Another Audition... Another Adventure

I participated in another audition today, and it went very well! It was at my new church. (Can I still call it new? We've been there since January...)

Our church has a really neat program for the children. The littlest ones (Birth through PreK) go to "The Farm" while the K-4th graders go to a big area known as "XKids City." (Our church is Crossroads and they just used the X instead of "cross" to keep it simple and cool. It's also how they did our church's website address.) There's a big stage that's nicely decorated with different doors that really work (for skits and such), a full sound system, lights, big screen... it's really great!

Anyway, I decided a couple of weeks ago that I was ready to become a part of all that. So I let the coordinator know, and was sent a lengthy script to learn for the part of the storyteller. (The storyteller is basically teaching the "main lesson" to the whole group each week. There are also sometimes skits, videos, etc. involved as well as the worship time and small group discussions & crafts.) But learning a storyteller script is hard! It's very different from learning a play, since there is no dialogue and no other actors to help things move along! Just me.

Anyway, I was able to pass the audition (whew!) and am scheduled to be the storyteller next Sunday. I'll be talking about God's grace and telling them the story of the lost sheep & lost coin from the book of Luke. I think this will probably be great stage experience for me... I've done the one-act thing, I've done musicals, and I've even handled short monologues. But a whole 5-6 minutes of speech? And being entertaining enough for K-4th graders while doing it? That's a new venture. You'd think because I'm a former elementary school teacher that it'd be easy for me... but it's not. Perhaps because when I'm teaching, the "monologue" or "speech" to my class is less planned out and more off the cuff? (Planned topic-wise of course, but not generally rehearsed). I'm eager to take on the challenge and know it will help me grow and prepare for opportunities to come.

~ Allison

You Can Help Me Fly!

For a $20 donation to my AMTC Fund (which goes directly to AMTC Atlanta, not me personally) you will receive a $50 gift certificate to Restaurant.com! I've used Restaurant.com before and LOVED it. Check it out!

Here's the link. Hope you'll consider this great offer! It's a win-win for both of us! http://apps.facebook.com/fiftygiftcard/?fund_id=193478

My First Modeling Workshop & Farmer's Market for August 3rd

Hello, readers! I went to a "bonus" modeling workshop at AMTC last night and it was fabulous! I learned quite a bit in those two hours, including a few things I want to remember for the next time I go in for any type of class:

1) Leave home early. It's a 35 minute drive if traffic is good... I made it OK but not early, and AMTC expects participants to arrive 15 minutes early. I'll do better next time!

2) Bring family. I think I was the only one who didn't, and while I thought it would be no big deal to do this alone, I found out that I really do need my support team. And my family is the best support team I've got!

3) Take pictures/video. I took plenty of notes, but if I've got a family member there to snap photos and/or shoot some video for me, I can use it for personal reflection and for updating all of you on how things are going! You can experience a little bit of AMTC along with me.

The whole workshop was about showcases, which are what I'll participate in at the summer 2012 SHINE event. Showcases are divided into categories like fashion modeling, acting, improv, dance, singing, etc. and the agents/scouts/directors attend the showcases that reflect the type of performer they're looking for. Cool, huh? I get to participate in 3 showcases as part of my tuition and hope to be able to raise a few extra dollars so that I can participate in more than that. The more I perform, the better my chances at a callback.

I worked with my fellow participants on how to do the photography showcase first (where they display photos from your photo shoot on the big screen while you walk the runway and introduce yourself on microphone) and then later on commercial runway. I tell ya what, getting the footing down is a little trickier than one might think! But thankfully my Jazzercise experience helped me know how to get my body to do what my coach was doing, and I think I did pretty good for a first timer.

They're going to be training the winter 2011 SHINE participants in the next few months, but I'm allowed to come to some of the workshops and to the dress rehearsal to get more experience. I can't wait! So stay tuned, dear friends.... more to come soon!

-- Farmer's Market Update! --
What a great week! I've made friends with some of the other vendors and we're bartering goods, just like in the good ol' days. I love it! The frozen bananas sold out in less than 90 minutes, so I promise to have LOTS more next time. I'm so glad they got such rave reviews!

I'll be making up some more sweet & tangy corn relish this week, due to popular demand, and the Memphis-style sweet BBQ sauce. I've had 3 requests now for pear butter too, so I may start working on a recipe for that. Feel free to send me your requests!

ONE last thing - I'm now on Facebook! Visit "Allison Wiener's AMTC Adventure" and like my page to get easy updates on how things are going, what'll be up at the farmer's market, and on my fundraising status. I've got some new ideas in the works, so I hope you'll join me there.

Thanks for reading!
~ Allison

Farmer's Market Forecast - Sunny!

