My First Tv Show!

So it happened.  The moment I’ve been waiting for my whole life.  The moment that I didn’t even know I was waiting for my whole life.  I got the call.  Actually it was a voicemail, because I’m to damn lazy to get up at 10:30am to answer my phone.   Those words that I always imagined I would hear one day, but was open to the possibility that I never would.  A lady’s voiced echoed through the speaker of my phone as I heard her say  “Congratulations you booked the episode!”  I kind of just laid there in shock, mostly because I was still half asleep but also because I knew this was just the beginning of many amazing things to come.   I mean, what would you do if everything you’ve been working for was finally starting to come together?  How would you feel if one of your biggest dreams in life just came true?   

As I was trying to get rid of my raspy morning voice so I could call her back, I made my way out to the kitchen to tell my roommate that I just booked the lead in my first TV episode.   I then picked up my phone, returned the women’s call, and got all the details. Right after we exchanged our goodbyes, I picked up my phone and made another call, a call that I’ve been waiting to make my whole life.   I called my mom and I told her that I just booked my first TV episode.   After my mom, I called my dad, then my aunt, then my brother, and finally all my friends back home in Massachusetts.  It’s crazy to think that I haven’t even been at this acting stuff for that long, but yet I somehow managed to land this awesome opportunity.  It makes me wonder, if I’m already able to book roles like this after only a couple weeks, what kind of roles will I book in a couple months, a couple years?

So lets fast-forward to a few days later.  Thursday morning I woke up at 5:30am and by 6:15 I was stepping out the door heading to set.  As I was driving to set, the sun shined over the highway and created the most beautiful mix of colors in the sky.  I turned off my music, let out a big smile, and then of course I took an instagram picture!  Now I’ve been on a TV set before and even a movie set, but a set seems so much more different when you’re the one the story revolves around. As soon as I arrived a bunch of people came over to me, shook my hand, and introduced themselves.  Everyone knew my name and who I was, as if we’d known each other for years.

I was quickly escorted to hair and makeup and then to wardrobe.   Through out the day, I constantly heard my name going through the crew’s radios and everyone always had a tab on me.  I worked with a stunt coordinator, met the 5-year-old actress who was playing a younger me (who looked like me too!  Weird!), and was the first in line to get the catered food they supplied, when being an extra I always got everyones scraps.  Now I can’t give you specific details of what went on since the episode hasn’t aired yet and I don’t know how much I can say, but man, what an amazing day.

10 hours later, I was shooting my very last scene and as soon as the directed yelled, “CUT!” he then announced that I was wrapped.  The whole crew and cast stopped what they were doing and all of them just started clapping for me.  The director gave me a big hug, then the other actor, and then finally the Stunt coordinator.  It was in that moment that I realized that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.  That maybe YouTube (WinterSpringPro) wasn’t meant to be forever, but instead, just a way to get me out to California.  Maybe one day I would consider it to be a small part of my life, when for years I always considered it to be the biggest.  Who knows? 

About a month ago, I made my very first blog post on this website.  At the very end of the post, I wrote...

“I can’t wait until the day that I can call my parents to tell them that I booked my first role on a TV show.  And you can bet your ass, that I will be on the first flight back home to Boston to watch it on TV, right there with them.”  

Tonight I went onto Orbitz to track a few round-trip flights back home to Boston.  Remember guys; Don’t Let Your Dreams Be Dreams. 

Sunrise on the way to set.

Why I Want To Be On Survivor

Survivor is one of my favorite TV shows and hands down one of my favorite reality shows.  Actually, its one of the ONLY reality shows I watch.  The first time I ever saw Survivor, I was about 8 years old and in the 3rd grade.  My mom has always been an active viewer of the show, having seen every episode.  When Survivor first aired, I remember watching the first season with her and falling in love with it.  

In September 2011 I randomly decided to Audition for the show, to see if I could get a callback.  I made a video in my room, where I acted overly cocky and boasted my YouTube success way too much. I sent in the tape though, and sure enough I got a callback.  I got three actually.  Even though I didn't end up getting on the show, I have made it my new goal to audition every year until I do.  

