I've made the big move to the big apple! I am training, auditioning, working, and continuing my voice over career.  Stay tuned for all my NYC shenanigans and follow me on insta to see all my photos! 

Here's an example of my work. Excited to continue my journey into voice over. 

It feels like time for a website update! Have I been working since graduating? Yes! I've been voice acting for the last four months now. With all my new free time, I've been able to do tons of research on voice over, recording techniques, equipment, working with clients,  and how to make profit. This weekend I took a two day voiceover workshop in Austin with a professional who's been working in the business for decades and she was awesome! I'm feeling motivated to keep going. Most of the jobs I've completed recently are voicemails, but here's a link to a more fun project I completed for a romantic book. My voice is in the beginning and near the end. Also, if you haven't already, listen to my demos!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=PX6y2wHgfsE
My other new job is teaching an after-school theatre class to Pre-K and K, and 4th and 5th graders at two schools through a company in town, Creative Action.  The company is awesome and the kids are adorable! Theatre classes had a huge influence on me when I was young, so I'd love to be able to make a positive impact on their social and emotional development as well. 

I recently revamped my recording set up. My studio is located in a quiet, walk-in closet with blankets and clothes that make this space a sound-proof bubble! I upgraded from my USB Blue Snowball microphone to the Audio-Tecnhica AT2035 compressor microphone. I switched from Garage band to Audacity for editing. It's impressive how much these upgrades have improved my sound quality! Audacity makes it possible to manage background noise, reduce breathing noises, track the noise floor, and I can even mess with the bass and treble to have a fuller sound. With the new mic, I also bought an interphase (U-PHORIA UMC22) to connect the mic to my laptop and get phantom power the mic requires. I did a  sound test to double check, and the new set up is definitely sounds 10X better!   

I had extra fun this week being an extra! A couple weeks ago, I woke up at 5 A.M. to register with Central Casting, the primary background acting company in Los Angeles. On Tuesday night, I worked on American Horror Story. It was kinda crazy. I was bored at home and saw that they needed blonde actresses asap, so I got the details and rushed to Sony Studios through rush hour traffic. In between takes, I chatted with a fun, young actress who I didn't recognize.   (I didn't watch Scream Queens). After the scene, someone told me I was chatting with Billie Lourd, the daughter of Carrie Fisher! The key to acting super casual around famous people is to not know they're famous. Then, Emma Roberts, who I adore, did a scene right it front of me. In the scene I'm in, this dude just told the Hillary supporters to calm down and my face is like "you calm down boring mustache man!!!"

If you're hoping to step your Instagame up on your trip to LA without going broke, read on! Everyone told me before moving here that it was going to be expensive to enjoy, but I've found a ton of cheap things to do and I avoid paying for parking at all costs. If you're driving here, you gotta check out the Grand Canyon.  Jack and I did the South Kaibab Trail to Ooh Aah point and it took us 1-2 hours. Signs warn against trying to do the whole trail, unless you are an expert and carrying two days worth of water and food. I think it costs us $30 to get in the park, but this giant hole in the Earth was #worthit. Pictures can't do it justice, but Instagram it anyways!

Once you're in LA, the Hollywood sign is a must. How else will your followers know you've arrived? I've gone twice. The first time I saw it from Lake Hollywood Park. From there, we drove through the neighborhood to get a closer look. There was no parking, so we illegally parked and quickly ran up for some pictures. The second time I went, my friend and I came to Beachwood Canyon and did a lengthy hike to get behind the sign. The residents are #haters of tourist and the "no entry" gate was locked. Luckily, someone coming back from the hike opened it for us. Apparently, it's better to start this hike from the Griffith Observatory. Don't let the confusing directions and hater neighbors stop you from getting a bomb-ass pic with the sign. Runyon Canyon Park is another great hike, where celebrities apparently roam. It's long enough to be a real work-out and there are plenty of water fountains, views, and dogs to admire. Venice beach and Santa Monica pier are also free if you can find free parking. Take a stroll through the picturesque Venice Canals and admire the bridges and houses. Then stroll down the boardwalk from Venice beach to Santa Monica pier; it takes about an hour. Snap some photos on the pier with the ferris wheel in the background and watch the street performers and magicians. My favorite beach is El Matador in Malibu. The cliffs, rocks, and caves are so picture-worthy when I went, that there was a music video being made. Park on the highway for free. Are you sensing that I'm a cheap person? Because I am #stingy.

