yes! I don't even know why I am crying, I just felt nervous".  We laughed and hugged and went on to exchange telephone numbers with a few new friends.  Before we had arrived, Annika announced to me that she was not nervous at all.  I suspect that her nervousness was more social than anything since there were so many nervous auditioners waiting with her in the holding room for 2 hours.

As we left, I observed her quietly.  We held hands as we walked to the parking garage.  The air was cool and the city was surprisingly quiet, as was the walk.  Her usual chatty nature was much subdued.  Suddenly she began, "Adrian Thanked me" she said.  I was unsure what this meant to her, but she continued, " he was proud of me because I did not forget anything and I did not need to start over, and there were other kids who did".  I was silently pleased to hear this, but I simply nodded as we got into the car.  She was not done yet and so she added, "Mommy do you think I will get in?"  I quickly answered, "Sweety, you ARE in". 

Having been a stage performer during my life as a singer and performer, I could understand the exact emotions she had at this precise moment.  I had anticipated it.  It is the Lull...it follows the big performance.  It is a feeling like what you just did was not significant enough.  It should have been bigger, lasted longer or just been better.  It is a feeling of loneliness and emptiness only filled by the next big thing.  I had expected it.  I knew she would need something and so to celebrate, we had invited friends and family for a lasagna dinner at our house.  We went to the market and got our goods and went home.

Annika's energy was low, but as our guests arrived and began to socialize and the house became loud with the wonderful sounds of LOVE and FRIENDSHIP, I witnessed the very thing that life is about. My favorite moment of the night was while I was making the lasagna, ALL the kids and Didi and Daly and Danielle were there with me in the kitchen- sitting on the floor and drinking wine and laughing!  The day was not even about me and I FELT LOVED.  They could have all left me in there cooking but they chose to stay with me!  You couldn't squeeze another body into my kitchen!

 It all makes sense.  Annika was smiling and happy.  Everyone was!  Dinner took forever to cook but after a nice meal and a "Scene It" game and WHOLE LOT OF WINE and dessert, it was the best day anyone could have asked for!  I want my children to remember who the people in the lives are that LOVE them and SUPPORT them no matter what.  Even if she didn't notice who they are, I know.  And a Mother keeps a record...in her mind and in her heart.  I also appreciate those who paid attention to her schedule and sent encouraging notes and well-wishes on Facebook.  Anyway, when Annika's career takes off, so does mine.  Who would have ever thought THAT would be MY destiny? Life is funny- and this was a curveball I never sawr coming. Well- I am ready.  Let's do it!

~Finding Inspiration~

I am finding my inspiration embodied in harmony.  Just the mereness and meakness of harmony.  I am musically inclined so to compare my knowledge of harmony to the type of harmony that occurs in a musical sense, makes it easy for me to strive for it.  I just need to match the pitch.  Sometimes I will have the lead part...and at times I will have to chime in on que with the right matching notes or frequency.  And if I am on pitch according to the music I hear but those who are playing along with me are discordant, then it suits me to change my pitch to create the needed harmony. 

Perhaps the other musicians are too new at their instrument to be expected to have the technique needed to remain in harmony with me.  It behooves me- the older, wiser and more skilled one- to therefore meet them at their place where we can harmonize without faultfinding.  And perhaps the other musician is just lacking the skills, regardless of how long they have played the instrument?  Finding blame and placing it does not create harmony, but blending to make the music right is all that is needed. 

I know you are thinking this is all for the sake of the audience who is watching and listening, right?  Not really.  It is for the sake of the hearer.  Some in the audience are tone deaf and so they think they are hearing good music either way.  Others are so critical that even if the music were perfect, they would hate the song or would have demanded that it be in a different key.  No- this process is for the hearer.  This process is for the professional who knows the benefits far outweigh the losses.  The hearer is the one who knows.  The hearer is the wise one who lets others feel good because they truly deserve it. 

Where there is harmony in the music, in the soul, there will be peace.  That is all I want right now.

Do it All

I just want to transform.  Today.  I just want to do it all today.  I want to move to Florida and live in my Florida home and my Florida life.  I want to feel the sun and smell the newness of a different life.  I want to see my new furniture and my car parked out in the driveway in front of my new garage.  I want to take a dip in my inground pool today...or a warm soak in the hot tub tonight.  I want to hear the echo of my new living room without the furniture in it.  I want to paint the walls with warm tones of rustic orange and other southwest influences.  I want to smell the new leather of my comfortable sofa.  I can already feel the comfort of my bed there...the most comfortable mattress money can buy.  And it is not extravagant or over the top, but it is perfect and complete and whole.  There is Love and Harmony and Happiness there.  There is strength and power there and here inside my thoughts today.

But I see it.  I have been there and felt it.  And now that I know it is my future life, I am restless here and begging for patience to prevail.  I feel like opening my doors and having a yard sale.  Please- TAKE MY STUFF.  I will not need it.  I will be fully altered.  My hope though is to fullfill this desire while being mutually beneficial to others needs.  My friends and family- I wish for them to be whole and perfect...for them to feel their strngth and be powerful.  I hope for them to be loving, harmonious and happy. 

