What to do in your Downtime

An Actress or Model is a busy person.  This is my understanding of it.  Annika will often spark up conversations with me as though we are currently engaged in a big project with her career.  It is this positive way of seeing herself that I adore so much about her.  She is Sheer Confidence from head to toe.  She may have momentary doubts... but put a Movie Director and a bullhorn in front of her and you will see her light up like a Christmas Tree.  She is ready for this.  Annika is ready for opportunities to work as a Model or as an Actress.  She is ready to be on stage or in front of a camera.  With so much to do in the field, I personally am delighted at the contacts we have had and the relationships they have given us.  Our friends in the field, Adrian R'Mante, Chester See, and her Agents at Model Club are some of our best resources to achieving her goals.  But enough is never enough when you have a burning passion to be something...to be someone.  So that begs the question of how do you keep yourself in forward motion when things appear to be stagnant?  They do get stagnant often, but that does not mean nothing is happening.  Right now, somewhere, someone could be talking about Annika and considering her future.

Annika has many interests, like most children.  She has never been particularly interested in organized sports.  She seems to prefer the type of physical games and activities that children commonly engage in in small groups.  Annika loves to climb Rock Walls, Ride her bike and scooter and just run around.  She is not usually up for a thrill experience but she certainly puts herself into some precarious situations at times.  More often, Annika's interests will lead her toward outside play, imaginary play or Music.  She loves to play "detective" and "Interviewer" or "teacher".  I think it is exactly this fascination with role-play that shows us her passion for acting.  Whether it has been learned from her or not, Annika's little brother Lex possesses the same qualities for acting.  Watching the two of them together is a blast for me and for their Dad.  Annika also has a unique gift for writing, coupled with depth and maturity while on this task.  Ever since the first time she wrote a message in a birthday card for a friend, I have found myself continually amazed by her skills and comprehension...her comic timing and her style.  I am definitely Annika's Biggest Fan...or at least I hope I have proven to her that I am by writing this Blog for her!

During periods when Annika's Audition schedule is slow, she has been filling her time by focusing harder on schoolwork, earning her a spot in the 2011/2012 ALAP program.  This program allows Elementary School kids the opportunity to participate in Special Learning Sessions based on their distinctive level of Proficiency in their current grade levels.  Annika is very proud to have achieved this since last year she was not accepted into the program...a rejection which hindsight shows me created a more determined child in her!  My daughter likes to know WHY and WHY NOT.  She is never satisfied to only see what is on the surface of a thing and I find this challenging at times.  But I am glad she is this way because I want her to be strong, capable and Independent.  Aside from the Gifted-Student program, Annika is taking Improvisation courses at a local Theatre School from an Actor names Rich Morra.  She is getting practice and refreshing ideas so that she keeps thim in the forefront of her mind.  We are so fortunate that this course came around.  It is doing wonders for her! 

In case I have not mentioned it, I love being on this journey with Annika.  She is my Dream Come True.  She is strong where I am weak and I love her.  She has the heart of a lion and she is a fighter.  Many people fail to see this about her because she sometimes comes across as a defeated person, but this is very much only skin deep.  She is relentless and refuses to give up.  I have never ever once seen her quit a thing, and I suspect I may never ever see it.  I will be glad if that is the case.  Like I said, she is everything I am not and a quitter?  HUH!  She could never be that.  Annika recently purchased her first Book of Monologues and has been working on memorizing some of them.  She has a remarkable ability to remember lines she hears and re-enact them...like movie lines and TV lines.  Her comic timing in this way has me laughing most of the time and when she puts things in writing she still carries that same ability to totally crack me up.  Last night she wrote the most incredible letter to the tooth fairy.  In a later Blog, I will transcribe this letter.  She just refuses to take no for an answer.  When Annika decides...it is the word.