Another free thing to do in LA is be an audience member. I saw Conan and got a FREE shirt for shaking my booty before the show. You can be a audience member by signing up in advance on various sites and sometimes they pay you in cash to be there.  Go to an improv show at The Groundlings or Upright Citizens Brigade. See a stand-up show at the Laugh Factory. All of those tickets are less than 15 bucks! Afterwards, check out the Urban Lights at LACMA. Pretend you're Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher in No Strings Attached and have a dramatic breakup... or just take some more pictures.

Food is what I'm having to spend the most on while I'm here. The grocery stores and restaurants are expensive. A really fun brunch spot is The Roof on Wilshire. Their pancake lasagne is just wowwww. It was kinda pricey, but worth it. Another LA breakfast option is to get an acai bowl. If you don't take a photo of it, did you really even have one?   If you're looking for dinner or lunch, Meatzilla has burger buns with a pizza on top. What more are you asking for? The most expensive thing to do on a trip to LA is the amusement parks. Bring tons of snacks and comfortable shoes. Get there when it opens ands stay until they close to get the most bang for your buck. At Disneyland, there are free Fast Passes at the popular rides. I don't think going to Disneyland will make or break your trip, but it will definitely be an entire day of fun. I hope you enjoyed my cheap and fun list of things to do here in LA! Make sure your followers think you're living a life of luxury :)  

I've been in Los Angeles for a month now! So what the heck am I up to? I'm interning two days a week at a production company learning about television and film development and one day a week at a casting studio. On Mondays, I have class 9-5:30 and learn about development, writing, and "How Hollywood Works." I really like my internship at the production company. I do script coverage and research projects and my coworkers are super nice! At the casting office internship, I'm allowed to audition for any project that comes through so I've been to three. It's good to still be acting at least a little throughout the week. Interning at a casting company has been an eye opening experience, because I see how an amazing audition isn't enough. Almost everyone who comes in auditions well. It unfortunately has so much to do with "type."  I had plans of taking an acting class or two once I got here, but they are ridiculously expensive. (at least the ones I really want on my resume) I didn't expect to love Los Angeles so much. The people are nice (no seriously). The weather is perfect (obviously). The traffic only makes me want to gauge out my eyes a little. It takes me over an hour to go ten miles. I've done so many cool things here which I'll write about in my next post. :)

Guess who just graduated from the University of freaking Texas? What a rollercoaster it has been. It's such a cliche, but it seriously went by fast. Four years ago, I decided to go to UTSA for a year as a "CAP" student. In order to transfer to UT at a sophomore, I had to take a bunch of core classes and get a certain GPA. It was honestly a very rough transition from high school. I remember asking my parents if I could  drop out to pursue acting. I was studying for HOURS each day. Luckily, I stuck it out and got into UT, my dream school. In my first two weeks at UT, I auditioned and got a role in an awesome student-directed play and decided to apply to the College of Fine Arts to be a Theatre Major. I was in more plays and got permission to take some Theatre History courses. Towards the end of Sophomore year, I got a call that my application had been accepted! Once I was in the Theatre department, I could finally take the acting classes that I had been waiting for. I took Acting 1,2,3, Comedy Acting, Shakespeare Acting, Acting for the Camera, Acting for Directors, Dialects for the Stage, Voice Over, and Audition Techniques. I also started taking acting classes outside of UT. Junior year was a year of more acting and studying. My senior year, I lived with my two best friends, acted in another play, and signed on with an agent. I started going to commercial auditions and even got a callback for a meat commercial (lol). All of a sudden, I had completed eight semesters. It was not a simple or easy journey, but I just kept going. I owe this degree to my parents, professors, advisors, and friends! Congratulations to everyone who graduated this spring, has already graduated, or working towards it! This degree represents four years of my life that I was continuously working towards something and succeeded. It was not a simple or straightforward journey, but it was so worthwhile.