Careers: Acting, Performing, Directing/I want to be famous!!!

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Expert: - 9/27/2008


Question
Hi Taylor Sheppard,
My name is Kayla and I want to be famous. I love to dance and sing. Also am in a movie called Mississippi Damned which is coming out in 2009. I want to be famous like on TV and radios and music videos. But I'm only 12 but i don't have much money. I live in Aulander,NC and My mother is a single parent. I have a sister whose is in college and i am in middle school. Please help me pursue if you can . Thanks

Answer
Hi Kayla,

Congratulations on your movie!

What I recommend is joining the drama club in your school and learning from the experience. If you can get into community theater plays, do that too. Just audition and audition and get those parts!

Just know this: just wanting to be famous to be famous isn't going to get you there. You need to love what you are doing. Being famous looks good, but it doesn't solve all your problems, and it creates new ones. Be careful what you wish for!

Best, Taylor

Careers: Acting, Performing, Directing

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Taylor Sheppard

Expertise

I can answer questions: on starting a career in acting, mistakes in acting, etiquette when dealing with industry contacts, finer points on how to act, and things to avoid in the field.

Experience

I have been a professional actor 21 years, with appearances in TV, Film and commercials. I have made good decisions and potentially damaging mistakes. I believe anyone who has a dream deserves to explore it, and I take their aspirations seriously. That being said, I do not pull punches. I try to be tactful, but I will not lie to someone, honesty is more effective. My last film role was in "Teeth" which was picked for Sundance in January 2007. It was sold to Lionsgate and Weinstein Co. for somewhere over 2.5 million. The role was "Mr. Griffith", a sex-ed teacher.

Organizations
Ciao Agency-Austin/Georgetown, Texas. (Formerly known as Donna Adams Agency. Matthew McConaughey was a good friend and fellow member. I also have belonged to agencies in three other Texas cities, but they have since closed.) TXMPA -Texas Motion Picture Alliance. Various other internet networking web rings as well as Actors Access. I was instrumental in advising actress Krista Allen on getting her career in acting started in Austin,Texas (we worked at the same Health Club in the early '90's).

Publications
Previously wrote on a now defunct website such as this one. I enjoyed helping new actors.

Education/Credentials
I have acted for 21 years. I studied under James Nelson Harrell as well as other talented actors at Southwest Texas State University. After college, I have taken classes with Julliard graduate Mona Lee, Bill Johnson, Van Brookes, Marco Perella and others in Austin Texas. I am constantly attending classes to maintain my edge and explore new directions. In addition to attending strictly acting classes, I have also taken business workshops with respected casting directors, such as Shari Rhodes ("Jaws","Close Encounters", "Raggedy Man".) Barbara Brinkley, Jo Edna Bolden and Donise Hardy, (Castingworks LA).

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