Today we’d like to introduce you to Elaina Adrianna.
Elaina, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
When I was younger, my family was stationed in Hanau, Germany, due to us being a military family. Military bases are essentially a little piece of the U.S. in a confined space in a foreign country. On this military base, there was a theater- the Five Pfennig Playhouse. One day after school I decided to audition for my first play, Babes in Toyland, and landed the role of little Sally Waters. And that was it.
Over the course of three years in Germany, I did several shows and eventually landed the lead as Cat in The Ugly Duckling. After Germany, we were transferred to Virginia. While I was in school there, I got involved in many different sports and acting sort of took a back seat.
After graduating high school, I was accepted into George Mason University and soon found out they had the best-rated Theater Program in the state which meant it was also highly competitive. I had a choice to make. I could either choose a major I could be semi-happy with, or after years of not acting I could pick out a monologue and a song, and try to make it into the program.
On the day of my audition, I walked into the audition room where there were professors from the drama department seated and eager to see what I had going for me. Even though my theater experience was lengthy, it had been a while and I was so nervous. I forgot my monologue multiple times, my voice cracked when I sang, but I was re-directed a few times and did not give up. When I walked out, I was sure I failed. But, a few weeks later I got a letter in the mail stating that I made it in. I learned a lot over the next four years and completed this portion of my journey by graduating on the dean’s list with degrees in Theater and Communications.
Then I focused all of my energy on specifically television and film. I accumulated several lead roles in film and landed multiple co-star and guest-star roles in various television shows. I became a SAG-AFTRA actress, (a dream of mine for years), and set my sights on LA. On my first night in Hollywood, I made it on to Jimmy Kimmel Live! Now, just two short years later, my film is screening at Cannes!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
After getting on Kimmel the first night, you might think it was smooth. It definitely has not been smooth. I think anyone who enters into this business knows they have a long bumpy road ahead. I’ve had everything from embarrassing moments all the way to mistakes that made for great learning experiences. But that doesn’t matter. You have to be prepared to roll with the punches and keep on going. The key is to stay positive and never, ever stop believing in yourself.
We’d love to hear more about your work and what you are currently focused on. What else should we know?
My most recent project was having the pleasure of being part of a film called “Silence.” The film focuses on the story of a young woman who gets into an accident and loses her hearing. She struggles to move on with her life and accept the new disability. The thing I loved most about this film was having an American Sign Language (ASL) instructor come on set and give both me and the other actors a class on ASL and how to properly communicate. I loved the opportunity to dive into this new experience and end up with a film that made an impact on audiences. The tough part about this was the team had 48 hours to come up with a script, learn the lines, learn ASL, shoot, edit and turn the project in.
The film was made for the 48 Hour Film Project in which we competed against over 150 other films in LA. My team, Transplant Pictures, pulled the genre of silent film and came up with this amazing story! We ended up winning several awards including, Best Actress (me), Audience Award, Best Director (Jack Swiker), Best Editing and BEST FILM! Winning best film meant we advanced to Filmapalooza!
Filmapalooza is an international film festival held in a different city each year. This year it was in Orlando and showcased the winning films from over 5000 films made worldwide that competed to be there! Each winning film is screened and the ten grand champions are crowned. Those top 10 films earned the honor of being screened at the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France.
The Filmapalooza judges had an interesting way to announce the winners. They said they would play each of the top ten films and then they just walked off the stage. The lights dimmed and the tension in the audience peaked. The screen was blank, you hear a crash, and then Silence – and my face is on the screen!! Our film was the first one selected for Cannes!!!
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
When I was in school, I was involved in several sports. My parents were always very supportive- so supportive in fact that my mom (of Brazilian and Venezuelan background) would wear a highlighter pink coat and yell “¡No te dejes!” from the stands. That saying loosely translates to don’t let yourself be taken advantage of/left in the dust. In other words, it was her way of saying to keep fighting and never give up.
This business requires very tough skin and the will to keep on going when nothing seems to be going your way. I know I have a very tough fight in the career I feel I’ve been called to do, and those words have always been a reminder to keep on kicking and punching my way through those barriers.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.elainaadrianna.com
- Instagram: @elaina_adrianna
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