Marley Cabral
Marley Cabral says...
How do you put into words about a process that changes your life and helps to define what you want to do in the future? I had the amazing privilege to have been cast as the lead “Emma” in the short film “Tuned In” by award-winning director Matthew Marshall. This film changed my life in a number of ways through the life lessons I learned and the skills of acting and film production I developed from being a part of this amazing team and production. I will touch on those points in a moment.
Following the wonderful growth experience of “Tuned In”. I had the opportunity to work with the production team again playing the role of fourth lead “Brittany” in the short film “Malicious Attack” about bullying. The film offered a wonderful experience to explore the issue of bullying in high school. Bullying is a topic I am passionate about as a youth advocate for “Free 2 Love” which is about being a voice in the world to be heard by taking a stand to spread “Luv” and ending bullying.
Most recently I had the opportunity to be part of a third production through m & s Marshall Productions when I was cast as “Diamond” in Marshall’s hour-long dramatic film “Blue Love”. Once again it was another opportunity to play another very different character than my two previous roles.
These three films have been a great experience for me and have allowed me to develop my skills as an actor and be mentored by some great fellow cast members and well as the films' wonderful director Matthew. The best part of working with him was, he understands when you talk to him. He understands if you find somethings harder than others! He's amazing at listening if you have a suggestion for him. He is patient in letting you navigate and find your way through a deep character. In the end, those skills allowed me to perform the role at a higher level that has earned me awards for the role at film festivals.
The entire Production Team made working together so much fun. I loved almost every minute of it, even when I couldn't always understand the actions/placements I got. It was such a fun crowd of people to work with whom I made so many memories with. In the end, looking back, many of the things I was told to do make more sense. I enjoyed the process of making the films because it was so cool being the characters that were like me in some ways. I feel as if I connected to both characters I played mentally, physically, & emotionally over the process. It was cool to also play three completely opposite personalities, it gave me three totally different vibes and stretched me as an actress to develop my acting skills and character development.
There were some days with “Tuned In” that were not all sunshine and roses because of long filming days, lots to film and stressful moments on set, but as a team we overcame them and worked together to get to the final product which in the case of “Tuned In”, it has won a large number of awards. Including winning several ‘Best Actress’ awards myself for my role of Emma in the film. I also received a prestigious MIC International Awards nomination for Best Actress in a short film (Age 16 Category) for my portrayal of Emma. Although I did not win, being nominated was a huge honour.
What I took away from all this is that when things get hard you have to push through them to get the amazing outcome of all the hard work you have put towards it. I learned film making is NOT as easy as it seemed in my head. So much goes into the process, so many thoughts and feelings to create the reaction and emotion that you see in the end in the final film. A lot goes into the process and you have so many takes of the same scene until the RIGHT one happens & when it happens you'll know you have nailed it.
Overall I had so much fun making the films. I made so many amazing new friendships, memories, laughs, inside jokes between takes, it was just amazing to become so close with a group of super fun people who love doing the same thing as me and it made this process so fun!
I think through the process of being a part of these films there are lessons/skills that I am taking away with me that I will apply to my life as I move forward. Such as the skill of pushing through troubles when things get hard so I can have the most amazing outcome. I believe this skill has already helped me with preparing for my future because if I hadn’t had some days of pushing through the rough patches I wouldn't know how helpful a skill this is and how it helps me to succeed!! It's a major stress reliever!
The process of working with the production team has also prepared me for my lifelong dream pursuing acting and the next step in my journey as I will be attending Fanshawe College’s Theatre Arts-Performance Program and working towards my goal of performing in musical theatre and acting on stage.
I have very much enjoyed the opportunities I have had with the team and the mentoring I have received. It has helped me prepare for pursuing acting in my future and post-secondary studies. If I got the opportunity to, I would totally take it and work with them again! It was just such a great experience to work with Matthew and the production team on not just one but two projects! It means a lot!! I am so very thankful for the awesomeness and everything Matthew Marshall and the Production Team brought to the table. I encourage people interested in acting and crew to be a part of their team. There is so much you can learn working with them.
Marley Cabral
T-MC-17-10