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Jake Stollings one step closer to his dream
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| Thumbs up: Jake Stollings and Amarette Alvarado, a friend he met through iPop! In L.A. (Submitted photo.) |
Dana Cole/San Pedro Valley News-Sun
After a whirlwind visit to Los Angeles, where he had an opportunity to audition in front of agents, 16-year-old Jake Stollings hopes his performances were the right formula to launch an acting career.
The trip was part of an iPop! audition camp where Stollings earned the trip to L.A. last September when he was selected to attend the Robert Powers acting school in Tucson. Five hundred aspiring actors, singers and dancers auditioned for the opportunity to train at the school, with 50 selected to attend. After going through the school, Stollings was one of 10 students who qualified to move on to the next level, an opportunity to audition in California with other performers selected by iPop!.
During the auditions in California, performances were featured in a professional showcase, iPop!'s "Celebration of Success Awards Night" on Jan. 7. Top production agents attend the final auditions, hoping to discover potential new stars.
"On Jan. 4, our first day there, we met our group for the commercial auditions, did our commercials, and met the roommate we would be staying with at the hotel," said Stollings. "We also saw a motivational speaker who talked about the importance in believing in yourself and having self-confidence. I thought it was good they handled it that way because you didn't know anyone when you got there. The first day of iPop! is like getting used to the first day at a new school."
From Jan. 4 through 7, Jake and his parents, Steve and Kiffany Stollings, stayed at the Century Plaza in L.A., where they were "treated like royalty" by staff at the five star hotel.
During that first day, Stollings performed a commercial with the help of coaches. "I wasn't happy with my commercial that time around, but on our second day there, our group did a commercial again, and it was much better."
But it was the monologue that Stollings enjoyed most. "It was a comedic monologue where I played a guy named Dennis whose best friend is a lady's man," said Stollings. Through his monologue performance, Stollings received 11 callbacks from agencies and talent scouts.
"The monologue was my favorite performance; I even enjoyed watching other performers do their monologues," said Stollings. "Every one was different, some were dramatic and some were comedic."
During the awards ceremony at the conclusion of iPop!, Jake finished in the top 10 for teen actor of the year and in the top 10 for teen scene performance.
"All in all, this was an amazing experience for Jake," said Kiffany Stollings. "I'm proud of the fact he made the top 10 in two different categories."
"That whole iPop! experience was breathtaking," Stollings said. "I enjoyed all the people, the award ceremonies, meeting new people and making new friends."
Stollings said that one of the highpoints of the iPop! experience for him, was meeting and "hanging out" with Davis Cleveland, a 9-year-old who plays Flynn on Disney's hit show, "Shake It Up!" "Davis has a great personality and is a lot of fun to talk to. When you have a chance to meet these actors in person, it changes your whole perception of them."
Cleveland was at the iPop! event to help raise money for a Cystic Fibrosis research. Several items were auctioned off and $37,000 was raised to help with the cystic fibrosis drive.
Stollings, who has wanted a career in acting for as long as he can remember, believes his experience at iPop! has given him valuable background in the world of entertainment.
No stranger to performing, Stollings has already had a role in a western movie called "The Gundown," a Freewill film under the direction of Dustin Rikert. He also sang in the Tucson Boys Chorus for one year and, as a student at Empire High School, has performed in several school productions.
"So far, I've gotten an audition for a web series, which is a television show on the Internet," said Stollings. "I'm really hoping for a call from GEM entertainment group out of LA. If we get a call from them, it will mean driving out there again for more auditions. A lot of people were interested in me, so we'll have to wait and see what happens next."
After a whirlwind visit to Los Angeles, where he had an opportunity to audition in front of agents, 16-year-old Jake Stollings hopes his performances were the right formula to launch an acting career.
The trip was part of an iPop! audition camp where Stollings earned the trip to L.A. last September when he was selected to attend the Robert Powers acting school in Tucson. Five hundred aspiring actors, singers and dancers auditioned for the opportunity to train at the school, with 50 selected to attend. After going through the school, Stollings was one of 10 students who qualified to move on to the next level, an opportunity to audition in California with other performers selected by iPop!.
During the auditions in California, performances were featured in a professional showcase, iPop!'s "Celebration of Success Awards Night" on Jan. 7. Top production agents attend the final auditions, hoping to discover potential new stars.
"On Jan. 4, our first day there, we met our group for the commercial auditions, did our commercials, and met the roommate we would be staying with at the hotel," said Stollings. "We also saw a motivational speaker who talked about the importance in believing in yourself and having self-confidence. I thought it was good they handled it that way because you didn't know anyone when you got there. The first day of iPop! is like getting used to the first day at a new school."
From Jan. 4 through 7, Jake and his parents, Steve and Kiffany Stollings, stayed at the Century Plaza in L.A., where they were "treated like royalty" by staff at the five star hotel.
During that first day, Stollings performed a commercial with the help of coaches. "I wasn't happy with my commercial that time around, but on our second day there, our group did a commercial again, and it was much better."
But it was the monologue that Stollings enjoyed most. "It was a comedic monologue where I played a guy named Dennis whose best friend is a lady's man," said Stollings. Through his monologue performance, Stollings received 11 callbacks from agencies and talent scouts.
"The monologue was my favorite performance; I even enjoyed watching other performers do their monologues," said Stollings. "Every one was different, some were dramatic and some were comedic."
During the awards ceremony at the conclusion of iPop!, Jake finished in the top 10 for teen actor of the year and in the top 10 for teen scene performance.
"All in all, this was an amazing experience for Jake," said Kiffany Stollings. "I'm proud of the fact he made the top 10 in two different categories."
"That whole iPop! experience was breathtaking," Stollings said. "I enjoyed all the people, the award ceremonies, meeting new people and making new friends."
Stollings said that one of the highpoints of the iPop! experience for him, was meeting and "hanging out" with Davis Cleveland, a 9-year-old who plays Flynn on Disney's hit show, "Shake It Up!" "Davis has a great personality and is a lot of fun to talk to. When you have a chance to meet these actors in person, it changes your whole perception of them."
Cleveland was at the iPop! event to help raise money for a Cystic Fibrosis research. Several items were auctioned off and $37,000 was raised to help with the cystic fibrosis drive.
Stollings, who has wanted a career in acting for as long as he can remember, believes his experience at iPop! has given him valuable background in the world of entertainment.
No stranger to performing, Stollings has already had a role in a western movie called "The Gundown," a Freewill film under the direction of Dustin Rikert. He also sang in the Tucson Boys Chorus for one year and, as a student at Empire High School, has performed in several school productions.
"So far, I've gotten an audition for a web series, which is a television show on the Internet," said Stollings. "I'm really hoping for a call from GEM entertainment group out of LA. If we get a call from them, it will mean driving out there again for more auditions. A lot of people were interested in me, so we'll have to wait and see what happens next."
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The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of bensonnews-sun.com.
Jake Stollings wrote on Jan 25, 2012 10:54 AM: