2012 Catch Up

Hiya fellow bloggers, readers & supporters! It's been a very long time since I last posted (8 months to be exact), but that only means I have a lot to update ya'll on. Its been a real good year so far, although it started off quite slow (in the acting front) but it only got better & it just keeps on getting better. Seeing as I haven't been documenting as I've gone along this year, I'm going to use this post to fill you in on what I've been up to, what I'm working on now and what I have coming up. Dig in! :)

Out of My Comfort Zone 

Towards the end of December last year, I performed in a short play written by young writer Richard Thornton at the Oval House Theatre. It was a piece about a teenage girl who was recently blinded by an accident. We see her on her first day out of the house without her vision, alongside her best friend (played by Michael Salami). We see the frustration, anger & struggle she goes through to be independent regardless of her disability. It was quite a challenging role to pull off well. I had to portray the reality of being blind & we had one week to learn lines & rehearse. In between Michaels busy schedule & myself just starting a new job, we decided to rehearse over the phone. Regardless, we did amazingly. It was a very small intimate performance night, an evening of several short plays in the smallest theatre space at the Oval House Theatre, but it was wonderful to have so many of my friends come out to support.

FELIX

In the beginning of January I released the first short I'd ever written. I decided It was about time I put a showreel of my work together, but I didn't have enough variety in footage. So I decided to write a short scene myself & call in two fellow actors - two of my closest friends, (Michael Salami & Paris Campbell) to act alongside me. I needed it to be filmed & edited also, so I called in another old friend of mine Tyrone Grosvenor, Director & Film Maker.

I wrote the scene around 10 at night, emailed it to my team of three, we met the very next day on location, and shot the short scene. With all of us being great friends we felt totally free to experiment a little. A lot happened that I couldn't have written, so I won't take all of the credit. Paris & Michael are very talented which made this last minute act of spontanaity all the more simpler. To cut a long story short, my short scene that I wrote for showreel purposes, ended up being a comedy. After I shared it on Facebook for the first time In January, the feedback we got was wonderful. Everyone found it extremely funny. For what was an act of spontaneity, a quick concoction of a scene, it entertained many, and the idea to write follow up episodes about this well loved character 'Felix' had sprung up. So I wrote a second episode instantly, gathered a cast of fantastic actors. But decided to put the production of it on hold, just until I could afford an entire camera crew to make it all that I know it can be. Keep your eyes peeled. But enjoy this first episode below. . .

New Head Shots . . . Again

 So the time came again where I decided I needed a new look - and naturally - as an actor- that means new head shots. The types of auditions you get depend greatly on your look, so I thought I'd see what other kinds of characters my agent would put me up for with a different look. My audtions started coming a little more thick and fast, so I'm glad i made the change. It definitely helped!

Catwalk Melody Fashion Show

In late January I was asked to model for a fashion show that would be held in the 'Hippodrome' in Golders Green - the building that belongs to my church. I absolutely love any excuse to dress up, (i'm your typical girly girl) so this was one I was looking forward to. About three weeks before the show, I met up with Mandona Chipungu, fashion designer of 'Dona Chi' in her home studio, to do a shoot for her portfolio, we also recorded a few videos with me introducing some of her beautiful designs.

I was a lot shorter than the other models, so a few weeks later I was asked to work as a make-up artist rather than walk on the fashion show, which I was happy do. But on the day of the show, there were fewer models than originally planned, so I was asked to fill in, which made me a little nervous. I would have practiced my walk in heels at home if I had known lol. But no more than 10 minutes later, I was asked to Co-Host the entire show. 

I had an entire bunch of new nerves to deal with, but I was also very excited. Now this wasn't my first time on a stage, but it was my first time hosting with no preparation. Acting on a stage in front of loads of people - no problem, it's not me, it's a character, but this time round, it was me, me as Cerise, with a mic, no script & many people looking at me to construct the whole night. Luckily for me, my co-host was Tambo Silavwe, a friend and director I've worked with before, which made me a little more comfortable. But it was all very last minute and there was no way we could learn the script, or all the fashion designers & musicians names of by heart, so we agreed to just have fun up there and go with the flow, and we did exactly that. 

We had a blast. Fashion shows, much like stage plays, are very hectic back stage whilst the show is going on, so there were gaps we had to fill. Thinking on the spot, we filled them with catwalk competitions with ourselves and audience members, freestyling on the mic, completely taking the mickey out of ourselves, but the audience loved it!

