Follow Nathan on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.  ​

By: Rachelle Henry | PHOTOS COURTESY Birdie Thompson​
​- Los Angeles, California

Teen entertainment sensation Asia Monet Ray talks about playing Sydney Simpson in American Crime Story, and teaming up with Gen Z Kids for fashion line at Target. Also Asia tell us about winning the StarPower National Championship dance competition.

Thank you! When I booked the role of Sydney Simpson I was really excited to be a part of such an amazing cast and crew, and happy to be under Mr. Ryan Murphy's watch. Right away, since I am always on my computer, I started researching what I could about the case and of course Googled as much as I could about Sydney.

​The information I found focused a lot on her current years and not much on when she was 9 years old. That being said, I just focused on making sure I portrayed the role in a natural way that a daughter at Sydney’s age would feel. My body language in the scenes as well as facial expressions should say it all without speaking a word. ​

My advice is no matter what your passion is, always stay focused, believe in yourself, work hard, accept that it's not going to be easy and never lose the love for your dreams by comparing yourself to someone else’s success. ​

Follow Asia on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

By: Daniel Hoyos | PHOTOS COURTESY Ryan West
- Los Angeles, California 

Los Angeles Youtube personality Katie Wilson talks exclusively about her podcast Kingdom Geek, collaborating with Black Nerd (Andre Meadows), and the Pokemon Go Craze. Also Katie tries to explain the difference between a geek, and nerd.

Your friend, Andre Meadows, is also a pretty well known Youtuber who talks about pop culture topics. Why did you start collaborate with Andre (aka "Black Nerd")? ​

I love working with Andre! We have a great chemistry that's extremely hard to come by which makes collaborating with him so easy! We really are like a ying & yang. ​

We often talk with teenagers who are looking to break into the business. What advice would you give teenagers who are interested making Youtube videos?    ​

I always want to be prepared as possible. I make sure I've memorized my lines, am comfortable with them and have my headshot/resume ready to go. I think learning to relax in an audition is very important and takes experience to master. A good piece of advice I was given is to "care less." When you want something so bad, you tend to obsess over it and it could possibly mess you up in an audition. So I always try to minimize the audition in my head, and it helps me to relax and not be nervous. That can prove to be difficult especially when auditioning for one of your favorite shows! OH! Also, give yourself time to find parking! Last thing you want to be is frantic about being late before auditioning. ​

I love Pokemon Go... I'm still playing it! 6 year old Katie would've died to know that this game would exist in the future! Kids are so lucky these days! ​

I've always wondered what the difference is between a geek and a nerd. Can you explain the difference between the two?  ​

Follow Katie Wilson on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
​Subscribe to Katie Wilson on YouTube.

Seattle teen actress Rachelle Henry, looks to take on Hollywood after elevating her acting skills with two award winning short films. Rachelle also discusses attending the Slamdance Film Festival, and the Young Artist Awards cemeteries in Los Angeles.

​I was always performing: Preschool programs, dance recitals, gymnastic performances. When I was six, I was at a cheerleading camp and heard about auditioning for Nickelodeon. I ended up going to an audition, and through that audition, I started training, auditioning and working in theater and then film.

I played the role of Syd, who is the best friend of the main character, Kayla. Syd can be brash and insensitive some of the time, especially when she's partying, but she truly has a heart of gold and cares deeply about her best friend. Syd is complex, attempting to hide her own insecurities, and eventually tries to help Kayla with hers. She is the only one in the Kayla's circle of influence who considers the Asian eyelid surgery unnecessary because she thinks her best friend is beautiful just the way she is and that she shouldn't conform to society's vision of how she should look.

It was an amazing experience. I remember how excited I was when I got the news of the film getting in! I didn't realize that Slamdance is in Park ​City, UT during the same time period as Sundance! Because of that, producers, directors, actors and industry people can go to both festivals and I got to meet some really great filmmakers and see great films from both festivals! What an exciting place to premiere "Losing It." It was amazing to experience the audience's reaction to what's happening to my character in the film!

​For me personally, I've been blessed to be able to develop my craft and build a resume, and even been able to learn so many facets of the business by working in a smaller market before joining the Hollywood scene. Being in a smaller market has given me the opportunity to explore my range in acting, and also given me opportunity to begin directing and producing, which brings me full circle to being a better actor. ​The larger markets like Hollywood and New York offer more opportunities, and the smaller can help prepare before the move. 

