The extraordinary Jo Galloway #InstantInspiration

Social media can often times be a destructive source of envy, but at the same it can become a huge source of inspiration and motivation. I find the latter so true whenever I discover a new blog post, Facebook post or tweet by the formidable and 'formerly based in SA' Jo Galloway.

I've been keeping a keen eye on Jo via all the social platforms since she left for LA some time ago and I just become more and more in awe of her, her tenacious spirit, her unfailing commitment and her phenomenal talent taking her to new heights.

Before Jo left for the States, she was already a well established heavy weight and someone to be reckoned with within the South African entertainment industry. Jo is known for her television work on "Intersextions" and "Sketch U Later", which she also co-wrote on. Some of her Musical Theatre credits include lead performances in The Full Monty, Cats and Hairspray. Jo has twice been nominated; first for an FNB award as Best Newcomer, and later also a Naledi Award nomination for Best Actress. Some of her straight theatre, comedy and original titles include "Look Back In Anger", "Boeing-Boeing", "Perfect Wedding", "Dick & I", "Happily Ever Laughter" and "The Fugard Fest of Comedy".

On top of which she has racked up a long list of Voice Over clients with her crazy skills for accents and ease with hard sell or soft sell approaches. 

Jo has some hysterical comedy sketches view-able on her social platforms or YouTube, definitely check out the Twilight spoof and Movie spoof clips - cracks me up I tell ya!

Now in the US, she lives in LA and is working her way steadily into the torrid waters of the Hollywood scene, and making people sit up and take notice.

She already has some great achievements and titles under her belt such as Hope after Hope and The Dark Tapes feature films as well as tv spots for Xoom.com. She has done great voice work and characters for Disney titles like Might Med and ANTfarm and is running her own international voice studio from home. She has managed to not only become a SAG member (crucial in the US) but is being managed by the Bohemia Group AND has signed with a highly acclaimed agent in LA, Ideal Talent Agency.
(Check out her full and very impressive resume on IMdB Pro or her website, details below)

Let me tell you, none of these things get handed to you on a silver platter. It takes courage, money, persistence, real hard work and a lot of talent and determination.
If you're thinking of making the move to the US as an actor, go and follow her blog for hysterical and incredibly informative accounts of her own experiences and lessons learned along the way.
Blog Reel to Real by Jo Galloway 

SO, if you need some serious inspiration; something that'll make you feel like you need to get off your butt and go places, take action and make things happen - then go and follow Jo....

Website Jo Galloway

Facebook Page Jo Galloway
Twitter @JoGalloway7
YouTube Jo Galloway
IMDb Page Jo Galloway

Thanks for inspiring me Jo, HIGHER!

Chat soon peeps,

Sterlopers #ActressLife

Last night on kykNET was the debut night of the very first episode of the brand new Afrikaans youth series Sterlopers. Drama and intrigue, artists and relationships, dreams both realised and shattered. I really think this series is going to take the Afrikaans audience by storm and I hope it will be followed with much interest by the industry and with almost religious devotion by its fans.

I do have a certain personal bias, as I have many talented actor friends who are cast in the series; some who are celebrating their debuts along with the series and others who are just building their screen careers from strength to strength. It is so great to see fellow artists receive the opportunity to shine in their own right, doing exactly what they love to do and being celebrated for it. My hope is that this will open even more doors of opportunity for even more artists out there, just aching to be given the chance. 

Let me indulge in boosting my friends a little...

Marno van der Merwe (plays the character of Brad Jooste) - what can I say, he was designed for the screen and I had the privilege of watching him work on the Sterlopers set a few times...  

I am personally a big fan.

Follow him @marnovdmerwe.

Suzzi Swanepoel with this possibly being her first major screen credit, plays the layered Isabel Richter so well. I can't wait to see the rest of her character's story unfold. 

Follow her @SuzziSwanepoel.

Marlee van der Merwe (no relation to Marno) plays the feisty and manipulating Alexia Kriel. She is just gorgeous on camera and portrays the character you just love to hate and secretly envy with relish.

Follow her @MrsMarls. 

Nadia Beukes sinks her teeth into the character of Ingrid Cilliers. It's fabulous to see her in this kind of character that breaks away from her familiar presenting profile and showcases Nadia for the great actress she is. 

Jaco Muller (Henk) who in fact has several screen titles under his belt already, is just such a pleasure to watch. His ease and comfort, his comedic timing and brilliance. I happen to be long-time family friends with Jaco and I've a special sister-like feeling of pride and satisfaction when I see Jaco earn such well deserved roles, praise and recognition. 

