(Newswire.net — December 29, 2020) — Most of us fantasize about what it would be like to be part of the Hollywood scene, and waltz down the red carpet. However, most of us are also on the other side of the scene, admiring the glitz and glam that is constantly shown on television from afar. Then there are people like Melanie Avalon, who resolved to turn childhood dreams of acting into reality.
In 2017, it was estimated that there were around 135,600 actors in the U.S. Of those, a small percent gained entry into the official actor’s union, SAG-AFTRA, historically through landing coveted roles in union television and cinema projects. But given current societal changes, and the fact that technology is now more advanced than ever, people can also gain instant fame by capitalizing on social media platforms such as Youtube, Tik Tok and Instagram.
But that wasn’t the case for Melanie Avalon, who went through a more conventional process in order to appear in films and on television. “I feel like I’ve done everything old school. I graduated from the USC School of Theatre and School of Cinematic Arts in Los Angeles, interned with producers Jerry Bruckkheimer and Jim Whitaker at Disney Studios in Burbank, and gained entry into SAG, through parts on SAG-AFTRA television shows. It’s been a lot of training, networking and auditioning,” Melanie explains.
What inspired Melanie to act
The SAG-AFTRA actress wanted to act for as long as she could remember, and she saw the entertainment industry as a career, equivalent to any other professional field. Although Melanie immersed herself in community theatre and nourished her creative mind, she still felt like an anomaly in her dreams. “Growing up in the South, there was this idea that Hollywood wasn’t a ‘real’ place or credible pursuit. When I moved to LA, it was surreal to live literally in Hollywood, and confirm that it was – indeed – a very real place, full of people with their work, their passions, their dreams and their reality.”
Although a shy introvert, the intelligent beauty was always fascinated by creating stories both in front of and behind the camera. “I love creating entire new worlds and stories which serve as vehicles for cultivating certain emotions in, and sharing messages to, the viewer. I hope we may never lose our sense of wonder,” she states.
And soon enough, with enough persistence, childhood dreams would turn into reality.
“Growing up, I always loved watching the myriad re-enactment murder TV shows with my mom, so when I graduated from USC’s School of Theatre and School of Cinematic Arts, and immediatley booked Deadly Wives on the Biography channel, it was thrilling to play a role just like the ones from my treasured memories with my mom – murder and all!”
The reality of the entertainment industry
In the U.S alone, the media and entertainment industry is an ever growing market, worth an estimated 720 billion dollars. As an adolescent in Melanie’s time, the primary forms of entertainment were theatre, Broadway, radio, television, cinema, and print magazines. Today, the term ‘entertainment’ yields a different perspective, with a constant trend of people becoming famous seemingly overnight, through the likes of reality television and social media.
“I had my own share of reality television adventures, but instant fame through such a route was never the game plan,” Melanie laughs.
Melanie adapted to the ever evolving industry, by cultivating her many talents across an array of different fields of work in all types of media platforms.
“I adore acting and will always be inspired to create. With my neverending curiosity to discover and explore, I’ve stumbled into an entirely unexpected world of media in the ‘biohacking’ sphere. I’m always learning new things that I want to share with my viewers, through the world of art,” Melanie states.
Her past and upcoming projects
Melanie has appeared both behind and in front of the camera for numerous projects. While at USC, her short film was nominated for a Hermes award, and she served as assistant director on projects such as Para Olivia and What Is This Night
Melanie has appeared in films such as Neighbors, The Wicked Within, All I Need, and No More Chances, the last of which she was nominated for best supporting actress in the International New York Film Festival. On television, she has appeared in Deadly Wives, Glee, Codes and Conspiracies, and How Human Are You?, among others.
Melanie is slated to appear in the feature film The Last Ride (Momentum Studios), and is working towards the goal of developing one of her top iTunes podcasts, The Melanie Avalon Biohacking Podcast, into a TV show. “I am so excited to work towards a project where I can explore the hottest developments in the world of biohacking and longevity,” she states.