Catwalk Melody was an evening of Fashion infused with live music. With each designers models walking the runway to a music artist performing with a live band. With fashion from designers Dona Chi, Chelsea Bravo, Moniyang, Onward and many more. Music from Brewer, Concept, Missbee and many more. An auditorium full of creativity, the atmosphere was just explosive. . . Here's a few pictures from the awesome night!

 

 

   

Matters of the Heart

                             

 In early April, I performed in a play called 'Matters of the Heart'. A romantic comedy written by Flourish Drama Company, running for two nights at the Lost Theatre. Now this play has to go down in my performance history, it was 3 hours long, by far the longest show i've ever done, but it kept the audience on their toes the whole way through. A lot of hard work, time & dedication went into the production of this show from all the cast and directors, & it was an amazing success. We were told it was like a Tyler Perry Movie on stage (massive compliment) & that's all down to the writers & directors Ella Rath & Tambo Silavwe. 

I did a show with Flourish Drama Company last year, which I wrote a blog post about back then, a musical 'Since You've Been Gone', which was just so amazing to be part of, I cried when it was over lol, so I knew this show wouldn't be any less.
 I played the character of Amerie, A woman in her mid 20's who was an absolutely hopeless romantic. She searched for love in all the wrong places, but decided that internet dating would better source for finding love. 
There were 5 other main characters which went on their own journeys of discovering what love was to them. A young married couple struggling with their sex life. A young man who's spent his life playing games with women, then ends up falling in love. Another young man who refuses to let go of his evil ex girlfriend & tries everything to get her back . . . It was for sure a whirlwind of a show. 

When it comes to matters of the heart, there's a lot to say, so I guess that explains the length lol. Thanks to all those who came to support the show, and thank you to Flourish DC for giving us actors a platform to do what we love. . . A few pictures from the show

Here's a video I found of me singing one of the musical numbers from Flourish DC's show 'Since You've Been Gone' Last Year. I had the most fun performing this. . . As you can probably tell :)

Me On TV

Also This April I was cast in my second television commercial. An advert for the new McDonalds (soon to come) Chicken McBites. 

If you read my last blog post back in December, you would have seen what I wrote about my first television commercial, for Tesco. As short and simple as commercials seem, they're a lot more work than they look. Lots of waiting around, lots of re-shooting, and in this McDonalds commercial - a lot of eating Chicken McBites, (That bit I didn't complain about lol). It hasn't been aired on TV yet, but when you spot this new McDonalds snack in the restaurants, be sure to look out for the commercial & you'll see me.

                Afro Kid Flash Mob 

April also saw that I got to work with my favourite comedy duo again, Nathan Bryon & Stuart Mackenzie that make 'KOOLBEANZ PRODUCTIONZ'. Again, if you read my last blog post, you would have seen the comedy sketch I did with them last summer, 'Dragon Breath'. 

This time round, Nathan Bryon (one of the two that make the team) had a dream to make his own superhero/comic, so decided to make a comedic music video of this superhero character 'AfroKid'. Making the music video was a blast, but it didn't end there. To introduce and promote the release of the comedy music video, Nathan organized a Flashob in the common room of SOAS University. One of the funniest things I have ever done to date!! 

We planned very carefully. As soon as lunch time arrived, and the students filled the common room, the song played through the speakers, and low and behold, standing at the door was a small bunch of very cool looking kids, wearing very colourful clothing and massive colourful afro's. We started dancing around like crazy people, the students had their phones out instantly, recorded and took loads of pictures of us. It's fair to say, although we shocked them big time, they thoroughly enjoyed it. The head of the student union told us that was the most smiles he'd seen in that common room  for a long time. The flashmob was also in association with the 'Accidental Festival' - a festival produced by Central School of Speech & Drama.

