Interview: Meet Shandrea Lewdram - Those Girls are WILD

“We're not riding off of other people's fans and popularity by doing reposts, we're pushing out original content and asking our viewers to care about what we have to say or what we think is funny.”

“I want young girls to redefine what it means to be "WILD" and for them to feel like it's cool to truly be yourself”

“Two infinity and beyond!”

Shandrea Lewdram is made up of the sharp Toronto girls, performer Andrea Lewis and writer Shannon Boodram. Those girls are on it. They are deeply amusing, inspirational, WILD. Hence the name of their fabulous blog Those Girls Are Wild (“No, it’s not a porn site I swear”- something I say on a regular basis as I am always recommending their blog to people).

They are a pair of genuine best friends, “we started out in a crew of 40+ girls in grade 9 (called the bad gyals) then we downsized to 5 girls in grade 11 (called Legalidies), then after high school it became just me and Andrea (Those Wild gyals!)”, they put fantastically funny skits on youtube and they discuss everything from fake accents and whether or not kids should be sentenced as adults, to relationship advice and more in their "Topic of the Week" segment.

Interview: Andrea Lewis, True Entertainer

"I love to sing, it does something for my soul"

Since she was scouted in a mall at a young age, this truly talented performer has starred in a whole host of films and television shows from Down in the Delta, directed by Maya Angelou, to Nickelodeon's first musical, Spectacular (and you can now catch  her show, Degrassi: The Next Generation at 12:30 on Saturdays, BBC2.) She participates in all manner of charity events, such as World AIDS Day, YWCA and UNICEF campaigns and now she is coming out with an album, press play below to fall in love with her wonderful voice:

Interview: Shannon Teresa Boodram, Writer/Photographer/TV Presenter...the list goes on

“I love the art of storytelling, I love that people see themselves a little more clearly with everything that I do: be that through my writing, videos or photography.”

Here is the full list (just to make you feel truly lazy):  Shannon Teresa Boodram is a freelance writer and a freelance photographer and the proprietor of an online network for inspirational women and a youth worker and a tv presenter and the editor of a book and a kick ass go-getter.

This woman  is changing the way young people are educated about sex and was recently debating the sex education issue on a Canadian news channel.

Never afraid to voice her opinion, she will call you out (hilariously as well) when you're doing something stupid, and even call herself out too if needs be...

Interview: Kate Le Vann, Novelist

"I would like young women to be more interested in feminism, to stop hating women for being, say, thin, which seems to happen too much."

"The internet and twitter and all of these things that are supposed to be killing publishing are just ways of reading more, aren't they?"

Hilariously self-deprecating and absolutely brilliant, Kate Le Vann is the internationally published British author of such poignant novels as Two Friends, One Summer and Tessa In Love. She tells us about everything from writing young adult fiction and how she single-handedly brought down Julie Burchill’s infamous Modern Review, to bearcrows, stalker comedies and the best places in San Francisco.

Her latest novel, The Worst of Me, injects some much needed realism into the YA literature scene, “I think this novel is a bit different from the others because I always have lovely perfect boy heroes and the hero in this is a bit of a wrong'un, but still fanciable and sexy. And when you fall in love in your teens (or whenever) the chances are he's not going to be perfect and mature and clever and say the right things all the time and do the right things. So maybe Jonah is a bit more realistic? Not that you can't meet the love of your life at 16, but it does quite often go wrong.”

Right now she is enjoying San Francisco, as her husband is doing a fellowship at Stanford University, and she is taking the opportunity to research another setting for her next book, “there are a lot of things here that inspire me here.”

Olivia Brittain, Casting Director

If you haven’t heard about her already, no doubt you will soon be seeing her name in the credits of your favourite films. Yes, I’m talking about Olivia Brittain, the 19 year old Bournemouth Film School student who is already running her own casting business (Olivia Brittain Casting) as well as running Straight From School. http://www.straightfromschool.org/ is a brilliant website that Olivia strarted up with her twin sister Alice (who is studying acting) and it is stuffed with brilliant advice for performers, film and tv casting gossip and details of open auditions –  it’s quite addictive so I recommend you finish up here first before getting sucked into SFS.

There is also the Straight From School Youtube Channel to get hooked on, where she not only gives more advice for aspiring actors but does short and funny film reviews. Check it out:

She has worked on the casting of St Trinian’s 2 and Dagenham Girls, amongst various other projects and is currently working on her first feature film (in between shooting pieces on 16mm film for her degree) but she still kindly took the time to have a chat and tell us about everything from her serious brownie making skills, to her invaluable advice for aspiring casting directors and actors alike...

