Today we’d like to introduce you to Ella West Jerrier.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I am a 12-year-old actress. I started off dancing when I was two years old and started training for acting and singing when I was about eight years old. I danced on performing companies for many years and competed all over the country in ballet, pointe, jazz, musical theater, lyrical/contemporary, tap, a hip-hop. I also spend about a month every year in New York City training for singing and dancing on Broadway. A good friend of mine was an actor/model and she introduced me to an agent at The Campbell Agency in Dallas. I did a few print ads and TV commercials locally in Dallas with Campbell, but got my big break when I submitted an audition video for a movie. After many rounds of auditions, meetings, and mix-and-matches (where they see how you look with the other potential actors in the film), I was selected for one of the lead roles in a Lifetime Movie that aired October 14, 2018, called “Terror In The Woods”. Now that the movie has come out, I will be going back and forth from Dallas to Los Angeles and I now have a whole team that works with me to help me find new acting roles!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Acting is definitely not easy. You lose out on rolls 1000X more than you actually get one. Every time I tape or audition for a role, I feel really good about it – but then you never hear anything. You have to be really patient as there are thousands and thousands of actors auditioning for just a few rolls. You have to be comfortable with dealing with rejection and be ready to move on to the next opportunity. I auditioned for a role on Broadway with literally almost a thousand other girls. I made it down to the final 6 girls, and I was not selected. That one hurt. A lot of times, it isn’t about you not being good enough, but it’s about how you look with the rest of the cast. A lot of it is out of your control – the only thing you can do is be prepared, put it all out there and hope for the best.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Ella West Jerrier – what should we know?
I am most proud of the role I just finished in “Terror In The Woods” – it was by far my biggest role, but also a very difficult and complex character. The movie is based on the Slenderman stabbing incident from Wisconsin a few years back. I play one of the girls that orchestrates the attack. It was really difficult to play her as a sympathetic character but the director was focused on the events that created the girls mindset – being new at school, no friends, being bullied and picked on, obsessed with the internet, etc. As I said, there are literally thousands and thousands of girls that look exactly like me that want to be actresses. I work very hard on studying roles and am ALWAYS in an acting class or a coaching session if I am not working on a project. I also work hard on being a “triple threat” – acting, singing, and dancing. I take classes in all 3 – some weeks I dance as much as 30 hours plus school, plus singing, plus acting class, plus studying scenes and taping. It’s not enough to have a good personality – you have to work all the time.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
I’ve had SO much help along the way!!! Angie Arrona was my actor friend that got me in with The Campbell Agency. My agents at The Campbell Agency in Dallas, Shannon McHale Horan and Diana Dyer, that pitch me on projects all around the country and Canada, my teachers at Next Step Dance in Frisco that push me hard and don’t let me off the hook even if I’m focused mostly on acting, my favorite people at the BEST SCHOOL EVER, Studio 7 in Farmer’s Branch – Don & Chris Seay not only help me work on academics, but also singing, dancing, acting, guitar and helping me stay grounded and in control and at peace. My acting teacher in Dallas, Cathryn Sullivan, at Cathryn Sullivan’s Acting For Film – she really helped me get ready for my first big film role and to be able to handle the stress and pressure of Los Angeles. The team that helps me prepare for singing: Peg Waldschmidt, Brielle Pogue, Rachel Teague, and Scheherezade Quiroga. They have taught me so many tips and tricks to train my voice. And all those people are just in Dallas… I have an amazing team in Los Angeles that I am lucky enough to work with: my managers at MC Talent, my commercial agent at Coast To Coast Talent, and my LA theatrical agent at TalentWorks.
I also work with an amazing acting coach named Cynthia Bain when I am in Los Angeles. She has worked with a lot of big stars, so she really helped me get in the right mindset. I never would have got the role in “Terror In The Woods” without Fern Champion and Sharon Lieblein from Champion Lieblein Casting. I meet with them when I am in LA and they give such great advice on roles and scripts and just how to navigate life in Hollywood! I also worked with Cody Linley to do 1-on-1 coaching while in Los Angeles and he really helped me get ready for the movie role. I worked out with one of my favorite choreographers in Los Angeles, Kelly McQuaid, to stay in shape!! And never mind the sacrifice my family makes to travel around with me – a lot of times we have to split up the family so someone stays with my sister, Emma, in Dallas and someone goes wherever I need to go.
Contact Info:
- Website: ellawestofficial.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: instagram.com/ellawestofficial
- Facebook: facebook.com/ellawestofficial
- Twitter: ellawestoffici1 (@ellwestofficial)
Image Credit:
Jay Jerrier
Getting in touch: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