Here's what happened in the 'AFRO KID FLASHMOB' . . . (That's me in the green Afro)

And here's the 'AFRO KID MUSIC VIDEO' itself . . . (That's me in the purple Afro)

A Parody Pilot

Right after I wrapped the show Matters of the Heart, I was asked by a friend to act in her new project at work. She works as a producer and had a brilliant idea for a new pilot series. 
One of her colleagues asked her if he could use one of her actors in his, I agreed and what youre about to view was the final out come. You've probably gathered by now (if not now, you will later), that I absolutely love comedy! Chabris Lawrence is absolutely brilliant when it comes to ideas. She decided to write a Parody (taking the mickey out of, or mocking) the popular show Pimp my Ride, and Pimp my Blackberry was the outcome. I acted alongside popular stand up comedian Kae Kurd in this short parody pilot. Aaron (her colleague) wrote a parody about make-up tutorials. . . . I won't say another word, I'll just let you watch and enjoy. You will laugh ;)
             Pimp My BlackBerry

Sabrina the Diva

A Reading at the Rich Mix 

As youre probably begining to see, April is the month it all started to pick up. I was also cast in a soap writers reading at the Rich Mix Theatre. The Ministry of Stories organisation had worked with four secondary schools which allowed them to take part in a soap writing festival. Each school wrote their own episodes in the hope they'd win funding, and the chance to film them.
 The Ministry of Stories cast proffesional actors to perform these wonderfully written episodes in front of the schools that wrote them, and a panel of writers from the well known soap, Eastenders. Two Eastenders writers, and one young writer, who wrote for the BBC3 Eastenders spin off E20. We met in the morning of the performances and rehearsed for the first time, and perfected it for the rest of the day until our audience showed up later that evening.
After performing each of the episodes, three representatives from each school came to the stage to pitch their soap ideas to the panel. They were  also given the chance to ask questions and speak to the people who are already working in the proffession they intend to enter. It was a wonderful day & lovely too see how motivted and talented these young people were, as well as a great opportunity for me to meet and network with the genuis' behind Britains best loved soap Eastenders.

 I Worked With Him >> MalumTV :O

In Early may I had the honour of working alongside this guy, Mawaan Rizwan! More commonly known as Malum. Now if you guys love online TV You would have definitely heard of him. Mawaan aka Malum has been doing comedy on Youtube for a few years now, and his fan base just keeps growing and growing. He recently (today in fact), won YouTube Next Comic. He was voted one of 16, of the funniest YouTubers. I first met Mawaan last year at the BFI Film Festival where he screened some of his work, and spoke to us about where his YouTube success had lead him too. I again bumped into him on the set of Nathan Bryons 'AfroKid' Music video shoot in April. 

Not long after that, Mawaan contacted me asking if I'd like to be part of his next comedy project, of course I said yes. He had the idea to film a parody of Justin Biebers new song Boyfriend. Brilliant Idea! Mawaan and his YouTube characters Malum & Khalid, were hugely popular, and of course, so is Justin Bieber. I had no doubt that this would be a comedy hit! I was amazed by how much he creates from such a small team.

We filmed the next day, with his girlfriend behind the camera, and Mawaan directing and acting. A single camera and mini speakers - that was all we had. The video was released the following week, and received 10,000 views in the first 2 days!! I knew he had a massive fan base but whoa! I had the most amount of fun on set, I couldn't stop myself from laughing in between scenes, you'll see why! Today (2 months later), it has over 62,000 views! Here's the finished product, you're guaranteed to laugh!!

Khalid's Version of Justin Beibers 

'Boyfriend'

Radio King Radio Station

 In May I did some work and promotion with Flourish DC. Myself and CEO of Flourish, Tambo Silavwe, visited Radio King Radio station to be the guests of the host Saz' brand new talk show, 'The 1UP Show'. We had a casual chat about our careers & things of that sort. We were also joined by another guest on the show singer and song writer Chantelle.  
Saz asked us to bring in a sweet or chocolate that could best describe our personalities. I saw this as an opportunity to break my healthy eating rule, and seeing as I couldn't decide what sweet best described me, I bought around 4 different types of chocolates and sweets, and decided I'd choose one once I got there. Yes, a lil cheeky of me but I couldn't help it. So I spent most of the show eating my vanilla fudge, skittles & Forrero Rochers . . . My type of evening lol

 Dear RobTV's Debate Show

Some of the Flourish Team went down to the popular debate show 'Dirty Games Men Play' to perform a short improvisation based on one of the debate topics. 'Is it ok for a single mother to move to another country with her child, without the fathers consent?' Myself & actor Michael Oba rehearsed a short scene on the day of the event, and went down to the event later that evening to perform. It was a night of the latest musical talent, and very heated discussions. An entertaining night I must admit.

