#SCARS Promo Photoshoot #BehindTheScenes

If you don't know about our #SCARS film project yet, where have you been?

(Read more here and watch the teaser trailer video.)

#SCARS is a teen adventure film being developed by FADCreations in partnership with The Smash Hit Company and is a film about 4 teenagers who discover they have two things in common, superpowers and one sinister neighbourhood mom. The film is currently in the early stages of conceptualising and pre-production, while the final details of financier investment and budgeting are being finalized.

And so, a few days ago we had a ridiculous amount of fun shooting some promotional shots for the film, which will be edited into posters and marketing material for the initial campaign.

We are blessed with incredible people on the team. All the characters' hair and make up was crafted and perfected by the incredibly talented team from Follicle Hair Atelier, including the detailed special effects make up. The fabulous photographer for the two day shoot was Eben Liebenberg from Photo Elements, and the styling was meticulously mastered by Reg Hart. 



I am really excited to see what the creative minds at Fire Cherry Creative Branding will come up with when they get their hands on the raw images.

I can not wait to start filming on this project, but I loved getting a small taste for my sly character Vanessa during this shoot. The 4 lead teen characters were photographed namely Shane, Ariana, Chloe and Tshepo, we also shot images of Sophie and Cain, two pivotal supporting characters.






Once we have the official shots, I will share them with you guys. In the mean time, here are some more behind the scenes moments and videos from the shoot.

If you would like to get involved with this project or would like more info about this investment opportunity, go and check out the website or contact Ferdinand at info@fadcreations.co.za.

Chat soon,

Bush Breakaway #TerrificTravels

Finally hubby and I got to take a mini break and literally unplug from the world for a few days.

How wonderful to be blessed by the invitation from our friends the Prinsloo's to visit a private game lodge called Goro in the wonderful bush veld in Vivo last week.
5 Days of gorgeous accommodation, camp fires and wild life, hunting and fishing, game drives, great food and great company. Bliss.

As it happens, one's body knows when you are starting to wind down and just because it was the final few days of winter, mine decided to throw me a frustrating cold. But thankfully after a few days of delightful naps, sleeping in, bundling up and eating yummy meals, I am well on my way to recovering to a healthy me again.

I realise now that taking these kinds of mini breaks really has become something of a must in our crazy busy schedules and lifestyles. And even more so to take a break from the intensive and distracting emails, calls, social media, internet and business demands. We need the time for refueling, the time to refresh and regroup. A few days just to be. To breathe. To live, simply.

Here are some moments from our end-of-winter getaway.

I hope you have all had a wonderful first few days of Spring!

May this September bring new beginnings and opportunities;
 and a new determination to always build towards becoming the best version of ourselves.

Summer is coming, no time to waste!

Chat soon!

King Pie Psycho Girl #FlashbackFriday

For some reason I have often booked work where I gotta get a little crazy and not care too much about being/looking/feeling a little ridiculous in front of the camera. And those are usually the most enjoyable jobs!

So here is a great flashback for you guys to a commercial I shot in 2009 for King Pie entitled 'Psycho Girl'. That says it all!

Have a psychedelic weekend!
Chat soon,

Crazy Castings #ActressLife

Have you ever looked back at your career and really, no I mean really thought about some of the auditions and casting moments you have been faced with??

There have been some weird and wonderful requests and experiences during my career as actress... One that comes to mind was an audition for a soap where I had to portray a completely psychologically disturbed women in a hospital, who shoots her love interest during the scene, locks herself in the bathroom and threatens suicide. Which wouldn't be strange on the actual set but in the casting room with only one other person and absolutely no props or actors reading opposite you - it can get a little interesting!

Or you end up auditioning with a poker-faced monotonous 'actor' reading in the lines (often they're the wrong sex for the character). I once had to actually eat the actual (dry) cereal in the casting room with a spoon which all the other auditionees had already used, oh... and then deliver a line afterwards. I've had to pretend to speak to imaginary digital characters, fall in love with a mannequin, get pretend hi-jacked and dance like nobody's watching. I have had to do a full on made-up-on-the-spot yoga routine, pretend my finger snaps bring imaginary items to life, pretend I'm surfing and pretend I'm playing tennis (well)! I've had to moonwalk to work, dance like a robot, a drunk party animal, a cheerleader and a ballerina. I have had to imagine a horrific crime scene and become emotional over it, have had to memorise pages and pages of script for one character - by the next day and speak in several different accents, sometimes even other languages. And I wouldn't have it any other way!

