Hello,
I am an actress based in Los Angeles. I also do hand modeling. Please see photos below for my portfolio. Feel free to contact me at info@officialsadie.com
Looking forward to hearing from you!
Updates of an Asian American professional cultural-observer, writer and actress's adventures in Hollywood. FOLLOW ig @s307c
Hello,
I am an actress based in Los Angeles. I also do hand modeling. Please see photos below for my portfolio. Feel free to contact me at info@officialsadie.com
Looking forward to hearing from you!
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officialsadie
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9:59 AM
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Labels: asian, hand, hand modeling, hands, model, modeling, parts modeling, pretty, show, update, website
Hey yall!
I am doing very fine during quarantine. Staying home and staying up to date with my training/skills.
Also launching my new website!
officialsadie.com
It's official!
Check it out!
Under "portfolio" are my reel clips. You don't want to miss me doing my zombie move, do you?
More coming up, including a play I read on zoom with a team, and Captain Planet parody, made over zoom with a bunch of friends over on the East Coast, where I get to play, you guessed it, Gi!
Stay put and praying for peace every day.
This is a diary-like post I wrote around a year ago. WOW how times have changed! who knew there would be the coro thing...
4/28/2019
Today was a fruitful day. I had 3 auditions in a row, and I drove a total of 65 miles just running around LA. Yea I was exhausted, but happy too.
In the morning, I drove to Loyola Marymount University, which is really far for me, but thankfully it was a Sunday and I did not encounter traffic!
Their building is really nice and new! super jealous haha. (but not as nice as USC, their campuses and film department are dripping in gold)
It was a student film between a Chinese mother and daughter. I can speak Mandarin so it was easier for me. It went ok. The director wanted to do a different take, and another one, so I ended up doing 3 takes. I hope it was ok.
Next I drove to UCLA. And their film department was located at the far north corner of campus, unlike USC whose film department was basically at the center of campus. I parked really far and found parking near a school which allowed me to park because today was Sunday! yay!
I walked like a mile, in search of a cafe that is open, but all I see is fancy rich houses around the campus. Who the heck lives here??? I bet not the poor students with all the debt. I wonder how far UCLA students have to live to be able to afford rent.
Anyway, I found the main cafeteria which was the only open coffee selling place in the vicinity. And I ate Panda Express for lunch lol. I found out that I totally blend in to the student crowds. Asians never age. It is true.
So this audition was also a student film and it was about an aspiring Japanese American girl who wanted to pursue her dream as a stand up comedian, but was stuck as a coffee shop barista with a horrible boss who had chest hair. Ewww. I can relate very much. Very much.
I thought I gave it my best, first doing a comedic monologue and then the audition. What really made my day was the two directors said, that was pretty well done, and the other said "basically nailed it". I was so happy!! Even if I don't get the role, I still got something out of it. Thank you for offering me the chance! (Update: I didn't get the role even though I nailed it!)
Walk another mile to my car lol. (After walking the Camino de Santiago, I find walking up to 2 miles to my car is totally nuthin' for me)
Driving to New York Film Academy this time for the 3rd audition. This is the LA actor's life man.
Great, no traffic on a Sunday, but ewww people on the West side drive like their bums are on fire! So rude too! people chill out!! Why rush on a Sunday afternoon? Game of Thrones doesn't start until 9pm!!ha.
This audition seemed easy but turned out to be the real challenge. I did not memorize my sides and it seemed that everyone else did because they did not even print out the sides. So I just read off my phone.
Then the director, who was Chinese and seemed really serious, told me more about the character. This was an innocent girl role, and he wanted me to play the role as if I was a child. Then I did a "normal girl" take, with a little bit of a condescending air which a lot of Chinese girls had. He then said, this condescending air is not forced, this girl was born and shaped to think like that. So obscure and I could not grasp the essence. So I probably failed that one.
