Graduation, Movie Auditions, Homeschool Convention, and Life Update

Wow, has life been crazy!  Since I last updated, my family got a puppy, we attended the Homeschool Convention, I graduated, I made up my resume for acting, I sent my resume to a casting director to see if I could get a part in a movie, I've attended friends birthday parties and graduations, went on a date with my sister Kimber (her graduation gift to me), made new friends, went to a friends house for dinner with my family, filled out a job application, met a friend for lunch, had music practice at church, did a crazy (awesome) workout for hours with friends, went to the gym, and many other things.  Life is crazy. Life is great.

I'm not going to bother you with the details of all of those things, but I will go over a few of the main ones. :)

First off, GRADUATION!

I graduated on Saturday, June 13th and participated in a graduation ceremony at HEAV's Homeschool Convention in Richmond, VA.  I was blessed to be able to graduate with a few of my fellow friends as well. :)  After the ceremony was over, I headed home to celebrate with friends and family.  My friend Jaime gradated with me, so we did our party together.  I think there ended up being around 65 people in our house at one point or another.  I was blessed by everyone who was able to attend and greatly missed those who were unable to come.  How wonderful it is to have so many Godly friends to encourage and celebrate with!  I was also blessed by the many gifts I received.  I will not list them all here except to mention the gift I received from my wonderful parents:  A trip to NYC to see Les Miserables on Broadway!!!!!!!!!! I still can't believe it!!  I'm definitely looking forward to our trip and fun time together in NYC!  Overall, I had a great time and made memories that will last a lifetime. :)

The Homeschool Convention isn't just for graduates, though.  While it is directed towards homeschoolers, it is an annual 3-day event for any person willing to attend and is full of speakers, vendors, and fellow homeschoolers. We always come away encouraged from the convention. :)  This year one of the sessions I went to was a "Vocal Master Class" by Mark Greenawalt.  He had a few pre-selected singers come up and sing a song (or portion of a song) and then, with the audience observing, gave the singers tips on how to do better, working with them live.  We were able to hear the difference in their voices just from seemingly simple tips on things such as correct breathing, pronunciation, knowing the prosody, and singing with correct emphasis/emotion.  After the class was over, I was glad to have the chance to talk to Mr. Greenawalt and get some help in regards to finding a vocal teacher for myself.

Another session I found very encouraging was "Renewing Your Joy" by Voddie Baucham.  It really spoke to me in regards to trusting in the Lord, His timing in all situations, and realizing why I do what I do.

Last Wednesday, I received an email from AMTC regarding a casting call for a movie called POLAR.  According to the email I received, "POLAR is a non union faith based Comedy about a man and a woman from two completely different worlds that come together because of a work assignment to understand their differences, but through that journey they come to understand a whole lot more than they planned to."  The filming will all take place in MD!  That's really close seeing as movies seem to be shot more often in LA or NYC.  While I did not fit any other criteria for a paid position in the movie, there were also looking for extras (not a main character, just a passerby/in the background/part of the crowd kind of person).  With my current level of experience on movie sets being zero,  I knew that any kind of experience I can get will be of great gain to me whether or not I'm getting paid monetarily.  As I mentioned earlier, I received the email on Wednesday night.  The deadline for sending the casting directors my resume was Friday.  And at the time I received the email, I had not even started on making a resume.  Great!  So as soon as I got home (probably around 9:30pm), I got out my acting books and looked on AMTC online for material about making your resume.  I did the best I could that night and sent my rough draft to the Help Desk (AMTC's "customer service" for their participants).  The next day, I went back and forth a few times with my adviser to perfect my resume.  Since I have not yet gotten my professional head-shots done, I got Kimber to take a few pictures for me and we found one that would work. :)  On Friday, I sent my resume to the casting directors. If they like my resume, they will email me a request to the audition.  Then if they like my audition they can give me a part in the movie.  While I would love to get a chance to audition or play a part in POLAR I do not see it as a loss if I don't get a call back.  Why not?  Because when it comes to auditioning there is nothing to lose and everything to gain.  From this experience, I have already gained the knowledge on how to make a resume, how to plan on short-notice, and how to correspond with my adviser and the casting directors.  I have gained that knowledge and experience and since an audition or a part in the movie are not mine in the first place, I cannot lose them. :)  If I do hear back from the CD's I will most certainly notify you all by posting about it.

Aside from that, I am trying to get a job a a local hardware store about 6 miles from where I live. :)  My dad knows the people as he frequents there getting lawn care supplies and repairs, not to mention he does their lawn maintenance. ;)  I have my application filled out and hope to hand it in soon! :)

Now that I'm graduated, I get the "so what are you going to do now" question rather often. ;)  I figure I may as well answer it on here so that you all know as well! :)  Obviously, one of the first things I say is, "Well, I'm currently working with an organization called AMTC..." etc.  You all know that already, but that is a very broad answer.  What EXACTLY am I doing?  Well, that's a little more complicated. At the moment, plans have been made, but have not yet been carried out.  It has only been a little over a week since I graduated but that doesn't mean life has slowed down any. Here's my list:

1.  Find a vocal teacher and take weekly lessons (if any of you know of a vocal teacher, PLEASE leave a comment so I can look them up)!

2. Become a member of the online acting class, "Hack Hollywood".

3. Get a YouTube account and begin posting music videos.

4. Figure out how to copyright my music so that I can publicize it without fear of it being stolen.

5. Post weekly or at least bi-weekly on my blog.

6. Get some more fundraising events together.

7. Find local events and opportunities to showcase my songs and work on acting skills.

8. Do all these things plus normal life things such as helping out around the house, getting my Bible/devotions/prayer time in, going to church, doing billing for my Dad's business, getting a job, babysitting, special occasions with friends/family, etc. :)

So there you have it.  My list of things needing to be done.  

And then summer activities.  This Thursday, I and some of my family members are volunteering at KingsFest (a Christian concert held at Kings Dominion).  In July, my Uncle Greg is getting married at the beach and we'll be staying there for about a week.  I'm also planning on attending my next LAUNCH in July. The first week of August  Kimber, Caleb, Seth, my friend Jaime, and I will be in KY on a mission's trip.  The last week of August is our annual beach trip with my mom's side of the family.  Then the school year begins for my siblings, and I figure out what's next. ;) :)

There is one thing y'all can do to help out if you'd like.  On the side of my blog, I have a poll to see what y'all are most interested in seeing me post about.  If you want me to post about something that isn't an option on the poll, just leave a comment.  

Thank you so much for your support and for reading all of this! :)  The Lord be with you all!

~Alexis Noel