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your casting experience.
I'm Olivia, I'm 19 currently balancing life between Film School and getting work in the world of casting in the film industry. After my GCSEs I knew I had to get into the film industry so I got work placements in local TV studios to build up my knowledge of it all. I was 17 when I worked at Pinewood and Shepperton Studios and got some great experience but it was really when I was 18 and got a summer internship with Lucy Bevan Casting that I knew where I wanted to go!


What made you want to be a casting director?
My family are all actors so I was also going to end up in that side of things! It was really when I came across an interview with casting director Jina Jay (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0419605/) a few years ago that I settled my decision. In the article she spoke about the challenges of the job and how she could fight for actors sometimes, if they were newcomers or someone unproven. Something about getting to meet different people every day is a bonus too. I cut the article out and still have it stuck on my wall, and it's been my inspiration ever since.


Are there any other people who inspired you?
Casting directors like Lucy Bevan, Pippa Hall, Nina Gold and particularly Mary Selway who was legendary within the film industry.


What are your favourite films (particularly in terms of the cast)?
Atonement (cast by Jina Jay) in terms of casting was brilliant and is definitely one of my favourites for that! I love Withnail and I, Emperor's New Groove, The Truman Show, Empire of the Sun, Some Like It Hot - I have so many favourites it's hard to pick just one. I will say my favourite directors include Christopher Nolan, Edgar Wright, John Hughes, Shane Meadows and Wes Anderson and would love to work with all of them (bringing Hughes back from the dead of course!).


What is the most difficult thing about the job?
The stress and high pressure to get a project done with a tricky deadline. If you get sick, everything grounds to a halt. Hours are long and when you leave the office the work doesn't stop! But there are perks that overshadow the difficult aspects!


While we're at it, what is the thing you love most about casting?
Meeting so many new great actors! Discovering new talent and taking risks with unknown faces. Trips to the theatre, seeing as many new independent films as possible as well as establishing great relationships with agents, producers and directors. My dream job basically!


Are there any up and coming actors that you are really excited about?
Many. I'm always on the look-out of course! Most aren't 'names' but if I have to say the most well-known actress I'm looking forward to seeing in more projects is Lucy Boynton and Charity Wakefield.


Any advice for people who are considering getting into casting?
The first thing I would say is to get experience as an assistant and to get to grips that it's hard work and no glamour. Checking out the Casting Director's Guild website is a must!


What is the best advice you've received?
To follow everything up. For example, when I had a work placement in a casting office I managed to lose £10 worth of stamps. It sounds small right? But I made sure I sent a thank you card including some replacement stamps. I definitely think that had I just left it I doubt I would have been asked back for an internship. Follow everything up - agents and producers will remember you and it's important to maintain good relationships.


What makes you personally really sit up and take note of an actor (apart from, of course, brilliant acting)?
Tough question, because it's hard to put your finger on it. An actor that has the right attitude, charm, initiative to take risks as well as a strong belief in their interpretation of a character is one to keep an eye on! Their performance must be captivating. If they believe it, I'll believe it.


What are the top 5 things you hate to see when you meet an actor (or even when you are approached by one, like through email or letters etc)?
I don't want to say I 'hate' certain things that actors do - so I'll safely go with little annoyances because there can be a few! My number one annoyance is when actors appear desperate. I get dozens of messages and emails from teen actors along the lines of 'plz im beggin u, can u help me get a agent?'. That depicts to me laziness if they can't be bothered to research the work themselves. Bad spelling is a natural turn off anyway, as is the desperation! Any CV and headshot submissions that type text speak get deleted straight away.

When actors don't read the breakdown properly it can cause problems too. For example if I clearly state 'Caucasian 16 year old, one headshot submission only', I can receive emails that start with 'I know I'm not Caucasian or 16... but I thought I'd submit anyway!' along with a dozen huge files attached that freezes my inbox! If you can't read the breakdown properly, how can you read the script properly or turn up to an audition on time?

In an audition too much make up is a turn off. I want to scrub it off so I can see what they look like underneath!

Triple chocolate cookies or brownies?

BROWNIES! I make some mean brownies. They have to be crispy on the outside and gooey in the middle. I add chocolate chunks to melt in the middle. Yum!

Top 5 BELONGings:

As boring as it is, I couldn't leave the house without my phone and my work would DIE if I lost my laptop! My diary as well as I honestly wouldn't know what I'd be doing for a day without it. Chocolate. My book of actors. Every actor I see in a show I will jot down for future reference. It's a bit of a bible...

How do you (if you do) want to change the world?

Change the world huh? I'll just say a little bit of kindness goes a long way - how about forcing everyone to believe in karma?

Sounds like a plan...

Interview with...The Looky Looky Posse

“Creativity is just an excuse for not being the math and algebra hero...”

“Inspiring is watching people or stories...”

Meet Conny, Julia and Luise - the LookyLooky Posse. They are three funny and brilliant Berliners with an inspirational attitude to life, and I got their thoughts on everything from brownies and cookies to photography and the Berlin music scene. If you haven’t seen the great clothing that these talented ladies make (where the hell have you been?!) click here later, but right now let’s hear from the posse...

How did you guys meet?

Conny: I met Luise 10 years ago in a skate park where she was teaching me how to do an ollie right. Hm, and I guess it was 5 years ago that Luise introduced me to Julia and that’s where all was starting somehow.

Julia: I met Luise probably 5 or 6 years ago. We both worked for a skate contest in Berlin. Half a year or 1 year later Luise introduced me to Conny, after she came back from a long surf trip in Australia.

Luise: It was exactly like this...


What were you doing before Looky Looky?
Conny: I was working in the German countryside for a jeans brand.

Julia: I worked for a magazine in the sales and marketing department.

Luise: I worked for a PR agency.

Could you sum up the Looky Looky Posse in one sentence?

Conny: CREW LOVE IS TRUE LOVE

Julia: CREW LOVE IS TRUE LOVE

Luise: CREW LOVE IS TRUE LOVE


Why did you choose the name LookyLooky?
Conny: It was Luise who discovered the name LookyLooky.

Luise: I thought it is important to be not so edgy, limited and cool...bring something funny, light in it.

Julia: She thought about a name, and few seconds later she said LookyLooky. And we were all like: perfect! Fun is a huge aspect! So the name looks good and sounds good but at the same way it is funny.

Have you been inspired by any other labels?
Conny: There is no label where I would say –that’s it- but if you see a good idea on a label of course it pushes you. Inspiring is watching people or stories and stuff like that. My friends are quite inspiring and photos do the job for me.

Luise: It’s like Conny said also for me it’s more the people who inspire me...not other brands.

Julia: I think we are really into Stüssy. But i don't think that we take this label as an inspiration. It’s only a label which we love and love to wear besides LookyLooky. We get inspired by a lot of things and yes, mostly friends and photos!


What do you love the most about LookyLooky?

Conny: the crew love is true love thing, being a strong bunch of friends supporting each other in any way.

Luise: exactly how Conny said, or how we say in our hard German: EXAKT. It’s about this posse thing. In a big city like Berlin, you need good friends and even more in facebook times, haha.

Julia: Nothing more to say. Crew love is true love.

Finally, what advice can you give to people who are thinking of setting up something similar to Looky Looky?

Conny: If you have an idea and it feels good? Do it.

Luise: When you think of starting something, don’t ask other people...they always seem to know everything better, but it’s not true. They don’t know anything but telling you your way it’s the wrong way. And believe in what you are doing!!!

Julia: Don't talk about it - do it.

Everyone creative seems to be doing about a hundred things at once. There are so many people who are “Photographer/Writer/DJ”s. Do you guys have other things going on as well as the label?
Conny: We would like to use LookyLooky as an agency to do work for other people’s magazines and stuff like that. I wouldn’t say everything that we do is creative in the end it's just a fun thing what we do together. Creativity is just an excuse for not being the math and algebra hero...

Julia: Of course the 3 of us have a "normal" job where we earn our money. It’s the goal to earn money with the one thing that we love - LookyLooky. The jobs we are doing now are only the first steps to be better, to learn more and to get the right contacts to put it all into LookyLooky. So everything we do is in the end of every day for LookyLooky.

Luise: There is a new creative platform in Berlin called "MADE". It’s opening in march and I work for this now from January on. Besides that we create t-shirts for other labels and do a lot more creative stuff for other brands...

MADE in Berlin from Made Blog on Vimeo.

I see from the photos on your blog you must love the cyber sampler cameras- are you all really into photography?

Conny: It’s a mood thing sometimes I am not leaving the house without a one way/disposable camera.

Luise: I love this- playing with pictures! I’m more into Polaroid, but it’s so expensive...

Julia: I always try to take a camera with me; sometimes it works, sometimes not. But I am really into tumblr. On Sunday I’ll check a lot of tumblr blogs to find new pics.

I hear you guys have your own lingo...?

Conny: I would say every group of friends have their lingo, it comes by the time and has their fashion too.

Luise: When you always spend time together, you have your own style and we don’t really care how we say things because you don’t have to explain so much to tell friends what you mean when you are really close... so first of all we did the blog for us and our friends so this is the language we still have.

