One of the things that I really enjoy about doing this podcast is that I get to experiment and try new things. This week I interviewed a former client. She came to me about a year ago because she wanted to produce her own project.
She had never produced before, but was dertermined to take her acting career into her own hands by producing and starring in her own short film!
This is part #1, of what will hopefully be a three part journey. In part one we focus on the beginning of her journey: from the idea to self produce, to her actual on set production days!
I’ll let her introduce herself:
Hi! My name is Kristi Roosmaa. I am an Estonian-born singer/actress living out my dreams in New York City.
I got my start at age 5, performing in Estonia at a bread making factory. I was immediately hooked, and I have been singing and performing ever since.
I have been fortunate enough to enjoy an amazing career so far that has included such highlights as performing as a soloist at Carnegie Hall and singing the iconic roles of Maria in The Sound of Music and Hope in Anything Goes.
I’ve performed in numerous off-Broadway shows, collaborated with world-renowned Rolling Stones saxophonist Tim Ries, and performed in countless concert venues and projects with amazingly talented orchestras and musicians.
I’ve even helped originate songs by well-known composers Phillip Springer (who wrote the beloved Christmas tune “Santa Baby”) and Mark Barkan (known for writing the Lesley Gore’s hit “She’s a Fool”).
In addition to traditional performance opportunities, I have also ended up collaborating with people in New York in ways that I never even imagined. I mean, who knew there’s a profession called a shoe model?! Yet as of today I have shoe modeled for numerous brands such as Stuart Weitzman, Badgley Mischka, and Nine West.
I pretended to marry a guy in a photo shoot for the New York Cruise Line (a great practice run before my own wedding a few years later), served as a magician’s assistant (but don’t even TRY to get me to divulge any secrets!), and recorded the sample voice to Bettina Shepherd’s Everything Singing Book.
While these accomplishments are truly something to be proud of, I am most proud of living my life to the fullest as an artist in NYC. Living here, there is never a dull moment.
I am constantly living life with excitement, pushing myself, going after my goals, experiencing new things, and studying and enjoying life from all aspects.
For example, I actually began my career as a lawyer; I’m a poor swimmer but I still love to water ski on one ski; I’ve played a blonde caucasian Maria in the Estonian production of West Side Story; I don’t have a driver’s license but I can drive a boat; and I once picked up my husband from a bar and crashed his dad’s golf cart the first time I met him.
This is just a glimpse into the many exciting experiences from my life, which come from a very honest and curious place. I simply love where I am today and feel that it is my mission as a storyteller to share my experiences and (hopefully) to inspire others. I’m a true believer of living full out and going after your dreams. I invite you to take a journey with me and to remember that the biggest part to making a dream come true and living the life you want is YOU! You can make anything happen. Always dare to dream.
Mathilde has been a Sundance Channel Shorts Contest finalist, a co-leader of the FilmShop collective and a member of the Independent Film School's writer-director lab. Her latest short film PETA PAN stars Independent Spirit Award nominee Nisreen Faour. She co-created ALMOST ANONYMOUS, a web series about a support group for celebrity lookalikes (Best Original Concept, NYC Web Fest 2016).
Mathilde also produces animation videos; she has received two Pulitzer Center grants and has had her work featured in a number of publications, including French newspaper Le Monde. When the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists received thousands of leaked documents about Luxembourg's complicated deals with corporations, her tax haven explainer was translated into seven languages and featured on the websites of ICIJ's media partners around the world.
Mathilde is a Teaching Artist for the New Victory Theatre and Roundabout Theatre Company as well as an Instructor of Film for the School of the New York Times. She lives in NYC with her husband and son.
Actors DISCOVER What to Write About in three steps:
1. WHY: Why make a short film and how will you use it to advance your acting career.
CHARACTER: What type of character do you need or want to play?
TOPIC/THEME: Write on a topic or theme that’s important and
matters to you.
