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| This is actually not far from how I picture Ava. |
Did I forget to mention that she is also the extremely sexy voice you will hear on my newly released audiobook, That Ghoul Ava? From the moment that I heard her voice, I knew she was the one that I wanted. Having a background in radio, I learned that voices can be deceiving if you try to create an image. In this case, NOPE. I am pleased and proud to present the lovely and talented Celia Aurora de Blas.
You have a lot going on. Movies, yoga, meditation CDs, modelling, voice work. Do you
have any free time? What do you do to unwind?
Oh, wow! You did your homework. I do have free time. My work seems to go in rotation. I’ll spend a certain chunk of time concentrating on one or two things and then that ends and something else picks up. In my free time I like to do yoga, get outside and hike or bike, go out to dinner with friends, read.
One of your video blogs talks about your resolution for the new year being an exploration
of your vulnerability, it is early yet, but how is that going?
Tell us about IncredibleGirl.
“Incredible Girl” is a music driven micro short film that explores a coming of age story of an Innocent Girl who finds herself in a sexually charged club where the Club Diva attempts to lure her out of her innocence and into a place she didn't know she wanted to go.
“Incredible Girl” is a passion project of mine. Several years back I had this experience in a club that blew my mind away because of the immense fierceness this particular young woman had. I told my best friend, Miguel Amodio (Inner Image Media), the story and he immediately said “turn it into a movie”. At the time I thought, yeah that would be cool, but I’m not a filmmaker; but the bug to make it never left my mind and finally, I just did it.
This project helped me find a certain fierceness in myself cause 1. I’d never fundraised before and put myself on the line for 40 days not knowing if I’d be able to make the money I needed. It was a full time job, managing it. I was fundraising on indiegogo and then traveled to San Francisco to have an in person fundraiser and then used ustream.com to do a live streaming fundraiser where I brought yoga teachers in to teach yoga to me and viewers online and as people pledged money to the indiegogo campaign, I’d take a piece of clothing off. That was so beyond my comfort zone too, but in the end worth it, even though I got some flack for it from the yoga community. 2. I’d never been the engine behind a project, so my leadership skills emerged 3. I had to own the sexyness of the project (The hardest part of that was wondering how/ what family and friends would think of me.)
I worked with 2 musicians on it. The first one left the project, so I had to start from square one with the second one, Aaron Gray. We worked for 4 months or so. I’m so impressed with him. He’s still in college and was able to put the time into it that it needed. He came up with a piece of music that’s beautiful and layered with every element I wanted the song to capture. I hired Miguel and our director, Chingya Wang, to work on the film with me. We came up with a really sexy, visually evocative film, that leaves you wanting more. I love it. I’m really proud of it. I couldn’t have done it without the stellar team we had. In all, including cast and crew ( both pre-production and post) I had about 40 people work on this film. It still astounds me how this project came together.
We just had our LA screening and SF screenings. I’m excited to finally get it out to the world. It lives on line here.
Having watched the YouTube IncredibleGirl trailer, how painful was removing the red duct tape?
Hahahah! Yes, it was slightly painful. I learned after pulling the first piece off that I needed to unstick the tape a little before I put them on again for the film shoot, which is what I did. By the end of the work day on set they started coming off by themselves. At that point, I was just like “Fuck it. Hi everyone, yes these are my boobs. Go ahead and look.’
The indie community (writing, music, acting) can be its own worst enemy at times. What
are some of the issues you see cropping up? Solutions?
Issues that I think may be out there is seeing each other as competition instead of allies. I think when we come together and collaborate forces (cause we all have unique strengths) we can make bigger and better things happen. My projects are only as good as the people I collaborate with. I recognize that in my peers and colleagues. I think being inclusive instead of exclusive is the answer. We all expand and get bigger that way.
The social media is…
Social Media is a great tool for connection and finding new opportunities and it can be a time sucker too. Instead of vegging out in front of the tv, I vege out on the internet now :) Share some information about your work with us: (feel free to be as in depth as you like) I really enjoy the personal growth aspect of being an artist. When I do something and it affects someone it makes me feel less alienated. Most of my life I’ve felt like I never fit anywhere.
What is one question you are sick of being asked—not in interviews, but by individuals
who know you are an artist?
It usually has more to do with acting more than anything else: “What have you done?” Mostly because that question is always loaded with subtext that makes me feel insecure.
So, let’s talk a little about That Ghoul Ava. I was particularly impressed with that first
scene between Ava and Belinda. What can you share about your process?
The conversation between Ava and Belinda in the Grocery store came pretty naturally. The only thing I did was tighten up dialogue and I may have re-recorded a couple of lines because of background noise or not speaking a word clearly enough.
How would you describe That Ghoul Ava to friends?
A modern, superficial woman transforms into a ghoul and must figure out how to navigate the world of the ‘undead’.
What projects are you currently working on?
I have a feature script of my own that’s hanging out in my back pocket until it’s right (namely I put my intention on getting the money for it), a web-series I have a lead role in called “The Program” (that will be a kickstarter fundraising project later in the year for Inner Image Media), narrating Pamela DuMond’s books. I also teach acting classes if you count those as projects.
What is one thing about you that would surprise individuals who do not know you
personally?
I save snails and worms on sidewalks.
What do you look for when choosing to narrate an audio book? Or are they simply acting
jobs that you simply take as they come along?
Honestly, I’m fairly new to the audiobook world. I can’t say that I have a method yet. A friend of mine, Pamela DuMond, is an author who is in the middle of writing 2 series: one fabulous young adult series about time travel and the other a silly comedic murder mystery about a baker who is haunted by a dead self help guru. I asked her if I could narrate one of her books. She said yes and told me to read all of them. I set up my studio with the help of Mike Varela (Nuance Tone) and here we are.
Do you have anything in your “to be read” pile right now?
Anatomy of Spirit by Caroline Myss (I’m always reading self help books) and I have the second Hunger Games Audiobook waiting for me. Growing up my book collection had anything to do with ghosts, witches and magical realities. I do love me some Harry Potter.
Links:
The pilot episode for “The Program”:
“Incredible Girl” teaser:
“Incredible Girl” Film:
Nuance Tone:
Inner Image Media:
My Acting classes:
My Actress Web-site:
FB:
Yoga Nidra web-site:
Pam DuMond:
Chingya Wang:
Aaron Gray:
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