I got cast in my first film, Girls Room, as a supporting actress when I was only 8 years old. Weeks later, I got a call from the director telling me she wanted me to play the lead. Next came months of rehearsals, film and makeup tests, costume fittings, and again constant trips into the city. Finally came time to film. Arriving on sets every morning at 5am was just the start of sometimes 20 hour film days, just to get up and do it again the next morning.
I was basically in every scene since I was the lead, so I didn't get many breaks on set. I was missing school during filming, but the students at the high school we were filming at were in school. I remember walking down the hallway, protected, as if I was Dakota Fanning, getting many stares from the students.
I loved being on set, arriving every morning to get my make up and hair done for a couple of hours. Immediately after, I was called to the bathroom, the main place we were filming. I spent long hours sitting on the toilet, with a fake pair of underwear pulled to my knees. Making jokes with the film crew and reading the script was how I passed the time when the cameraman and director were setting up the shots. I even did my own stunts, whether sliding on the floor, or getting pulled down by a production assistant, who was out of shot.
The movie poster!
I made great friends with the other girls in the movie, but as the days came and went, so did they. Naturally, I was very sad when filming eventually came to an end and I had to say goodbye to my new production crew family. Getting back to school was hard after missing and no one at school believed me when I told them I had just filmed a movie.
After the movie was finally edited and all of the scenes were strung together, I finally got to see the final movie. It was amazing to see my face on the screen. I loved seeing my facial expressions and the way I interacted with the other actors on screen. Over the next couple of years, the film was entered in and screened at over 50 film festivals all over the world.
The whole team was very excited when my film, Girls Room, was nominated for an actual MTV Movie Award. My director went to the award show, but unfortunately we didn't get first, but instead runner-up. In addition, my film was screened multiple times and "received much praise" (Facets Featured, 2007) at the Cannes Film Festival in France and the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. It won awards for Best Film all around the world.
One of my favorite memories is when I signed autographs at the Chicago International Film Festival, where my film was screened in the same theatre as David Schwimmer's. Everything I experienced from Girls Room, changed my life. That was hands down my favorite piece of art I have worked on in my acting career.