Download the companion pdf at
Rico E. Anderson, an award winning actor, the oldest of 11 children on his mothers side and the 3rd of 4 children on his fathers side was born in Seaside/Monterey, CA and raised on the south side of Chicago as well as the San Francisco Bay Area. It was in Chicago where Rico's love for the arts began.
Rico's selected film and television credits include The Orville and Rosewood on FOX and Young & Hungry on Freeform. Other selected works include, The Mick, Grey's Anatomy, The Fosters, NCIS, Modern Family, Criminal Minds, K.C. Undercover, Two and a Half Men, Mike & Molly, 2 Broke Girls, Days of our Lives, The Bold and the Beautiful, Murder in the First, Sullivan & Son, Justified and The Shield.
Rico's breakthrough role was in the 2005 Academy Award Winning short, "Mighty Times: The Children's March" portraying civil rights activist, Shelley "The Playboy" Stewart.
This period piece was Narrated by Samuel L. Jackson (Marvel's The Avengers, Star Wars Trilogy) and Sam Elliott (The Hulk, The Big Lebowski) respectfully. Another breakthrough role was in Sci Fi where Rico was tapped to star in the TV pilot, Star Trek: Renegades, directed by Tim Russ (Tuvok in Star Trek: Voyager) and starring Walter Koenig (Star Trek, Babalon 5), Sean Young (Blade Runner) and Edward Furlong (John Connor in The Terminator). Rico was directed by Joss Whedon (Marvel's The Avengers, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) in the pilot for Dollhouse w/ Eliza Dushku and played (The Color Purple) Danny Glover's son in in "The Harimaya Bridge" with Peter Coyote.
Onstage, Rico performed in such noteworthy performances including the multiple award winning production of The West Coast Premiere of The Ballad of Emmett Till (Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles), Fences (NexStage Theatre, Ketchum Idaho), the revival of Ray Bradbury's Kaleidoscope (Sci-Fest LA, Acme Theatre), The title role in Oedipus (African American Shakespeare Company, San Francisco) , For The Love of Freedom-Trilogy (The Robey Theatre Company, Los Angeles), Graffiti Blues (National Black Theatre Festival, North Carolina), the multiple award winning production of The Meeting as Malcolm X, Off-Off Broadway in Bed of Truth, Equus, and A Soldiers Play .
As a member of the L.A. based Sketch Comedy Troupe, The Outpatients, Rico performed at The World Famous Comedy Store Main Room.
Selected Commercial works includes: Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, Direct TV, UPS Store, Lending Tree, Bud Light, Honda, Sony, Jeep.
Voice Over Commercial work includes: McDonalds, Bud Light, Honda, Sony, Jeep, The University of Maryland University College (UMUC) and National Rent a Car.
As a Voice Over artist, Rico has recorded Loop Group / ADR work for Batman: Arkham Knight, Rebel and Being Mary Jane (BET), Geostorm, Power (Starz) and VH-1's Hit the Floor.
In 2015, Rico was selected to be an Emmy voter in the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS) and is still a current member.
On March 10th, 2016, Rico won Best Actor at The Pasadena International Film Festival for the film "Dreams My Master".
On December, 11th 2016, Rico hosted the 3rd Annual Short Film Awards in the Symphony Space on Broadway in New York City
On March 17, 2017, Rico was a presenter at the 38th Annual Youth Artist Awards at the Alex Theatre in Glendale, CA
Rico still lives in Los Angeles, continues to work extensively in film, television, theatre and voice over, makes celebrity appearances at various sci fi conventions and is carefully selecting his next project.
This episode is a re-release of a webinar that I did a while ago.
In this episode, you will learn:
How to discover the most effective type of project to create for yourself that actually can catapult your career to the next level
How to leverage that project in order to get the representation that you want or book your career changing role
IF YOU ARE AN ACTOR AND YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT CREATING YOUR OWN CONTENT, THIS EPISODE IS FOR YOU!
Tune in, she is fabulous!