What a crazy wonderful job, never quite the same and certainly never ever dull. Even once you get booked for the job, there is a large amount of the set and warderobe that isn't actually physically there (often added in post) which must be created by the actors' imagination and ability to put themselves into that possible reality. And sometimes your co-actor can not be part of a take due to space, availability or a type of camera angle for the shot. Think of a bedroom scene where the lens is filming the POV (point of view) of the person lying at the bottom, or a POV during a fight, a telephone call etc... There are many such instances where the actor doesn't have the luxury of playing off of another actor's lines or reactions.
Personally I have found that working as an improv actor has greatly improved my skill with these situations and auditions.

I hope you enjoy some of the mad pics of castings I've been to over the last while...

Neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeext!!!!

Bye for now!

I Have Life #OutAndAbout

Do any of you remember the December 1994 news story about the women Alison Botha, who was abducted in PE by two men, raped, stabbed and disemboweled; finally left for dead with her head nearly severed from her body after 16 stab wounds to her neck. And she survived.
Miraculously Alison dragged herself to the middle of the road nearby and was rescued by veterinary student Tiaan Eilerd and later also some incredible doctors, who had no idea how she could still be alive.
Her story is one with so much wonder, shock, awe, courage, belief and inspiration.

Over the weekend Ferdinand and I took a few of the FADCreationS mentorship students to watch the theatrical portrayal of this woman's story at the Sandton Auto and General Theatre on the Square  I Have Life - Alison's Journey.  I knew it was going to be heavy, but I did not expect to be quite so moved, shaken and inspired.

The wonderfully effective and minimalist set and lighting is the work of the talented Denis Hutchinson. The piece was adapted and directed by Maralin Vanrenen and the role of Alison is portrayed by Suanne Braun. And the wonderful supporting cast of 4 are Shaeleen Tobin, Zak Hendrikz, Clayton Boyd and David De Beer.

It is not an easy watch, it takes you right to that moment with her, makes you wonder what you would have done, makes you ask a multitude of questions, it has you disgusted, disturbed, in awe and perplexed. It has you fighting tears without success and wrenches deep empathy not only for the ordeal she went through but for everything that comes after and how often that torture is what most 'victims' don't overcome.
Alison's message speaks of her own personal ABC's, Attitude, Belief and Choice. These things combined can be what pulls us through the worst of circumstances; it is our choice, it is our attitude and it is our unrelenting belief that can make all the difference.

Suanne Braun with the real Alison, who has been supporting the piece I Have Life avidly and will be attending the final performances this week.

What was so profound to me was that in spite of multiple stab wounds to her neck and it being almost completely severed, none of her vital arteries or vocal chords were damaged; in spite of multiple stab wounds to her abdomen and genitalia, none of her vital organs were punctured or damaged, and Alison was still able to have children (two boys). Her survival and recovery was nothing short of a miracle.

There were powerful performances in this piece and I will always make mention of my friend and insanely talented actor Zak Hendrikz, who takes on the difficult challenge of portraying Alison's main attacker Frans, night after night (among other characters). But then I need to take a moment in order to wax lyrical about the profound brilliance that is Shaeleen Tobin. If I thought I would walk out of the theatre dry eyed, I was sorely mistaken. Shaeleen's emotional portrayal of both Alison's mom and best friend had me spilling over every time, she draws you in and makes you feel whether you want to or not. She is so real and honest and engaging. She is just something else and someone I can only attempt to aspire to as an actress. Thank you Daphne Kuhn and Maralin Vanrenen for braving such an impactful and important story and piece.

I thought I might walk out feeling morbid and disillusioned by the cruelty there is in this world. Instead I felt moved. I felt moved to do more, to be more and to believe more. To believe in my own capabilities, realising that we are infinitely stronger and more able than we think.