A lot of people ask me, "Why would you want to be on Survivor, that’s like torture!”  I mean, I guess it kind of is.  For starters, you can't shower at all.  So if you last a good amount of time out there, that’s about 40 days of not bathing... You can't brush your teeth or your hair, and the only thing you really eat is a small portion of rice and fish once a day.  So why would I want to be on a show that would destroy my body and my mind?  Well, my answer to that question is, why not?

I'm the type of person who has a lot of dreams.  They're so many things I want to do with my life and even though I'm only 21, I sometimes feel like I'm running out of time.  I would consider myself a people person.  I love people, I really do.  I love to talk with them, share ideas, and just know their stories.  To be on an island with 13 complete strangers of all different ages and walks of life, is such a thrill for me.  Also knowing that by the end of this crazy journey, that you will soon consider these people family is such a cool thought.  To me, that’s something a million dollars can't buy.  

I also love nature.  I love the feeling of knowing that I have to live off the land and try to survive with only the materials and resources I have around me.  It would be such a cool learning experience and for me, a story I could tell my kids for years and years to come.  To know that I built that shelter that protects me from the rain and I caught the fish, that made me strong enough to compete in challenges, is something that I would love to experience.  Not to mention that I love the beach.  I love the feeling of salt water in my hair and sand between my toes.  To be able to live on a beach for 40 days would be a dream come true.  I would love to climb the coconut trees to provide fluids for my team.  

Now don't get my wrong, I know the whole experience won't be all fun and games.  Hell, I bet they'll be more times than one where I'll break down and just start crying my eyes out.  But that’s what its all about, right?  It’s about testing your limits and pushing yourself further than you've ever had.  Its the feeling of joy after you just won food from a reward challenge for your tribe after you’ve been starving for the past two weeks, it's that feeling that all your friends and family will soon be rooting for you back home, its the feeling that nothing is impossible as long as you set your mind too it.  It's about being grateful for the little things in life, and appreciating the everyday things everyone else tends to overlook.  I wouldn't do it for the money, I wouldn't do it for the fame, I would do it because I truly am a fan of the show and the experience that comes along with it.  You can't put a price on that sort of thing.  

One of my favorite players to ever be on Survivor was this 21 year old kid named Erik R. from Fans VS Favorites.  He was from this small town in Michigan and was an ice cream scooper, he also was a huge fan of the game.  When the host Jeff Probsts came out for the first time, Erik was jumping up and down with excitement.  After watching the show for years, he was now the one on it.  Talk about an amazing feeling.  Erik was the only Survivor player I have seen with so much enthusiasm/excitement, and that’s why everyone liked him, he was an actual fan.  (Note that 80% of the players on Survivor are recruits who never actually applied but were asked to be on it because they would be on TV.  Hell, half of them have never even seen an episode!)

If I’m ever one of the lucky 14 people to be picked to be on the show, you would bet your asses that I would put my all into it and never give up.  No matter how hungry I am, no matter how much I smell, no matter how tired I am, quitting would never be an option.  I would make sure to let each moment sink in, because I know that once the game is over, I would give anything to go back and play again.  I know for a fact that if I were to get on the show, those moments would be some of the best moments of my life.  So Survivor Casting, CBS Producers, or Hell, even Jeff Probsts, if by the small chance you are reading this blog post right now, just know that one day, I will get on your show, no matter how long it takes, no matter how many times you pass on me.  One day I will be on that island and say to Jeff, "Hey remember me?"  Remember guys; don’t let your dreams be dreams. 

When I Knew I Wanted To Be An Actor

One of the most common questions I get asked on a daily basis is "When did you want to become an actor?”  Well children, in today’s blog I'm going to answer that question for you, with details and backstories included!

Before YouTube, before VHS tapes turned into DVDS, before digital cameras could take video, their was a 7 year old girl, standing in front of her bathroom mirror, with a Shampoo Bottle in hand, thanking her fans for her Oscar. That little girl was I!