Follow him @Jaco_Muller.

Trix Vivier, so beautifully cast in her role as Vicky Ferreira. She's the likable and relatable girl-next-door and another one to keep your eye on. 

Follow her @TrixVivier.

Zak Hendrikz, (only from ep. 3) as the music video director - his subtlety is genius. I wish I could climb into his head and figure out how he does that. Follow him @zakhendrikz.

Franci Swanepoel is magnificent and delightful in the role of Brad Jooste's mom, Lorraine. 

Charlie Bouguenon as the sleazy Joe de Villiers is an absolute scene -stealer. I wish we could see more of him. Follow him @TheCharlieGuy.

Jenna Dunster, whom I so admire for her incredibly strong performance and delightfully quirky character Emma Liebenberg, will undoubtedly become a crowd favourite. 

There are many other names to note and many who will only appear in later scenes... Izak Davel and Andre Swartz, who both just bring a level of professionalism to their work. The talented Edrien Erasmus, Marissa Drummond, Cobus Venter and Lare Birk, will all only appear later on in the season.
So, best you PVR those episodes on Tuesdays at 19.30!

Last night, many of the cast and crew gathered together in anticipation at the home of extraordinary Director Quentin Krog, to watch the first episode together. In my eyes Quentin has managed to truly set new parameters in this field, both with his on-set direction style and in his choices with post production and shooting style. Hats off Quin. Follow him @QuentinKrog. 

It was the best way to watch the first one, with so many individuals who shared a hand in the creation of the series rooting for each other and celebrating its fruition. The evening was filled with laughter and celebration and I feel a sense of pride in having had some small part in it. I was lucky enough to be involved on a creative level together with hubby Ferdinand Gernandt. Our company FADCreationS was responsible for the choreography and some staging of the series and we both thoroughly enjoyed working on this project. 

If you follow the episodes you may even glimpse me a few times as one of the dancers auditioning, rehearsing, shooting music videos and such. It was a crazy fun shoot and I would do it again in a heartbeat! 

Here's lifting a glass to Sterlopers Series 2!

Check out the trailer below for the season now running on kykNET every Tuesday at 19.30. 

Chat soon, 

Ukraine Commercial #BehindTheScenes

Last week I had such fun on set, shooting my first commercial for the year. As with most of these projects we are committed to confidentiality requests, but I guess I can tell you that the ad is for a bottled water brand and to be aired in the Ukraine. (Apparently I qualify for a Slavic look) We were only 4 cast members, one male lead and 3 featured extras and filming two small scenes that will ultimately form part of a larger adventure for the lead male.
I always have super amounts of fun on set as an actress, and this experience did not disappoint.
First off at the wardrobe fitting the day before, I was basically playing dress up and had to model about 10 different outfit combinations and options. And not just any clothing, think Zara, Forever New, Mango and so on... yes please! And then, the Director asked for a make-up and hair test to be done on me... So what to do if you just got all made up by a top make-up artist... lunch with your man of course!

At the stylist's home playing at being a mannequin...

My call-time on set in Braamfontein was 4.30am, ouch. It was pouring torrential rains in Jhb and I had to arrive with my hair wet, naaaaice. At least that saved me a few extra minutes of sleep not having to blow dry at home, not that I got much sleep knowing what time I had to get up again. But somehow I find all of that exciting and agreeable for the sake of being able to do what I love and enjoy.

This is a pic of where we shot in a very misty Joburg with the Nelson Mandela bridge in the background. 

The hurry-up-and-wait factor is always very much a reality and perhaps even more so on a commercial set. So David, also one of the 3 featured extras, began teaching us his on-set games to pass the time. One of which was 'the movie link' game. It works like this: the first person mentions a movie title, then the next person should pick a movie title that contains an actor from the movie just mentioned. Then the next person does the same but may not use the same actor again. And so on and so on, until someone is stumped. Which then means the person who gave the movie title that stumped the next person, receives a point. You can also keep score of these points to finally pick a winner. (If you are ever able to stop, it's quite addictive) Eg. Person 1: Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Person 2: Se7en (from Brad Pitt) Person 3: Kiss the Girls (from Morgan Freeman) Person 4: Olympus has Fallen (from Ashley Judd) etc. It certainly passes the time, but is much more entertaining (and educational) if you are playing with some serious movie buffs! Gonna try it at my next dinner party :)

Sneak peak of me getting my make-up done.

It's such a great feeling being on set, it always lifts my spirits and energizes me. So once the commercial is out and online, I'll try to post the final product for you guys!

Chat soon,