It's really exciting and such an honor to receive nominations, let alone sitting with my peers and sharing the experience with them. It's surreal to win because it could be any one of the nominees! Thrilling! Something very special was that right as I was leaving the stage at ​Young Artist Awards is that Danny Glover came out and addressed the future of the young actors in front of him, challenging us to remain true to the craft, reminding us that artists are the gatekeepers of truth, and that we represent the future. Both the Young Artist Awards and the Young Entertainer Awards ceremonies encourage and honor those ideals and the youth are stronger for it! A big THANK YOU to both!

​The best thing I can do as an actor is to do my very best at every audition. I can't control the other parts of the audition. We all hear that we as actors could be too tall, too short, too dark, too light, smile too much, not friendly enough. I just have to bring the best performance I can, and leave it at that. That being said, some losses are harder than others. 

I plan to continue my education. As an actor, of course I hope not only to be working with my A-List idols and developing as an actor, but I look forward to working with the many other talented people that aren't well known yet. What I do know is that I will keep looking for the opportunity to keep creating and doing what I love.

Follow Rachelle on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

The Young Turks Grace Baldridge talks about co-hosting Pop Trigger, creating Murder with Friends, and LGBT issues in the mainstream media. The Belgium native also discusses a typical day on the set of Pop Trigger.  

Follow Grace on Twitter and Instagram.  

Los Angles based actress Ella Lentini chats exclusively with We Blab Entertainment Magazine about, working with Selena Gomez, writing her first project "Piece of Cake", and highlighting LGBT issues through her passion project "The Riot Life". 

Piece of Cake is a brilliant short film about, sarcastic Jessie and her free-spirited girlfriend Alex. Can you tell us how you come to write this film? 

Thank you so much!! Oh man...When I first wrote this project, I was making sense of my own identity. It's really cool how my Generation is becoming more and more accepting; rejecting labels and embracing gender fluidity, but there still are people who don't understand... And self-acceptance is hard enough. We don't need other people telling us who we should be or how we should love... So I guess you could say I wrote because I HAD to write. It was the only place I could be honest and felt safe. To me that's the beauty of film - often it says what we aren't quite able to say in our real lives. I think any artist can relate to that, at times it's almost like being creatively possessed, by a character, or place, or feeling, that needs to be expressed.

​I also read this beautiful article about a girl who come to her parents with a cake, and it made me realize I'm not the only feeling alone, and what if I could just reach one person. I gave my Producer-Co-Founder, R.W Reinhardt, four honest, messy pages, and he said "This is Great. Now let's make it better." And really Piece of Cake is what it is because of our team, and I'm so grateful to have that creative community. 

You’re the founder of The Riot Life, which helps LGBT teens with bullying issues. Can you tell us why you started The Riot Life?

The Riot Life supports LGBT teens, and beyond that, humans everywhere. I was inspired to help create this community because I felt like there wasn't one for me. It really is more of an idea than a brand. It's a lifestyle and an attitude. An inviting place where creatives are encouraged to collaborate and make that inspires the world to "Live Free. Love Endlessly. Stay Weird."

​I think it starts with young filmmakers, like myself and the people I work with who are passionate to tell diverse stories and are not afraid of voicing their own experiences and struggles through film and TV. As storytellers we have to be extremely empathetic and listen. Listening is the key to acting, and I think the key to directing and writing as well. If you listen close enough, and I think Moonlight winning best picture (the first LGBT film to ever win best picture) is a testament that we not only need but want authentic LGBT stories and characters.

​We need to break the stereotypes - enough with the comedic gay best friend - it may be a characteristic but sexuality is not an archetype and it needs to stop being treated that way in film and TV. An archetype is the hero, the rebel, the wanderer - and last time I checked the hero, or heroine, can be LGBT too.

That was my first big job in LA! I worked on Law & Order: SVU in NYC, so I was familiar with TV sets but The Wizards Return was multi-cam which is a whole other format. I played Selena’s cousin, Francesca. It was a blast. Selena is so talented & hilarious, just such a badass. I have so much respect for her; especially after hearing that speech she gave at AMA’s about feeling broken. When she said, “I don’t want to see your bodies, I want to see what’s inside here {your heart}.” I was like, “YAS QUEEN, SLAY.” I always tell people, I don’t care what you do; tell me what sets your heart on fire.