Julia: It’s a puzzle that fits from different fields. Movies, TV series, music, friends and the Berlin dialect which Conny and Luise dominate because they are from Berlin.

How is the music scene in Berlin?

Conny: The music scene is quite colourful maybe cause of the low price apartments and studios and stuff? Berlin is a broke city which is good for any kind of art or music. I start liking techno music a bit more and quite good DJ and producer is Santé.

Luise: It doesn’t matter what kind of music you like, you can always find clubs, people and spaces in Berlin to share it with friends... Also a good friend of us is Adam Port, who is also doing fantastic electronic music. But I’m more into this rap thing and like the live demo parties very much. They are a mix of live and DJ music...very good concerts and very nice people behind it.

Julia: you have to listen to all the DJs and producers of the small independent label Keine Musik! Besides that, there is also good hip hop music in Berlin. I really like the fact that all the musicians in Berlin don't take themselves that seriously. They are very grounded and down to earth. And it’s quite interesting how many musicians from other cities are living in Berlin, like Peaches, Zombie Disco Squad and so on. And yes, I also think that it’s because of the prices here in Berlin and tons of really good clubs in Berlin, like Berghain, Panorama Bar, Bar25 or Golden Gate. And another point, in Berlin there is no closing time. A lot of clubs are open from Friday till Monday or Tuesday. I think tats one huge point why a lot of electronic DJs and producers love Berlin.

Top 3 BELONGings
Conny: Our crew, our crew, our crew.

Luise: Haha I don’t know if a crew is really a belonging, but when yes, that’s the most important thing! Besides that my phone and lap top.

Brownies or triple chocolate cookies?

Conny: brownies but with vanilla ice cream

Luise: triple chocolate cookies with a lot of cream...maaaamaaaacitaaaa.

How do you (if you do) want to change the world?
Conny: Is this the point to say world peace?

Julia: I’m not that emo or so, but yes world peace would be fantastic. Mmhh, how to change the world? Start with a smile and always be honest.

Barbara Frankie Ryan Interview!

** Sorry this took so long to put up, problems with new laptops and blablabla boring stuff **

Barbara Frankie Ryan does her own thing:

“At my school the art teacher was like the trunchbull and everything had to be drawn from life and tonal. A camera can do that, what's the point? I think it's way better to come up with something from your head.”

Barbara Frankie Ryan (yeah, I just kind of feel the need to say her full name every time) : 17 years old, Londoner, owner of a brilliant zine called BFR mag (www.bfrmag.blogspot.com). Oh, and she used to be a DJ but she “just kinda stopped when I started sixth form it was probably the distraction of boys to be honest. I went to an all-girls school for five years and now I go to an all-boys school with around 120 boys and about 40 girls so there was a lot of adjusting to be done.” Despite being exhausted from having just done 2 hours solid at the gym (! Exercise is my kryptonite!), she still managed to be witty and wonderful. Well, see for yourself...

Barbara? Barbara Frankie? BFR? Babs?
My name's Barbara, my middle name is Frankie, but at my current school everyone calls me Babs. And I sort of love initials and that's what BFR is for - Barbara Frankie Ryan. Not so simple eh?

What made you want to start your own zine?
I've always kept notebooks (moleskines to be exact, because they're the best). And I guess I just put all my poems and drawings into it. I wasn't really aware of what a "zine" was until other people started to refer to my mag as one. And I love magazines full stop. Even the ones you get free in the sunday papers.

Do you plan to continue BFR mag and perhaps build it up to a magazine one day?
YES! That would be brilliant, all glossy and available in WHSmith! Fan-tas-tic. But I'm not too sure about that. I wouldn't mind working in fashion journalism whether it is for myself or someone with a similar mindset and ideas. But, I'll definetly continue. Every few months I go through a "i'mgonnastopmakingbfrmag" phase, but then one of my friends will ask me when the next issue is coming out or I'll get a cool email from someone and then I get into the mag even more so.

Speaking of fashion journalism, you’ve had a few internships with fashion magazines, right?
My Dad is so cool, (he's an artist and does lots of illustrations and collaborations with mags) so he managed to fix me up with internships at ELLE, Rubbish/The Daily and Eley Kishimoto (fashion designers) and I'm really greatful for it.

What were they like?
I guess being an intern, you just have to be really down to earth and helpful, no one wants a grumpy girl who would rather pick her split ends than archive past editorials. Like at ELLE everyone was soo lovely, I was in the art department. And it wasn't like the Devil Wears Prada or Anna "from hell" Wintour nonsense if you get me?