Annika and her friends are together everyday here at our home where we have a HomeBased ChildCare.  She has some very deep friendships...people she is really close to.  They love each other deeply and this is something I am really happy that my child has.  She knows who her REAL friends are and they are growing up together.  Her friends, Nicolas and David and her have formed a Musical Group called "OceanSide", where Annika is a drummer.  Annika has ALWAYS wanted to be a drummer since she was very young.  We gave her guitar lessons for 6 months but this was never what she really wanted to play.  So now she just improvises as a drummer.  In time, I will encourage her to consider being a drummer in the school band, but for right now I am content to let her learn as she goes along.  I laugh because as a kid, I also wanted to be a drummer.  My parents said no because of the cost of drum equipment and so I went on to become a classically trained FrenchHorn player.  I played through College.  I will let Annika have her dream...and let her play the drums.  It wil certainly be an adventure.  So this is what we do during the downtime between auditions...this and so much more.

Adrian R'Mante

Celebrity Actors Camp, Adrian R'Mante...one of our favorite Actors!

My child, Annika M. Salgado has had the great fortune of meeting this wonderful person named Adrian R'Mante.  We have known of him for many many years and we were fans from his show on The Disney Channel called, "Suite Life of Zack and Cody".  Adrian's character was Esteban, a loveable Bellhop with a thick South American Spanish accent.  He is a beloved character!  Annika's father and I would watch the show with her and just laugh and laugh at the silly antics and the character combinations we loved so much!  Mr. Moseby, played by Phil Lewis and Esteban were always my personal favorites.  It is so perfect to have great adult actors on these shows that are made for children because we Parents are watching and we are developing into fans of these shows too.  In many ways, The Disney Channel programming and the Actors must market themselves to our demographic too!  Like I said, we ARE watching!

http://www.iamaperformer.com/

When Annika was accepted into CAC (Celebrity Actors Camp) Providence, we were thrilled to meet Adrian and his wife Sandra.  As fans we were happy to meet our favorite actors.  This is what made this Acting Camp really stand out...the opportunity for the kids to be taught and trained by actual Disney Channel Stars.  These are Working Actors who are living the life...they are there...they got there.  Adrian is very hard-working and shares his story about how hard it was to break into Acting and how much it takes to make it.  He often muses about how he wished there were something like this available for him when he was young and trying to get his breakout role.  He is a genuine inspiration and I think that what he does and how he does it with this camp is the Right Way of doing things.  His career so far has been blessed and he has a desire to reach out to the kids.  I am very glad he does have that desire or my life would not be as it is today!

Adrian and his close friend and Camp associate, Chester See, had a very big impact on my child.  Their combined training has made her a strong, confident little person.  She has so much to build on now thanks to these guys!  And she truly adores them!  When we are out on Auditions, Interviews, PhotoShoots or any type of Performance-Related task, Annika is always saying "Adrian says" and "Chester taught me"....These are words that I would feel so lonely without now. As a Parent, I am always seeking out new people who can teach my children and mold them and give them support and guidance.  I do these things but I can not be the one who teaches or shows them everything and besides which I have no knowledge to offer as an Actor.  I can give some input regarding performing because I myself have been a Performer on Stage throughout my life.  I have never Acted, and I doubt I ever shall, but I fully support Annika's desire and dream!


Chester See is also a musician and a very talented one at that.  He has a wonderful song called "Never Did" and it is available for download on itunes.  All proceeds go to charity.  He performed the song for us live one afternoon inside the Westin Hotel.  It was an amazing day!  I am posting pictures here that I snapped while he was playing.  It was an intimate concert. 

We have been blessed to experience CAC, Celebrity Actors Camp here in Providence RI.  I highly recommend this experience to anyone!  There are many opportunities for a career as an Actor, Model, spokesperson, Musician, Theatre-Actor, Commercial Actor and Print-Ad Model.  This is payed "work" that builds a beautiful career and a Savings Account for your child.  My family has grown much closer now that we accept Annika for her unique and individual self.  She is not a "tag-on"...and I will never think of my children as people that need to be along for a ride on my life when really, theirs is extremely exciting !  My kids have so many opportunities now and their Dad and I are loving every minute of it!

Thank you Adrian R'Mante....from the bottom of my heart.  Thank You!