I walked out and hugged my dad. He didn't know what happened but he was just as happy as I was. One week later I was casted an an Angel in the Broadway Play. There was about 12 angels in total. So it was like a choir. My very first audition and I got it. It was one of the best feelings in the world. Rehearsals were in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. My dad came with me to every rehearsal. He supported me 100%. The company (Righteousness Unlimited) that cast me also had an acting and dance school. So after singing rehearsal for the play, we would take our acting and dance classes. The acting and dance registration costs $200 and then it was about $80 a month. At that time my father made $7/hr working at a cemetary. My mom worked as a home attendent. The rent was $650 and then the other bills they had (light, gas, phone ect.) They couldn't afford my classes but my dad made sure he made a way to pay for it because he knew how much it meant to me. My days were long and intense but I loved every minute of it.They taught me a lot about acting. It was the first time I learned what a monologue was.My dance classes consisted of Ballet, Hip-Hop, Jazz and African. I remember saturdays being the longest days. We rehearsed four to five days a week from October to the end of November for A Christmas Carol.
Opening Night
It was the most nerve wrecking day of my life. A Christmas Carol was at the Paramount theater in Madison Square Garden. We standed in our little windows with full costume and makeup and sang our hearts out. We sounded amazing. But there was nothing compared to the feeling I felt at the end on stage when we performed our finale piece. I felt the biggest rush ever being on stage with everyone watching and applauding.
The Christmas Carol ended the first week of January that year. We were suppose to get paid for A Christmas Carol however after wards we were told that production company that produced the show refuse to pay. My dad always said that Righteousness Unlimited probably got paid and just jerked us.Despite that I wanted to continue to pursue acting and dancing. So I continued to train at Righteousness Unlimited. In February the director of the company got me a small role in a Sesame Street video as one of the children. Being a huge fan of Sesame Street I was beyong excited to take part in it.This was a non paid project but the experience was priceless.
By April my dad felt Righteousness Unlimited was costing too much. He also felt we were getting ripped off. Soon after I found out about the Backstage newspaper that is sold in the city. Backstage is a paper that comes out every thursday and post castings and open calls that are going on during the week. It costs $2.75 back then and I made sure every thursday I had my $2.75 and would hop on that train to the city to pick one up. My next step was to get pictures done but it wasn't easy because my parents were struggling with money so I promised myself I was going to get a job so I wouldn't have to ask my parents for money. The grind of Jenn Pinto was about to go into full effect....stay tuned for more
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