Where do you see yourself in 10 years? Working in a magazine perhaps?
Crikey, I don't even know what I'm doing next weekend! Next year I'm doing a foundation in Art & Design, which I'm really excited about and I'm really looking forward to. I'm not sure if I'd want to work in a magazine that soon (I guess I’d be 27), at the moment I'm thinking more of an illustration or fashion design route, but nothing is certain. Yet.

Are there any artists/designers that really inspire you? In particular, the people (or even places or things) that have inspired your art and writings?
I guess you can draw parallels between me and Daisy de Villeneuve's work (check her out she is awesome). David Hockney is awesome, "A Bigger Splash" is my favourite painting. In terms of inspiration Marc Jacobs always gets my heart thumping- he's something very special.
And I guess like if I’m at a party and someone says something really funny or witty, I'm like that would make a sick picture and then I play with the words and make a picture in my head. Or sometimes I'm pissed off with people or really happy with them. I guess people are just really good at fucking around with your emotions and I love that. That's what I like.

How would your perfect day go?
Wake up, no alarm clock, sunshining. then me and my parents would have fry up and the best bacon in London from the farmers market. Then I would go to school and all my lessons would be cancelled and we'd hop on the 148 bus to Hyde Park and play twister and have waterfights. Then we'd go to Patisserie Valerie for lunch and then i'd come home and watch the Come dine with me omnibus. And I would eat lasagna for supper and go to bed full. I think I'm easily pleased.

Name your top five BELONGings.
(see what I did there)
That was cool.
1. My 2009/2010 diary. has everything in it.
2. Coats. The barbour + the fake fur. Essential for the nightbus home.
3. All my harry potter dvds (I'm such a loser)
4. My phone, I have a blackberry but I'm not one of those annoying people who are on them all the time
5. My glasses - 'cause I would be blind without them.

Triple chocolate cookies or brownies?
I'd pass and go for a rockyroad.

How do you (if you do) want to change the world?
Less hungry people and less greedy people.

BFR RECOMMENDS...

Places in London
I love Pimlico for charity shops and all the mad people who live there.
I like Covent Garden for shops, as it has everything you need and not too busy.
I like Columbia rd for things you want but don't need.
Holland Park for skiving lessons.
And anywhere near to the river.

New bands
My mate Sam is in a band, which I guess I should plug. Called the Myth Machine. They make lovely sounds from violins and ukuleles and xylophones and do covers of Andre 3000 and kelis and sean paul and stuff, but it sounds really beautiful even though it's songs you'd usually bump and grind to. http://themythmachine.tumblr.com/
I'm always raving about I Blame Coco. She's sick, but I like most things.

Vinyls
Firstly, I love 7"s because they're cheap as chips. I’d rather pay like £3 for something I can hold with a lovely cover than pay 79p for something with no substance off iTunes. The sound is special. But it's quite annoying at the moment, I need to change my needle, so I'm currently playing no records in fear of scratching them up.

Zines
Verity Pemberton (she's wicked, she's like 20 and makes costumes for Florence + The Machine) she makes a zine called Don't Know Yet which is really really fashion-y and ridiculously cool. Also the Eel and ME magazine

Magazines
Like every month I always buy Vogue, i-D, ELLE and TeenVogue. Then others are LOVE (twice a year), POP (if I have money) and The Economist (which is really good). But my dad has subscriptions to Vogue Italia and Harpers so I steal those off him!

Making A Zine
Don't make it similar to BFR! Haha. Just do it how you want, don't want to sound cheesy. But if you're into collecting stamps make your zine about that.

1. Always carry one with you, because when people hear "oh yeah I have a blog" they switch off because everyone has one these days. But if they have something physical they can read on the toilet they're more likely to remember you.

2. Find your target audience. I wanted pretentious kids, so I left mine inside 7"s in rough trade off Brick Lane and so on. Also leave them around school. That’s always good.

3. Send them to everyone you know. find the editors of all your fave magazines and send them a copy of your zine and a suck up letter and who knows you may get a reply!

4. Don't make it about money. ’Cause your mind-set will change. You probably will make a loss, but if you love doing it who cares!

5. Make friends with the school librarian so you can get mates rates photocopying.

End of.


see previous post: http://thisiswherewebelong.blogspot.com/2010/03/barbara-frankie-ryan-and-why-she-is.html for extracts from her zine or, more sensibly, just head over to her site now for the entire things http://www.bfrmag.blogspot.com/ .

Don't Miss This!

We will be chatting with the extremely talented artist Miss Led very soon!!!!! (can you tell I'm excited?)Here's 6 reasons why she's amazing (plus, ofcourse, the fact that she is our first- and only atm- follower):

See more of her work here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/miss_joanna_h   and here: http://missled.co.uk/