In elementary school, I was always known as the class clown.  I was constantly making people laugh with the things I would say or do.  In fact, in 3rd grade I won the "Most likely to make you laugh" award!  An accomplishment that I am still very proud of, even to this day.  The thing with my humor though is I never try to be funny, it sort of just comes natural.  Also, despite the blonde hair, I never played the "dumb blonde" card in order to get a laugh. Usually my humor came from witty things I would say or do. Till this day, pulling the cute/dumb card pisses me off; it comes off as a cheap laugh.  Its likes that one friend you have who always talks in a baby voice.  Please, grow up and stop now.   

My elementary class clown days was when I sort of knew that I liked to perform.  I liked to entertain people, whether it was in a classroom, through a story, or even on stage.  I liked the attention but not in a self centered way, because I am anything but.  I liked knowing that for a few seconds, five minutes, or even a half hour, I took people into my world and made them forget about any worries they had prior.  It’s a nice feeling when people would later say to me, "Thanks, I needed that".  It’s like watching your favorite TV show; despite all the worries you had prior to its airtime, once you start watching the show you are taken out of your world and put into theirs.  The acting and dialogue are so believable; it makes you feel like its real.  You are so drawn into their problems, struggles, and even happiness that you forget about your worries for the time being.  

Ever since I can remember I was always writing scripts, stealing my dads video camera, or submitting to contests to appear on Nickelodeon.  Acting was the one thing that always stayed constant in my life, when everything else was changing.  In the third grade, my teacher read us this book called "Harry Potter and The Sorcerers Stone".  Every day for story time, she would read the book for 15 minutes to the class.  I fell in love with this book, and looked forward to story time just  to find out what would happen next in Harry's World.  A few months after finishing the book, I found out that they we're making a movie!  I thought to myself "This is it, this is my big break, I need to audition for this!"  

When I got home from school that day, I made my mom free up the phone line so I could connect to our dial up Internet.  I found the production companies address and wrote them a letter asking if I could play Hermione in the upcoming Harry Potter movie.  About a month later, I received a letter back from them. I remember bringing the letter into my brother’s room and saying to him, "Tyler, this could be the letter that changes my life, I could be a movie star!”  I debated whether or not to open it, knowing that it would either contain really good news or really bad news.  Long story short, although I did not get the role (obviously!), a nice casting director wrote back to me, expressing how happy my letter made him.  He took the time out of his crazy Hollywood life, to write back to that little girl in Massachusetts who had big dreams of being an actor.  I still have that letter, to this very day.

Lets fast forward to my High School years.  I used to audition for my High School's plays all the time.  I was lucky if I even got casted; never mind getting a speaking role.  My debut role was in my senior year of high school.  The role involved me being a nerd and peeing my pants on stage. There was this tradition at my school, where we would wear our costumes during the school day to promote opening night.  My costume involved an ugly sweater that was tucked into mom jeans, my hair in pigtails, and my grandmas super thick glasses.  My favorite part of that day was when no one knew that I was wearing a costume.  Thank you everyone.  I'm glad you think that this ugly, mismatched look is a normal thing for me.  By 3rd period I was ready to ditch the costume, but I didn't have any normal clothes on me!  Typical Brittany situation!

To wrap things up, I was always interested in Acting, but it didn’t become a career possibility until I moved out to LA.  Being 15 minutes from Hollywood, and having access to some of the top acting schools in the world was enough to make me want to go after my dreams and stop making excuses.  I promised myself that I would never live a normal life, and so far I have kept that promise.  I want to continue to keep it though, no matter how much work it takes, no matter how much money I have to spend, and no matter how many times I have to hear the word “no” before I ever hear a single  “yes”.  Cause somewhere, somehow, someone is going to come along in my life and give me that one “Yes” I need to jump-start my career.  Until next time; Don’t let you dreams be dreams. 

Today’s song of the day is a tune my friend Christian sent me over Facebook!  Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/U36NNr_HTXg