Student actress earns lead role in upcoming feature film

By Lauren Glick, Assistant Features Editor

Junior Lindsay Seidel has been cast in a leading role in the upcoming movie The Final. The movie is a psychological thriller about five kids who have been tormented throughout high school. The kids want to get even and have a very sick and twisted way of achieving this.

“I play Emily, who is the female lead and one of the five outcasts,” Lindsay said. “She is a very dark character; she has been beaten down and is so depressed that she doesn’t really want to live anymore (she has scars on her arms from cutting herself).  On Tuesday, they actually dyed my hair as dark as it could go before it was actually black in order to get my look just right.”

This is Lindsay’s very first movie but she has done commercials, several books on tape, such as Alice in Wonderland and voices for multiple animated TV shows.

Over the years Lindsay’s parents have told her she should continue acting only if she enjoys it.

“Balancing schoolwork with acting classes, workshops, auditions, and jobs can sometimes present a challenge,” said Suzanne Seidel, Lindsay’s mother. “The time commitment involved is greater than most people realize.  However, acting is truly her passion and she feels that the sacrifices she has to make are worth it.”

Senior Brett Bode has acted with Lindsay in various shows and actuing classes at Greenhill throughout the last three years.

“She has a really great eye for realism,” he said. “Everything she does on stage or in film is very genuine and that reads to the audience.”

Lindsay started the audition process for The Final in early February.

“It’s pretty funny because I didn’t initially get called in for the first audition because the headshot my agent submitted was kind of old, and the casting director thought I looked too sweet and in the part,” Lindsay said.
“So, I actually heard about the audition from an actor friend of mine who already went to audition for the part, so I asked my agent about it, and she called the casting director and submitted an edgier looking headshot, and then they agreed to see me.”

Lindsay said she thought that her initial audition for this role was the worst audition she had ever done.

“I was so upset with myself afterward because I really thought I blew it,” Lindsay said. “So of course, I was shocked when my agent called me a week later and told me I got a callback. Luckily, the callback went much better and I got called for the second round of callbacks, and then it was down to four people for the part of Emily when I went to the third round.

“The next day, my agent told me that I was on ‘right of first refusal,’ which means they had me on hold because it was between me and another girl. I had to wait almost a week before I finally got the call that I had gotten the part. And the next day, I went in for wardrobe.”

According to Mrs. Seidel, the uncertainty of the film business is the biggest challenge of acting.

“A person can possess enormous talent and yet never make it in this industry,” said Mrs. Seidel. “Fortunately, the inevitable rejection that comes with the territory has never bothered her. She has always understood that once you walk out of an audition, you have to forget about it and not fret over whether or not you will get the role.”
Lindsay’s strong work ethic was proven when she managed to juggle both the musical and the movie.

“You can tell from working with her that she is very passionate about acting,” Brett said. “She has a fantastic work ethic with the talent to back it up.”

Lindsay has taken acting lessons with acting coach Cathryn Sullivan for about three years. She also has an agent in Dallas at The Campbell Agency and one in Los Angeles at the Cunningham-Escott-Slevin-Doherty Talent Agency (CESD). Lindsay has auditioned for various parts for years, so she says she no longer gets nervous before one.
“To be honest, up until a few months ago, I always got nervous before an audition even though I’ve been doing this for several years,” Lindsay said. “It really just takes practice and experience to not get anxious before you go in. After a while, you get used to the whole process so that it’s just a normal routine for you, and it’s not that scary anymore.”

The Final is slated for release in 2010.