​Working on Until Dawn was one of my favorite experiences. We worked with motion capture - which is such a cool new technology. We shot on a sound stage, in large a green room, wearing these helmet-back-brace contraptions and had dots drawn on our faces. It wasn’t glamorous at all, but that almost made it better. We had to use 100% of our imaginations to create the world we were supposed to be in, while acting with each other through these Daft Punk style helmets. Also the cast was so incredible. Rami Malek, who plays my brother, Josh, brings so much vulnerability to the character… That’s the kind of acting career I would love to emulate. Just need my Mr. Robot.

​My main advice is, just make stuff. Make plays. Make films. On your iPhone or a DSLR, it doesn’t matter. Get on any set you can and learn from anyone who will teach you. And most importantly make it for yourself. Stay true to what it is you really want to say. Originality is always in demand.

​I’m directing and acting in another short I wrote with The Riot Life, Chasing Unicorns. It’s super fantastical and stylized. My DP, Corey C. Waters has spent a lot of time on rollerblades to get the shots we need. Lol. A feature film I acted in, Art Show Bingo, should be released later this year… I’m also launching/directing a YouTube series called #RIOTGIRL on The Riot Life’s channel which will feature some badass female collaborators.

​I really want to inspire girls to break barriers. As a little girl I wished I was a boy, not because I physically wanted to be a boy but because I hated being what I was told to be as a girl - so I’m hoping the #RIOTGIRL series will speak to those little girls all over who feel the same way.

Follow Ella Lentini on Twitter and Instagram.

Whether in film, or television more teens are getting interested in the arts. 14-year old Los Angles native Davis Desmond, the youngest actor ever nominated for Best Breakthrough Performance at VisionFest film festival at Tribeca.

You first hit the national stage on The Drew Carey Show. How did Davis get started in the business?
 
My dad worked with a guy whose son was a fairly successful actor. His friend gave my dad the number of their agent and told him to call them and tell them he was friends with them. When my dad called, the agency said ”Yeah, we know. You think your kid is beautiful and would be great in show business. Here’s our address. Send us a couple of pictures and we’ll decide if your kid is beautiful and get back to you.” Fortunately, they got back to my parents.
 
Having a great support system is essential in the entertainment industry. To what extent is dad involved with your career?
 
He’s my official chauffeur and nag. He’s also in charge of making sure I have snacks and something to drink on the way to auditions, and he yells across the house to me when he sees a commercial air that I didn’t get. In all honesty, kid actors obviously need a lot more help and support than an adult actor. I realize that. Sometimes, it’s easy to get caught up in school, acting classes, auditions and everything else we’re doing and lose sight of the fact that our parents have to sacrifice a lot to help make things happen for us. I’m lucky that my dad has his own business and can just drop everything if he gets a call at noon telling him I have to be somewhere at 2.

Playing such a wide range of characters from Nickelodeon’s Victorious, The Middle, and Modern Family. How do you prepare for a role?
 
To be honest, most of the roles I’ve booked so far for network TV have been kind of small and the roles haven’t been very demanding. No matter what the role, though, a good night’s sleep the night before is pretty important. I’d say the most demanding role of the ones you mentioned was Victorious. You know how tired and stiff you feel after getting off a cross-country flight? Yeah, well my episode was entirely in an airplane so I spent four straight days sitting in an airplane seat. I played an obnoxious kid who was kicking Daniella Monet’s seat. I was pretty stiff after about two days, so I had to make sure and do a lot of stretching. Let’s go ahead and call that preparation for the role, OK? By the way, when I got that role, we had to postpone a family vacation to Disney World.
 
You did an outstanding job playing Johnny in the short film, The First Hope. Do you have any memories from being on-set?

Thank you! I was in sixth grade when we shot The First Hope. I was totally not into girls at the time, so the closing scene where I kiss my older sister was kind of stressful for me. Lili Reinhart (my sister in the movie) was really cool about everything and made me feel more comfortable, but I really wasn’t looking forward to that shooting day. My dad was a different story. He kept telling me ”You could do a lot worse for your first kiss, Davis. You’re kissing a beautiful, older actress! Once this movie comes out, you’ll be a stud with your buddies at school.” Unfortunately, Jeremy White, the awesome director of The First Hope, couldn’t convince LucasFilms to grant rights to show the film at anything other than film festivals, so it never got a wider release and none of my buddies ever really saw it. On the positive side, the breakdown of the part said Johnny was totally into Star Wars. I had never seen any of the Star Wars movies, so we borrowed the original three from our neighbors, the Parkers. I immediately fell in love with all of them and had a good understanding of them when I went in to audition.