Last, he asked me to read for the "boss" role. I did not rehearse because it was a male boss role. But he wanted me to do it anyway. This time his directions were even more obscure. He was like, you feel like you have these glasses on, an authoritative look. Non existent boss glasses. OK that is going somewhere I have no idea where. So I just kinda sort did it. And he was like, I did not see anything lol. He then asked me to memorize the whole monologue on the spot! That was really a challenge. I could not do so fully. Under time constraint too. And I didn't know half of what he was talking about either. I did not know these student directors can talk so obscurely. I have encountered that before but this one was particularly hard to understand!
Still, one thing he said was very helpful - I seemed to be nervous and tightened up on camera, (well I was probably just trying to figure out the nonexistent boss glasses thingy!) He reminded me to relax. That was very helpful hint. So thanks!!
So tired after 3 consecutive auditions, so I went to Walgreens and picked up my headshots, then bought ice cream as a little treat for me. And also because they are on sale. Oh the struggling actor life!
Will be updating more often.
I have multiple auditions every week. (update: wow this is well before the corona)
Please subscribe if you like :)
Hey blog!
So I got an audition for an improv group/show called LA Connection.
They called me to audition so I said I would go.
But then before I went, I was smart enough to ask my improv teacher at Second City about it. Because I am smart. And sexy.
And I was glad I asked, because my teacher immediately told me his experience.
So this place is actually a training center in disguise. It is not a troupe but a school. And you have to audition and then pay for rehearsals. "Pay"??? OK that is an alarming keyword to me. As a poor actor, I don't like to hear that word! And why would you have to pay for rehearsals?
My teacher said this group was found by a guy who went to Second City for a while, and then started
this place. But it was just kind of sort of an improv school that is shady. They tell you to pay dues to join, and then you rehearse for shows. Hence the paid rehearsals.
But he said he went to one of their shows, and the shows were .... yeah.
First the show was using improv exercises not even games to use as show material. And there was this rude guy who was doing everything he could to alienate the audience.
Then there is this part where the teen group were called up, and the guy made them do "accents". So audience members would choose an accent from a country and have the kids mimic all the stereotypes of that country's peoples. How offensive!! We would never do that at our classes.
My teacher said there was the suggestion of Japan among others, and of course you then see 3 white boys mimicking Japanese accent with all the stereotypes, while the guy(owner) himself laughed like crazy. My teacher was just shocked and stunned in the audience. I asked him how did the audience receive it, he said some white women were laughing, but probably for the wrong reasons.
What the heck!! (ps my teacher is white if you wanted to know.)
So I did not go to the audition. And I would like to share the experience here. I mean where better to share it than on my blog that no one reads!
Anyway I hope it was not too biased, tried to only speak the facts.
Update on life:
My acting life is taking a sprint! I am really busy these days just booking jobs! Sometime background and sometimes speaking roles! Yay! And I am SAG-E now, getting to the point where I might have to join soon. Trying to save up for that.
Stay tuned for my awesome review of Always be My Maybe which I just watched!
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3:13 PM
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Labels: acting, actor, actress, advice, asian, class, comedy, connection, experience, film, group, hollywood, improv, la, movie, performance, second city, show, tv
www.instagram.com/s307c
Feel free to follow me, no pressure.
So last week I watched The Farewell starring Awkwafina and other buddy Asian actors. Now, as an Asian and American actress, I do have my two cents to say about this trending film. Short summary is: I liked it! My American (white) friend who went with me really loved it. And I understood where that came from as well.
First, I was born in Taiwan and raised in the US. I totally dig the family dynamics in the movie - because my family is very very similar and I can say that the movie really portrayed the concept of the Chinese family very well. Chinese families are huge, with different members who think different thoughts. But on the surface, we want to keep it looking peaceful. "he" or the word "peace" is a central concept for the Confuscius thinking Chinese people and the Chinese family. We try our best to maintain peace on the surface and most decisions are made so to maintain the peaceful surface.
