I am so beyond thrilled to share that I just completed filming my first movie! Being on a movie set was one of the most magical experiences of my life and I am more certain than ever that this is what I was born to do.
The cast and crew of this film, “Caesar and Otto’s Paranormal Halloween,” which is a “slap-stick comedy” horror movie, were absolutely amazing and I am so blessed to have gotten the opportunity to meet and work with them all. It has been such a joy getting to bring my very dynamic character, Kyla the “femme fatale” chef, to life and I have learned so much about her and myself through the process.
Every Actor and Actress has their own method of preparing for roles and even for getting into character on set. I learned what worked for me to really get into “Kyla-Mode” and I also observed that the other actors and actresses on the set had their own methods that were very different from mine!
As soon as I stepped into Hair and Makeup my transformation to becoming Kyla really began. I really felt as though Kyla was infiltrating my body and I felt JamieLee slipping away. If you’ve ever seen “The Black Swan,” you know what I am talking about. When Natalie Portman’s character becomes the black swan, her entire being is the black swan and that is what happened when I got into “Kyla-Mode.” I actually felt myself leaving my body and Kyla taking over. I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t terrifying because now instead of Kyla being in the background, I saw JamieLee in the background as Kyla became me. Luckily, I had been going into character for a couple of months at this point so slipping into character was not as terrifying as it could have been, though staying in character for longer periods of time made me lose sight of JamieLee more and more as time went on.
I was no longer JamieLee. When the chef coat was on, so was Kyla. I was Kyla all day when on the set, which you can imagine was a little intimidating for those around me! Kyla carried around a butcher knife all day and listened to the music that I had chosen to really inspire Kyla and all of her life experiences that brought her to the place she was for this movie.
I will definitely say that for me, the music was the most helpful tool to get me into “Kyla-Mode” on set. I will also say that it was very challenging to find the perfect songs to really inspire my moods, especially because Kyla is such a dynamic character and each of her scenes required very different, intense emotions. This was truly such a wonderful role because I really got to flex my acting muscle with all of her different layers!
Luckily for me, the cast and crew were very respectful of my pre-filming ritual and allowed me to remain in character all day, even when I wasn’t filming. I got to bring such a dynamic, serious character to an otherwise “slap-stick comedy/horror” film, was truly such an amazing experience that I feel so blessed to have been a part of. I can’t wait for my next project! I have already learned so much about myself and the work needed to really understand my character.
I encourage everyone to continue to work towards his or her dreams. Once you attain it, you still need to work to maintain it. Even though I have been in my first movie does not mean that the work stops now. I am now working even harder to better my skills and talent so that I continue improving. When you’re doing what you love, as I am, the work is hardly “work.” I hope that you are all as passionate as I am about what you are doing and I wish you all the best of luck! XO