Great news! The Weather Channel has predicted sunny skies for Wednesday, so I will be back at the Main Street Farmer's Market in Villa Rica, ready to offer my home-canned goodies and frozen chocolate bananas!

Also this week, I'll be headed up to the AMTC offices in Marietta for a "bonus" modeling workshop. They've opened it up to both fashion and commercial models, so I'm looking forward to a fun time and lots of learning. And working with those folks and others who are going through the same process is awesome anyway. I'm really looking forward to it!

The local production of "Hoodwinked and Hoodooed" has been postponed. We think that the new performance dates will be August 5-7 but I'll let you all know for sure. It's a great show!

Lastly, I'm auditioning next Sunday to be a storyteller in my church's children's program. The storyteller learns about a 5-10 minute script and then delivers that as the whole-group lesson during one of the Sunday services. Once I'm doing that, I'll also be eligible to participate in their dramas as well. I enjoy teaching kids and explaining things to them, so I think this will be fun! And it will give me another genre of performing to practice. Storytelling is very different from dialogue!

To those of you who are joining this blog as a result of meeting me at the Farmer's Market - please do leave a comment and say hello! You're welcome to "follow" the blog to receive regular updates as well. But I'd be tickled to know that you stopped by. :-)

Have a great week, friends!
~ Allison

Farmer's Market Update for July 20th, 2011

Greetings everyone, and a big "howdy" to any new readers who have ventured here after purchasing something from my booth at the farmer's market!

This past sale went OK, though I'm afraid that the heat kept some of the shoppers away. I'm working on frozen chocolate-dipped bananas for this coming Wednesday to help everyone keep cool! It's a sweet treat I've always loved and I hope you all love it too!

I've also had a request for chow-chow, so I am going to work on a recipe for that. Please do let me know if there's something in particular you're interested in! I can't promise I'll be able to make everything, but I will certainly give all requests some serious consideration.

Thanks to everyone for your continued prayers and support. I'm still looking for regular work (although I've gained some new tutoring clients and Jazzercise Lite customers recently), so please also keep me in your prayers about that!

Stay cool, everyone!
~ Allison

Welcome to My NEW Adventure!

Greetings, friends! I've decided to turn this blog (at least temporarily) into a blog about my experiences with AMTC - Actors, Models and Talent for Christ. If you remember a prior list I had, auditioning for AMTC was one of my "things to do" this year. I'm not sure how long it's been, but I've felt for a while now that God was calling me out of my teaching position to go do something totally different. And that "totally different something" was acting. My response, naturally, was "God, are you nuts?" Of course He's not... but really? Me?

And He said, "Why not you?"

I wrestled with the idea for quite some time. I mean, there are a lot of people out there who are very talented and would LOVE to become professional actors, singers, dancers, etc. and just don't seem to make it. Was this just an idea in my head that I was entertaining because I've always had a passion for it but never the real confidence to do much about it?

I have spent many weeks, perhaps even months or years if I really think about it, in prayer about the whole thing. I don't want to waste time and resources if this is not truly where God wants me to go. I do believe I received an answer. More than once. (It takes a while for God to convince me sometimes!) I prayed for an unmistakeable sign... something that I couldn't easily explain away as coincidence. I got it. So I auditioned.

The next day, I received my callback, and the exciting news that AMTC wanted to work with me in acting, singing and commercial modeling. Don't worry, I did my homework on AMTC prior to auditioning and found that they are a great Christ-centered company, not a scam! So I attended my orientation and began to pray some more about all this. Part of AMTC (one of the biggest and most exciting parts) is their bi-annual SHINE convention, held in Orlando. There, participants spend 6 days attending seminars taught by industry professionals and performing in showcases before 50-100 top casting directors, agents, talent scouts, etc. (No pressure, right?)

To receive all of the training (online and in person) that I need to prepare for SHINE and the possible jobs to come afterward, it costs a daunting $5,000. This doesn't include travel expenses. I'll likely drive to Orlando, since it's only 6 hours away, but I still need to cover that AND my stay at the hotel while I'm there.

"So, OK God. You've got me this far. You know I can't afford this on my own. I'm leaving it up to you."

And so, I've been a busy little bee. Not only applying here, there, and everywhere for a new job, but also working on ways to raise funds. I've offered myself for odd jobs like computer repair and pet sitting, and have also started preparing and selling homemade goods.

It is on this blog that I intend on posting updates on my progress and asking for your continual prayer and support. It's going to be quite a journey... but I'm ready and excited to see what God is going to do! He's already shown me that He's got my back. Take a look at my fundraising thermometer. God has provided nearly $500 in less than a month! I have no doubt that He will take care of me, my family, and all our needs.

Thanks for hanging with me on this SUPER-long post. Future ones won't be so long... but I just wanted to update "ya'll!"

~ Allison