  A Little Modelling

Mid May, I did a photo shoot for 'Pilot Clothing' Summer Collection. An old friend of mine, Kamilla Jones - designer & fashion student, asked me to come down to Coventry for a day to model the summer collection. I've done a little modelling in my time so although it's not my forte, i'm no stranger to pulling a poze or two, and it can be a lot of fun, any excuse to dress up, being the typical girly girl that I am, I'll do it.
       (2011 Kamilla Jones Shoot)
Last year around the same time, I did a shoot in Yorkshire for her, it was a little different that time round. It was in an open field, with sheep everywhere, rain and strong winds, very little clothing & it was extremely cold. 
This time round I was shooting in a studio, we had music, warmth and an entire wardrobe of amazing clothes and the most fabulous shoes, to photograph in. Kamilla recently informed me that she had gotten some of my pictures in a magazine - which is quite exciting. After the Pilot shoot, one of Kamilla's fellow students asked if we could model her latest designs. So we packed away the fabulous shoes, darkened our make-up, and modeled a new look. 

Here are a few of the original studio shots from the May shoot, and couple from my past modelling engagements.

Further Back in the Day

                    'SPIN' Brand New Online Series

In May, I joined the cast of SPIN, new online drama series. The director & writer Andy Amadi of SnowPix Media, asked me to come in for a meeting after seeing me perform in Matters of the Heart, and cast me right there and then. SPIN isn't your typical online drama, and im not being biased. It's high in production quality, slightly comedic among all the high drama, with many twists and turns within each of the 15 min episodes. It always ends on a cliff hanger, leaving the audience wanting more & questioning whats going to happen next. 

Because I joined the cast a lot later, my character was first introduced in second episode. The team wasted no time in filming my scene for the trailer, & giving me a character photo shoot. I was sooo excited! Especially when I found out who my character was . . . Ashley - Drug Addict.
 I knew this was going to be an exciting and challenging role for me. I'm so used to playing the pretty girl/someones girlfriend/ditsy-innocent type characters, this was a major turnaround. We released the trailer to introduce all the characters about 3 weeks before we released the first episode, and immediately we formed an audience. 

The first episode was greatly anticipated. Episodes one and two were both posted on SpiffTV & LinkUpTV which rocketed our views and audience. Episodes 3 & 4 are currently in production and will be released within the next 3 weeks, so keep your eyes peeled.

                 SPIN Episode 1 

SPIN Episode 2 - (My Entrance)

 2012 SHOWREEL - Finally

So after some hard work, I've finally gathered enough footage to make myself an actors showreel, and this is what I came up with. A short montage of bits of work I have done this year and last - some clips you may recognise - Enjoy & be Entertained x

CERISE REID 2012 SHOWREEL

COMING UP IN AUGUST - Dates For Your Diaries

Jamaican Independence Day - Windrush Performance

August 3rd & 4th I will be performing as part of the Jamaican Indepdance celebration SPLASH at Windrush Sqaure.

Last week I  went to the National Theatre Costume Hire Department, to find a 1960's costume to suit my character . . . I chose the dress on the left :)

(Saturday 3rd Event starts at 3pm - 9pm

Sunday 4th Event starts 11am - 6pm

Brixton Windrush Square)

'The Killing Class' - My Next Full Running Show

(August 17th - 1st September)

I'm really looking forward to this play. I play female lead 'Tia' in this heart warming and heart breaking stage production. Rehearsals have been really intense but very productive. We've taken cast photo shoots. Actors headshots, filmed a trailer (which has been entered into the LA Film Festival), and filmed our actors interviews (all of which you'll see before the play opens on stage). Plenty of promotion on top of our rehearsals, we've been working real hard.

We've also had the BBC come in to film our rehersals. One of the cast members Tyler Kennington is the focus of new CBBC programme School For Stars, so they follow him everywhere to document his stardom. Considering the show hasn't started yet, there's been a lot going on, so you can imagine how amazing its going to be, I strongly suggest ya'll book your tickets early if you'd like to come. . .

Rehearsals

Set in a young offenders prison, THE KILLING CLASS is an emotional and high charged play with a storyline that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Teenagers Tia and Stephen meet when the pair are put together in a lesson in learning to interact again with other people. Both are going to be put in Adult prison and they fall in love with deadly consequences.

Click Here To Book Tickets