I am Whole and Perfect, Strong and Powerful, Loving, Harmonious, and Happy.

~trust in the MASTER~

Trust is tough.  I have little of it.  I love what I am reading about in the "Master Key System, written by Charles Haanel in 1912.  Alot must have happened in the Universal mind during this particular span of time because there is much writing to substantiate similar philosophies...the Law of attraction, The Universal Mind and Universal Substance, The Power of the mind and the Right or Certain Way. 

Well, today I began combining the lessons of weeks 1 and 2.  Meditation...week one is controlling yourself to actually sit and meditate regularly while week two is to add to that that you must control the flow of your thoughts as you control your body.  I was very tired today.  I was resting and when I felt rested enough, I sat in an upright meditational position.  From there, I relaxed and let my mind drift...I had a rather unusual expereince where I kept re-living imagery I had expereinced in my life at different stages.  Also there was a lot of tv imagery.  This allowed me to conclude what I once held as a firm belief that too much time spent ifo the tv causes blockage of your energy and causes damage to you psychologically.  We need to be able to tune to the infinite and cannot do so productively with a barrage of additional (garbage) data clogging the mechanism...which of course is our minds.  I decided to be more conservative about my own tv intake and my children's.  They will not be happy but I will find resourceful ways to make it fun for them.

A profound aspect I experienced focused on me lying in grass.  I love the feel and smell of being immersed in grass.  Wet grass, tall grass, dry grass blowing in the wind on a  hilltop.  Grass growing wildly or just carefully manicured.  It does not matter- as long as I can smell the dirt and earth among the grass and feel it on my skin.  At one point I saw images of a battle.  Men (all men) in a clearing in a wooded area.  They were wearing armor and dressed for battle.  I could not hear words but I saw movement.  There were many men and horses.  I was lying on the ground observing. I felt as though I were one of them.  Maybe I had been hit or knocked off a horse?  Maybe I was believed dead or just of no consequence to the others.  I felt fatigued but not in fear.  I was not afraid as I watched, just a feeling of dizziness.  That is all I can recall.

I felt restored of energy when I completed my short meditation.  I ought to have done more.  I will strive for 25-30 minutes tomorrow.

~The Best Sunday Ever~

The Sunday that we expected our callback from the initial audition was the best day ever!  I can think of few days that were better.  I laugh at people who try to say that the best day of their lives is the day their kids were born!  LMAO, no way!  Maybe for the father!  NOT for the mother, I am telling you from experience.  You are in so much agony.  But the Sunday that I was waiting to hear if my kid was "good enough"...that was an amazing day.  They had informed us that there had been approximately a thousand or more auditions and only 50 children were being chosen.  Naturally I wanted Annika to be chosen.  I just did not plan on taking their offer, but I wanted to hear it.  I had to know if she was good enough.

They promised that the callbacks would happen from 9am to 11am and at 10am we got the call from Michael Worth.  He said that Phil Lewis who had heard Annika's brief audition monologue felt there was potential.  Michael commented that wkith Annika's beautiful good looks, modelling should not be ruled out either.  I honestly cried when I hung up.  It was then that Annika insisted we move forward.  I had told her it would be an honor to get the callback but that our answer would be "no"...but my pride got the better of me and I said "maybe", which eventually lead to a YES.  I was not the only person involved in making this decision so I cannot take the credit for that.  I more felt I was swept up in it and moved along with little option.

That afternoon, we signed her up.  The following Saturday we arrived at the Westin Hotel for an orientation and to meet the man who operated the camp, Adrian R'Mante.  We were also introduced to his wife Sandra Winebarger and then to Matt Timmons (Suite Life on Deck) and Chester See (recording artist and host of Disney 365).  These were her trainers for the two days.  There were photo Ops, autographs, performances, improvs and plenty of excitement to go around.  Ultimately, Adrian's experience in the Industry presented great help to us all in choosing the right steps for our children.  It was clear to me that every shild had their individual ability or gift.  Also, the children have different desires for their careers.

The 3rd day of camp came a week after on the following Saturday.  Now we are being invited back for one more day of Improv and practice with Chester See...that same evening the kids will run through a final rehearsal for their Audition with some well-connected people.  Sunday March 20th is the "big day".  Our trainer Cassie explained about this last week.  As she shared, I felt the energy growing around us all.  There was that feeling of real hope and excitement.  She told us that Adrian invites 7 Casting Directors and Talent Agents who represent clients in Nickelodeon production and the Wb and Fox Family and the Disney Channel.  She confirmed that Larry LaFond will be there.  Cassie was persuasive and I, for one, believe her.  She said that in addition to these folks, local RI and MA agents will turn out to see if they can scoop up some new talent to represent.  Annika will need representation if she is to anywhere in this Industry.

So, she has a lot to accomplish and alot to overcome.  Adrian always remarks that although her acting is great, she witholds her personality...and she ought to walk in showing it off.  She's got it in her.  I knw she does.