Hey Everyone!!

Thanks so much for checking out my Myspace page!!!! I had this page set up so I could keep everyone updated (as much as possible!) on my new project FAME! I had my first filming day on Friday and had an absolute blast! I'm exhausted, but I wouldn't trade the feeling for anything in the world.

I really do thank you for adding me as your friend. Unfortunately, I do not have time to respond to everyone individually. I will try to post a blog as often as possible and answer as many of your questions as I can. Please forgive me for any delays or forgetfulness. Also, I'm technologically impaired and haven't quite figured out how to work the page. If you are looking for information on any of my previous projects, feel free to look at my official website at www.kaypanabaker.com

So here's a quick recap of what I've been doing with FAME so far:

After 2 auditions in June, I was cast in the role of "Jenny". Then, in the middle of August, I did a screen test with the actors up for the other characters. I immediately liked them all, but this was not my decision to make. Some of the kids were from New York, some were from Los Angeles, and we all seemed to click instantly. By, I think, end of August, almost everyone was cast. Except for the role of Marco. Marco is Jenny's counterpart in the film, so it was important to find someone I had chemistry with. After reading with about 15 boys, we finally had our Marco in October. By this time, our 4 kids from New York had been flown in and we had begun our rehearsal process.

This rehearsal time has been the longest, but most fun, pre-production time. I had singing lessons, I had script read-thrus with our director, Kevin, and the other cast, and I worked on figuring out who "Jenny" is as a person, but I spent a lot of time bonding with the other cast members. One of the things I loved when I first read the script for FAME was that it was all about the relationships the characters formed with one another. We see these characters from their freshman year to graduation. They grow as people and they grow within these relationships. If we don't have that bond off-screen, it's going to be more difficult to create it on-screen. So while we did lots of work on our character histories and background stories, we really found bonds with each other.

The hardest part of the rehearsal process was the end. We spent roughly 6 weeks where we all hung out all the time, but then we started shooting. While we all have scenes together, we each have our main friends in the script: Jenny and Marco; Kevin, Joy, and Neil; Victor and Alice; Malik, Denise, and Victor; Kevin and Rosie, etc. So we don't see our new friends as often. And when we do, it's usually after a long work day and we end up going home to fall asleep.

Shortly before the end of rehearsals, however, we had a photoshoot! In the morning it was for People magazine, and the afternoon was spent on set-ups for use by MGM and Lakeshore in promotion. This was so much fun!!! We got to be goofy and smile and laugh and it was a great way to transition into actually filming!!

I'm so very excited about this film, and I have been from the beginning. I'm still so surprised to wake up in the morning, knowing I get to go to a job I love, with music, dancing, acting and singing! I hope you guys love it too. The official website for the movie is www.generationfame.com and I've got my other FAME cast and director as my top friends. Feel free to check out their pages as well!!

Wishing you all a happy, healthy, and safe holiday seasons,
~Kay