By Pam Teel
At age five, Millstone Township’s Isabella Mays (Izzi) was watching the Disney channel and told her father that one day she wanted to be on it. Her dad said okay and both her parents took her to an open casting call. They didn’t know much about the business but were trying to learn the ropes. As luck would have it, she was in- vited into the Wilhelmina Talent Agency in Philadelphia. There she did a lot of modeling and learned how to walk the runway. An adult actress recommended that Isabella should get a manager, one who worked in New York City. So for the past 2 1⁄2 years the family retained Robert Blume from Step Forward Entertainment. Robert has proven to not only be a great manager but also a great friend to the family. He has clients of all age groups but is amazing with the children. Though auditions can be stressful, especially for children, Robert makes Izzi feel at ease.
Izzi took some acting classes in the city and walked the runway for designers. It was there that she caught the eye of Barbara Coleman, an agent from Innovative Artists. Ms. Coleman had wonderful contacts and soon was getting scripts for Isabella to read for auditions. Many times Isabella got the script the night before the audition and she would have to stay up late to memorize her lines. Naturally this all comes after her homework is done and she comes home from dance classes. She has been dancing with the Stewart Johnson Dance Academy in Hamilton for over seven years. This year she attends 6 classes of dance per week, including jazz and hip hop competition class, and yet she still manages to make time for practicing her piano studies.
Sometimes Izzi and her mom are in the city three times a week auditioning for parts in movies, TV, or whatever it might be. They go directly after school with no time to leisurely walk around the city because she still has to come home and do her homework and go to dance. Isabella meets a lot of the same young actresses on her auditions. They are all trying out for the same roles. She has a lot of credits for an eleven year old in the business. It’s a lot of hard work but when you love what you’re doing you find a way to make it happen even if it means sacrificing other things, like friends’ birthday parties, or just plain hanging out with her friends and family. Right now her acting comes first.
Sometimes Izzi is asked to do a self-tape at home and then send it in. This involves a lot of memorizing lines. She also does voice over auditions where her voice is used for a character of some sort.
There is also the in person-audition. If they like what they see, she might be called back two or more times before they narrow it down.
A few of her credits include: a Cheerio’s commercial, a Verizon Fios commercial, a Price Waterhouse Coopers commercial, an Oral B commercial, Atlantic Care- Urgent care commercial, Universal Relocations Moving Company commercial, among others. She was on the TV show Bull with Michael Weatherly, Good Night Star, Sprout TV, and has also been on 7 Frozen 1 toy boxes. This past December she had a co-star role on the new TV show God Friended Me.
Right now, Isabella is focusing mainly on her acting and has put her runway and modeling on hold. In the past she modeled for People’s Clothes, NY Fashion week, Spirit Halloween costumes, and others.
I have gotten to know Izzi personally over the years. I teach her piano lessons. I can tell you she is a polite and caring young lady. She puts everything she has into her schoolwork, her dancing, her music lessons, and her acting career. She is such a good-natured person who loves everyone. She loves what she is doing and is grateful for the opportunity to learn and grow as an actress.
When asked what she wanted to be when she got older, she said she wanted to be a pediatrician because she loved children, but for now she’s happy to continue with her acting. Good Luck Izzi. We wish you all the best!!!!!!!