Actors tend to get overwhelmed when seeking out representation. How did you find the right agent?
 
Finding the right agent and manager is huge. I had an incredible print and commercial agent when I was little, but they didn’t handle theatrical and I wanted to do that, so I had to leave. That was a sad time because I loved them so much. The first step was looking for a manager and I got totally lucky by finding Myrna Lieberman Management almost right away. She helped connect me to the agencies. After that, I bounced around a little, trying to find the right ones. The right one for one actor might not be the right one for someone else. I learned that. I was at some great agencies, but sometimes you get stuck behind other boys in your same category that the agency apparently likes better. That meant that I didn’t go out as much. We left with no hard feelings. Finally, we found Avalon Artists Group. It was the perfect fit. I’ve been there about three years now and couldn’t be happier.
 
You grew up in Los Angeles right in the heart of Hollywood. Can you give us some real world advice on how to book network TV roles?
 
That’s a great question. I have no freaking idea in the world. Sometimes, I read a breakdown or script and think this character is totally me,that I couldn’t possibly picture anyone but me in that role. I go in, think I nail the audition, then don’t even get a callback. Other times, I walk out thinking I totally tanked and blew it, then I’m on set the next day. I’m totally the wrong person to be asked this question. The best answer I can give is to go into every audition convinced that this one is The One, give it your best, then move on and do the same thing on the next opportunity. The odds are against any one person for any one role. Big time. But keep doing it and never give up. If you work hard enough, believe in yourself and keep at it, you’ll eventually hit something good.
 
A large part of the audition process is rejection. How do you personally handle rejection?
 
I am the king of rejection! Last year, I went to network approval on four different pilots and didn’t book any of them. All four not only got picked up, but have been renewed for second seasons. That was kind of tough. One of them was extremely disappointing because I was kind of getting the vibe they were building a sibling cast around me. I think casting liked me, but maybe Network wasn’t quite feeling me as much. My acting coach, Kimberly Crandall, has always told me that my job is to audition. When you book a job, it’s like icing on the cake.
 
For me, what’s tougher than audition rejections is getting edited out. Two straight years, I booked under-5 jobs (less than five lines) on Halloween episodes of shows, both times as a trick-or-treater. The first one was for Modern Family. The second one was for Anger Management. My scenes never made it to air. The year after that, I booked a co-star role on the Halloween episode of Kirby Buckets. Luckily, I wasn’t edited it out of that one. That broke my Halloween jinx and it was one of my favorite jobs ever.
 
Have you taken any acting lessons? If yes, how has that helped you?

I also belong to an improve group, which helps you to think quickly on your feet. It’s absolutely the funniest group of people I’ve ever been a part of. Improv helps a lot with audition technique and strategy. It’s just a side benefit that I can now think and react fast enough to effectively mouth off to my parents and teachers and leave them laughing instead of wanting to throw books or sharp things at me.
 
I also have a private coach, Kimberly Crandall. I love her! Whenever I have a big audition, I work my lines on my own, commit them and the character to memory, then meet with her and we work together on making the scene the best it can be before going to casting. She’s awesome. Some of the jobs I’ve booked I couldn’t have gotten without her. Have I mentioned that I love her? Yeah. I love her.
 
Is there anybody in the industry you would love to work with someday?
 
Pewdiepie! He’s an Internet-Gamer star and my idol. I know that doesn’t sound like a normal answer for an actor, but that’s my first choice. I’m weird like that.
 
Follow Davis Desmond on Twitter at twitter.com/DPDez, Instagram at instagram.com/therealdavisdesmond, and visit his official website: davisdesmond.com

Whether in film, or television more teenagers are getting interested in the arts. We're talking with young actors exploring the business side of the industry starting with 12-year old Los Angles actress Nikki Hahn, who hit the national stage on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
 
I found it interesting that you started out in modeling at the age of 3-years old. How did Nikki get started in the business?
 
