There is something hauntingly brilliant about Georgina Paez, an adorable whiz-kid performer, seemingly all grown-up with smart insights and outlooks, so sure and knowing like an old spirit.
Then without warning, the 10-year-old suddenly emerges from within as she pops with so much energy, innocence, and raw joy, it takes your breath away – and hers!
“I want to travel around the world and go to a castle where Kings, Queens, and Princesses live! I want to talk with them, wear ballroom gowns, jewels, and rings, and then maybe go to the North Pole and do a huge Showcase there,” the little performer from Kendall says, both resting and restless outside the stage where just moments ago she presented a ballad, two dances, and a theatrical reading for her peers, the press, and several talent agents.
“I’m going all the way to the top of the Earth. I’ll start there and then do a performance everywhere else. Cover the continents…” She pauses.
“But right now, I’m too hungry.”
That’s because this was a roller-coaster of a day for Georgina. “Showcase” day. The finale of her training with “I am a Star,” during which she and about 20 other aspiring performers got to show off what they learned together over the previous weeks. So anxious and excited, she was up until 3:45 a.m. the night before, polishing her iSTAR routine and lines and dance steps. Totally unable to sleep, and with zero interest in eating, wherever this young girl was drawing her energy, it was serving her well.
iSTAR Project Develops Talent
The iSTAR Miami is a talent-development program dedicated to establish, find, train, and market charismatic actors before putting them on camera in their first role – a reality TV show pilot. Program Founder and President Zuzana Monroe has created an unbeatable formula for establishing young actors in the entertainment industry.
“At the beginning,” Monroe says, “they need to acquire tools and techniques that will deepen the instincts they already have and open up new practices of awareness, expression and imagination.”
Participating children sign on for iSTAR’s celebrity-training platform, which includes real-world table reads, rehearsals, as well as filming on location by iSTAR’s film crew. These aspiring entertainers also get essential exposure to top industry professionals from every market in the industry.
Georgina and her mother Barbara first learned about iSTAR in the spring of 2016 when they answered an ad for auditions in downtown Miami. Georgina begged her mother to call – after all, this was her dream come true.
Georgina made the call-back list, and upon seeing the glow in her daughter’s face, her mom simply had to sign her up to continue with the program.
And continue she did. In fact, this latest Showcase appearance in November 2016 was actually a follow-up to Georgina’s first Showcase last March, but this time before a whole new panel of casting directors, talent agents, managers, and producers. During the ensuing months, she and her mom really worked the program to the point where Georgina got a contract with Premier Talent in Jacksonville and a modeling, commercial, and print contract with MMG of New York City. In addition, she landed a part in the film “Still born,” which will be released in Summer 2017.
Tribute to Jose Fernandez
But this latest iSTAR Showcase was different. Not only was she more sure-footed and experienced, she staged a unique and moving dance routine in honor of her idol, the late Miami Marlin’s pitcher Jose Fernandez, who was killed in a tragic boating accident off Miami Beach last year. Georgina was inspired by Fernandez’s success as a Cuban refugee and how he stayed the course to achieve celebrity by making it to the United States, despite the odds, to become a major-league player.
“Of course my mom is my biggest inspiration, because she always gives me so much support,” said Georgina. “But next to her, is Jose Fernandez because he was my idol, my baseball idol – and because he was a success.”
“Jose was like a brother to me, like a piece of me. And he was Cuban like my family so he’s kinda like me that way, too. But now he’s gone because he died.” And so Georgina was inspired to celebrate Jose’s life in an emotion-packed dance.
“I do know one thing, he was definitely there on stage with me. I felt him and I heard a little tiny whisper saying ‘thank you for celebrating my life.’ He was there watching me, guiding me, giving me extra strength.”
Sobbing at first in the spotlight, she quickly composed herself to on go to successfully complete her recital – because in addition to Jose, she’s got great personal strength, stamina, and a natural talent on her side. Combined with the invaluable training she’s gained through iSTAR, Georgina is moving swiftly along the spectrum toward true stardom.
“What Georgina brings to the table is smarts, confidence, and commitment,” says iSTAR’s Monroe. “She is very hard working and a great performer, so I expect to see her go to the next level – and she is in the right place with iSTAR, as we developed her from the very beginning.”
In fact, Georgina’s interest in entertainment started at a very early age. “I knew I wanted to be a superstar and so I started dancing when I was 2, because it’s been my passion since I was in daycare.
Hooray for Hollywood
And now it’s happening. Not only did Georgina go through all of iSTAR’s demanding celebrity rehearsals, she is now part of the recurring cast in the “I am a Star” reality-TV show, a pilot project in production, right here in a “Studio in the Sky” in Downtown Miami.
Upon completing the “I am a Star” program, Monroe says the next step for parents of select young actors is to be introduced to the possibility of progressing on to iPOP – the world’s leading talent event that promotes emerging talent to leading agents, managers, and casting directors in Los Angeles.
And drumroll, please… Georgina is now one of only 10 Miami performers to make the cut. She has been invited to attend iPOP and is heading out to L.A. in mid-January.
Sharing her excitement, Barbara exuberantly stated, “I am so proud to say my daughter was called and will be going to Hollywood for her iPOP experience. I want her to enjoy every minute of it after all the hard work she puts into it!”
Monroe is equally pleased. “Georgina has a bright future – with her mom at her side, right on top of everything. This is how success happens. This is the model for success.”
And this is the moment for Georgina when people around her start saying, “I knew her ‘when’.” Break a leg!
Thanks for the coverage and the wonderful story! It was a truly exciting day for her! I am extremely proud of her!