News
News
-
September 19, 2008
The Ups and Downs of Auditioning in Hollywood
In this in-depth interview with writer Michelle Blood for a book titled “How to Become a Magnet to Hollywood Success,” Masiela shares her experiences about being new to Hollywood, the entertainment industry, and the path to success. When Masiela and her mother first came to Hollywood to pursue Masiela’s acting career, mother and daughter were very new to the biz and the city. With a level head, a supportive family and a positive attitude, Masiela found her path to success. Beginning with television appearances on “Lizzie McGuire” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent,” and her role as “Carmen” in over 100 episodes of “The George Lopez Show” along with upcoming roles in feature films, Masiela has broken the Hollywood barrier and is at the threshold of major stardom.
Upon arriving in Hollywood, Masiela began taking acting classes. A good piece of advice from her mother to take classes from different acting coaches broadened Masiela’s knowledge of acting. “I was able to go to so many different acting classes, I was able to understand each of their viewpoints, and I was able to use them all, and somehow create my own approach to Hollywood.” In addition to the classes were the numerous auditions, “Everything was all about Hollywood,” Masiela commented about those early days. Once she got with manager Beverly Strong, the auditions really started coming in. Masiela met Beverly through Rock Riddle, a Hollywood luminary known for giving very good advice to young actors just starting out in the business.
There were still some stumbling blocks during those times. Masiela’s first audition for an ABC show didn’t go off as well as she would have wanted. She went in thinking the audition was for a comedy. Going into the audition showing her comic flair, when she should have been showcasing her talent for drama didn’t get her the part. About the experience, Masiela states, “That taught me to really study each and every show that I auditioned for, because, even though it’s your own individual acting, it’s still part of the show, and it still has to go along with the feel of the show. I learned that the hard way, but I learned it.” Her second audition turned out much better. It was a modeling audition for some print work for an article Ben Affleck wrote for a glossy cover magazine. “I went in there, and I did it,” said Masiela. She got the modeling job and got to meet Ben Affleck—the first major actor she met since she’d been in Hollywood.
When Masiela auditioned for “The George Lopez Show,” it was such a long wait. So she just went on with other auditions thinking that she didn’t get the part, but ABC was actually considering her for the role. The long wait, according to her manager was actually a good sign. When asked about her experience with the show, Masiela is proud to be part of such a great cast. “Oh, my gosh, every single day is a new experience for me. I feel so lucky, because I work with these people who are veterans in their field, and they know what they’re doing. These professional, amazing actors and I just feel like every single day I learn something new because of them. I feel lucky that I realize, once again, that Hollywood is a business and these people are so professional. It just makes me proud that I’m part of Hollywood because of them,” Masiela replies. Working on “The George Lopez Show” allows Masiela to release her love for comedy and slapstick, ““TV shows give me more freedom physically, which I love. I love physical comedy, I love moving my body and expressing a scene and the character in more ways than my voice or my face. I love expressing it with my hands, with my body, with my legs, jumping, and the different ways of expressing emotion, and that’s what the sitcom allows me to do. The sitcom allows me to jump around and to express the entire emotion of Carmen through one big jump or one big hand swing, and that says a lot about a person.”
As for the future, Masiela knows what she wants and nothing will deter her from pursuing her dreams. “I always had a pretty clear view of how I saw myself in 5 years and 10 years. Even though I took one day at a time based on experiences and fallbacks and stuff like that, I just picked myself up and went at it again. I never really got discouraged by that. I always had a clear view of my destination, my goal, what I wanted to reach by the end of the year,” Masiela also adds, “I’m not much of a party person, so I don’t really enjoy the parties as much, but I love the people. I love the art, and I do think that acting is a beautiful art.” Without too much partying Masiela can concentrate on her love for writing, “I want to write, I want to direct, I want to star, and I just want to be there, and I want to experience every avenue that Hollywood has to offer,” says this versatile and ambitious talent who wants to experience everything “good” Hollywood has to offer.Source: Hollywood Success