I was the type of child who loved playing dress up. I would actually put on a gown just to go to the grocery store. One day we met a young lady who suggested to my mom that she submit my picture to an agency. She thought I’d be perfect for print and commercials so my mom took a photo of me and submitted it to a few agencies. A couple of days later we received a call from LA Talent/LA Models asking to meet me. My mom took me to LA from North County San Diego and next thing you know, I have a contract for representation. My first print job was at age 3 for Disney Easter’s Best Nationwide Campaign and my first commercial booking was also for Disney. I played Cinderella and I was hooked!
 
We always hear if you want to pursue a career in acting move to L.A. Can you give us some real world advice on how to book network TV roles?
 
I believe that eventually it would be in your best interest to move to LA or NY but if you have a great agent in another state that submits your resume/headshot for network TV roles you will definitely have an opportunity to be seen via self-taped auditions. However, travel is a must if you are called in for a producer’s sessions.

Actors tend to get overwhelmed when seeking out representation. How did you find the right agent?
 
One step at a time. I think actors should work on building up their resumes before seeking theatrical representation. I was represented by the same agency for 4 years before seeking to add a theatrical agent to my team. At LA Talent/LA Models I built my resume by landing several Co-Star roles; CSI-Miami, NCIS-LA and iCarly. This helped to get me interviews with several top theatrical agencies at age 7. We chose Abrams Artists and a couple of years later my agents moved to Paradigm Agency to create a youth theatrical department and that is now my current representation.
 
You hit the national stage after playing Tom Hanks daughter Sophie on Jimmy Kimmel Live. What was that whole experience like?
 
I was thrilled throughout the entire process. I was excited to audition for it, to see my pageant dress, and especially to meet Tom Hanks. It was an amazing experience. However, I did not know that Toddlers & Tiaras with Tom Hanks, which was posted on YouTube by Jimmy Kimmel Live Productions would go viral that night, nor that Oprah would be showing it to her audience during an interview with Tom Hanks. To this day, people on YouTube are still discussing whether this is an actual event or just a skit and whether I’m actually Tom’s real daughter or not. So yeah, it’s an unforgettable experience.

A large part of the audition process is rejection. How do you personally handle rejection?
 
I don’t look at it as rejection. You either fit the role or you don’t. All you can do is have fun, do your best interpretation of the role and move on to the next. I’ve actually learned a great deal just by auditioning so I’ve never had to take an audition class. When I’m given feedback by casting, I use that as a learning experience for the next reading. I also don’t go audition for everything that comes my way. I like to select my auditions based on interesting roles that I can either connect with or if I’m interested in the challenge of developing a particular character. I never want to be bored. I want to keep learning, and create unforgettable characters and amazing stories. So by doing this, I think we’ve created a good balance. As for waiting around for the phone to ring…..I don’t. I’m a very active girl who loves to dance, take karate, sing and just a kid who loves hanging out and shopping with her friends.
 
Having a teenager working professionally in the industry is a full-time job for parents? To what extent is mom involved with your career?
 
100%! There really should be a parent who is committed to all the demands of this business and a parent with a job who will take care of the household needs. My mom is as busy as I am. Even though I am homeschooled and have an assigned teacher that I meet with every month, my mom is my learning coach at home. She also drives me to castings, photo shoots, traveling with me on film locations, and loves to cook homemade meals. My father is a web developer at a bank and has a degree in music; classical guitar and composition. So on weekends my dad and I like to work on music and any Science experiments that I may need for school. I have a great balanced home.
 
You did an excellent job playing Mia in the short film The Hero Pose. Do you share anything in common?
 
Mia is a precocious and optimistic child who wants to do anything but hang out and sell a car with her father but by having no choice in the matter she and her father find the time they needed to bond and create special relationship between them. In reality I have a lot in common with Mia because I am that optimistic child who will find the good in most situations.
 
Is there anybody in the industry you would love to work with someday?
 
There are so many amazing actors that I look up to and admire but right now, I would love to work with Jennifer Lawrence and all the cast from X-MEN…who wouldn’t
 
How can people keep-up with Nikki Hahn?
 
Follow Nikki Hahn on Twitter at twitter.com/missnikkihahn, Instagram at instagram.com/nikkihahnactress, and visit her official website: nikkihahn.com