"No matter the circumstances, you always control your attitude, your beliefs and the choices you make..." Alison

Chat soon,

Seven and counting... #PersonalPost

Seven years ago, I tied the knot to this incredible man Ferdinand Gernandt.

20 August of 2007, the two of us got married in a beautiful little chapel at the Makiti wedding venue near the Sterkfontein Caves. It was winter, but the day was sunny and gorgeous, perfect.

I wasn't a fussy bride, I only had a few things I had my heart completely set on having... our pastor Johan Geyser to deliver our message, who agreed even though he didn't really do wedding services anymore; a 10 piece brass band who played wonderful swing, jazz and big band music through out the evening, who were also all wonderful friends we made during the run of Chicago the Musical (which was the show that brought Ferdi and I together in the first place) and Ferdinand himself of course!

Ferdi and I even performed a specially choreographed tango (thanks to our talented friend Timothy Le Roux who created it for us) - what? we're performers, what else do you expect? We opted for large and decadent chocolate fountains as our wedding 'cake', because during our Chicago 'courtship' we had many conversations over chocolate fountain 'massacres' at the Chicago-inspired show events and it became something of a symbolic memory for us.
It was a magical day. I had so much fun, everything was wonderfully perfect and special and I wouldn't have changed a thing.

During our 7 years together as a married couple we have seen and done some crazy, beautiful and exciting things... rode elephants and jet-skis, practiced archery and trapeze and met lady-men in Thailand; visited hot springs, bungee jumped and ate way too much Burger Fuel and Tim-Tams in New Zealand, gone horseback riding on Noordhoek beach (I fell off mine, but that's a story for another day), fueled our Starbucks addictions and networked with industry VIP's in Orlando; saw shows on Broadway,

shopped and froze our tushes off in New York; road-tripped it and stayed with an amazing family of 10 in Alabama; shopped and explored in Dallas with a fun visit to the AT&T Dallas Cowboys Stadium; saw dolphins, whales and lightning storms from our porthole aboard the Coral Princess; gone zip-lining in Costa Rica, lived it up celeb-style in LA; drank cocktails on the beach in Jamaica; watched sunsets in Aruba and  Barbados; visited quaint old fishermen towns and saw the dancing moonlight on giant glaciers in Scag-way.

We have lived in Eldoraigne, Wilgeheuwel, Melville, Durban, Santa Clarita, Seapoint, Hout Bay, Fairland and Florida. We have performed in, written, directed, choreographed and produced over 50 productions together.

We have raised a parrot and a golden retriever together. We have built a business and a home together. We have traveled together and been apart. We have dreamed together, we have worried together, we have planned together and failed together.

We have cried from laughter and laughed through the pain. We have changed together and grown together, we have suffered together and prayed together. We have compromised together, we have celebrated together and we have stuck together.. as a married couple for seven years and counting...



But mostly we have loved, unconditionally, wholeheartedly and passionately because we were given to each other as a gift, a promise, a bond encircled with Love and Grace and Goodness.



May you each find happiness equal to mine,
Much Love.

Extras in Paris, French Toast Film #BehindTheScenes

Today several of our FADCreationS Mentorship Students got to experience (for some their first) a day on a film set, filling the scenes as extras for the film French Toast, to be released in 2015.

What a magical experience for them, I am so grateful to Hartiwood productions for allowing them the opportunity and experience.

It is our goal as mentors to these performers-in-the-making to provide them with as much exposure to real industry experiences and professionals, in order to formulate their own path and goals towards becoming artists in their own right. The mentorship program is a 6 month intensive one-on-one training program, with the purpose of honing these artists to their true industry potential, providing platforms and opportunities as well as assisting in the transition from amateur to professional working performer.


Look at the beautiful replica Hartiwood built of Cafe Alexandre in Montmarte right in the middle of Hartebeespoortdam...

After one more week of filming, the Cafe will be open for business and visits by the public. It is gorgeous and quaint; and I can not wait to go and enjoy some delicious coffee and macarons 'french style'.
And there is speak of all sorts of yummy french toast!

Au revoir!