But underneath, it is definitely chaos. Especially in the film, there are family members coming from all over the place such as US, Japan...etc. Each member holds a different view on life and the meaning of "family". The discussions and fights all happen in private spaces, away from the center of the family - the grandma. Even though they all try to hide the truth that grandma has cancer from grandma herself, I feel like this grandma already knew because can they be more obvious by acting so weird! Hijacking her medical exam report? A fifty year old son crying like a baby at a wedding? Yea even I would have guessed it, not to mention a wise old Chinese grandma. However, grandma still pretends to play along with them. Just to be considerate and retain the "peace". This is my objective opinion though. The film never revealed if she ever "knew" about her illness.
I love how the film looks at death. It is sad and also humorous. I have learned in my acting class that humor and sadness are basically side by side, separated only by a thin sheet of paper. In this film, many moments definitely make me teary at one point, but then my tears never has a chance to fall down because I have to laugh at the play of humor which closely follows the sad moment.
(more to follow...)
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5:22 PM
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Labels: actor, asian, awkwafina, blog, blogger, chinese, entertainment, film, funny, industry, movie, opinion, professional, review, reviews, the farewell, writer
3/17 and 18
Did a photoshoot with a photographer named tibi from Las Vegas.
He was pretty chill.
He was in town for a week so I met up with him twice and did 2 shoots actually.
We sneaked into a luxury apartment and went to the roof to shoot. It was fun. Then manager found us, but she was cool enough to let us be there for a little bit and shoot a few more photos.
Funny it all worked out well.
His memorable quote was "everything is about sex." Ok I better explain.
So he took a marketing course, and every commercial and marketing plan evolves around the concept of sex and sexy. That's all every and any human wants, according to this theory. So things like coca cola, car commercial, any commercial, will feature some sort of sex appeal in order to grab eyeballs.
I mean I heard that's all guys think about all day lol. But for us women, I dont think about it so much at all. Not every day at least.
But I guess if more than 50% of the population does think that way, commercials will tend to go that way as well...
So he thinks portrait photography is also about being sexy.
I dunno. I guess. Not 100% convinced but ok I did learn something today.
So this is a tiny milestone to break I guess.
For the local series which I auditioned and got a role (recap here)
the producer is also doing a local radio show!
And he put me on and had a short interview with me!!
OMG! I have never been on radio before! I never liked the idea of talking my whole life lol. (only now that I am acting, I need to talk all the time..)
I was so nervous. When the time comes, I received a call. Then I was on!
Good thing is, it was only very short. Maybe 10 minutes.
They only asked me how I felt when I got the role, how did I end up acting...etc.
And I was worried that I wouldn't be funny and entertaining but I thought it would be in vain to try so I didn't even "try to be funny". And it was fine. Being funny was just naturally in my blood so I didn't need to try lol.
They asked me to give a shout-out to my friends. So I just said "omg I am on radio!!" the way people say "mom I am on TV". haha.
Why was I so cool about it? Well it was a local station, and most likely not too many souls are listening anyway.
But I was glad I made it onto the radio, for the first time ever!
Life continues...
3/11/2019
Today was a record-breaking busy day. I had multiple offers for work and I had to turn down some.
At 11 I went to a hair salon in Studio City, and got my hair cut by a professional stylist. Basically by being a hair model. And I am getting paid for it. So I did it.
It was cut to up to my shoulder and was a bit short, but I pleaded that it could be in a ponytail so it was long enough to be tied up.
The stylist was not too nice but it was ok. And they had refreshments. I loved that! A professional photographer took a photo of me, which turned out really nice!
Last Friday I was a background "guest" for a prominent cooking show. What that means was that I was one of the people who got to eat the food that the chefs prepared! Which was great and yummy :) And it was pretty fun.
Because I signed the confidential form before the shoot and signed my life away, I am not allowed to talk much about the details of the show. But it is a show that even I, who do not watch TV that much (which I should), have heard of. Which features a mean chef who talks as if he is stabbing someone with his cutting knife. Ok I am so not giving a BIG hint here.
I hope they would have let us take pictures because it was a really nice set that we drove all the way to Culver city for. But we couldn't. And call time was 8AM. Can't complain as it was a relatively humane call time.
We got seated and waiters served us food as if in a real restaurant, except there were cameras everywhere. Everything was going well except for one thing. Asians were totally underrepresented in this episode's guests. Although they have a theme for each episode for the guests, for that episode it was only 3-4 Asians out of a decent sized group. There should have been more of us. Even though Asians are a minority group, I think we deserve more representation on TV. Or the closer to the real demography of United States representation.
(so I can get more jobs too :D)
To make it up, I tried to speak "our language" with my friend, as was requested by the crew, while they filmed us eating and having a good time. But we were almost drowned out by the Portuguese spoken by the two Brazilian women sitting at our table. They were pretty calm until they knew the camera was on. Then they started gesturing with their hands and spoke really loud. I hope me and my friend will be featured after the they edited the footage.
What the heck am I talking about? You will see when you watch the episode. I will probably update on this blog when that happens. Unfortunately the episode we just shot on Friday would be aired the next next season. Which means we would probably have to wait a year before it happens.
Hope the show doesn't get dropped before then!
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11:35 PM
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Labels: actress, asian, background actor, cooking show
This Monday I was at another shoot. It turned out to be one of my favorite projects so far. Why? It was a Japanese period piece, and everybody gets to dress up in a kimono! It was my first official kimono experience. I was excited.
So even though it was another student film again, and I am again doing the shoot pro bono, it was a well-rounded crew. I mean there was a whole wardrobe department with kimono experts to help us dress. It was an extremely complicated job, to put on a kimono. Even though I was only playing a non-speaking role, as the maid of the Lord, they had me in a kimono just as well. And a pretty pink one too! After they put the 3+ layers on me, i feel like I was going to faint.. The obi (belt) was so tight around my waist I could only use 50% of my lung capacity. It was like a corset for Japanese people. I was exclaiming in my mind, how do old time Japanese people do this everyday?
After I was dressed, I put on my geta-or Japanese sandals, and walks painfully to hang out with the other maids in the back while they shoot the other scenes. My hair was in a bun in the back of my head, making me look really old. The kimono limited my movements so I could only take tiny steps at a time and couldn't bend down without looking awkward. And, did you ask about bathrooms? Oh yes that was some fun experience... I am glad I am not an old school Japanese woman 100 years ago before they had jeans.
The samurai looking actor seemed to whisper to me something like I look pretty when I walked past him... But I was too shy to say anything I just hurried and scurried down the path like a squirrel and barely acknowledges him and stayed in character, like a good old Japanese girl would have done in the old times.
I waited for 3+ hours total before my little scene. But then that was not that bad.
I was in my kimono trance the whole time.
Finally it was my turn. The scene took place in a Japanese garden (in real life the one in Van Nuys) I was to try to take the plate from the princess because I was the servant. She would ignore me and walk past me. Then I would turn back after the princess and her maids were gone and stare at their backs in confusion. It doesn't sound like much, but looking at it from a Japanese aesthetics point of view, I think I can say that it was a single action that spoke a thousand words.
And in my mind's eye too it was a beautiful shot. Maybe something close to what I have always wanted to be able to portray on screen. Like THE moment in a film that would touch some hearts and stay in memories. I am glad I accomplished it so early in my acting career. Hope the final product turns out well.
I hope nothing was stuck in my hair and my lipstick didn't smudge!!
It took a while to take all the layers off me and put on my real life clothes. I was really catching a cold and I had a bug bite on my face :(
But I was happy.
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9:32 AM
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Labels: actress, art house film, asian, japanese, student film
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