Day: February 9, 2022

The music and entertainment industry has no shortage of remarkable talents from all parts of the world, making it a relatively complex market to permeate. For Gold Franko, whose real name is Marquise Garcia, getting his sound recognized is a goal he is prepared to fight for, no matter how rugged the path is.

Raised in the East Side of Watts and the West Side of Los Angeles, California, Gold Franko explains how being present in both places affected his style in music – a mix of west coast music and east side lingo. At fourteen years old, Gold Franko was a member of a group called Marvel, Inc, responsible for launching bops like Bang It Like a Cholo, 69 Me, and WOW, which hit over a million plays, ultimately giving him the much-needed inspiration to pursue music more seriously.

Being an individual with an undeniable passion for music, Gold Franko uses his talent to tell a narrative and inspire many people’s lives. “I’m passionate about the stories I tell through my music,” the musician explains. “I want to continue creating lyrics that people can relate to and be touched. The thought keeps me going.”

Gold Franko’s motivation doesn’t just come from his devotion to his sound but also from his two children, a nine-year-old son and a three-year-old daughter, which he admits dominates most of his time. Before making music, Gold Franko used to dance and go by the name of Johnny Kush, and although it’s quite a jump in his career, it only proves his innate talents as an individual.

As a man with impeccable taste, Gold Franko looks up to a few of the industry’s biggest names like Nipsey Hussle, Lil Wayne, and Drakeo the Ruler. Currently, the father of two is working on promoting his newly launched album called “F BABY,” which was dropped on January 31, 2022, drawing inspiration from the time Lil Wayne was in his prime and went with the moniker Weezy F. Baby and admitting that he wants to keep the same energy; those interested can check the album out on both Apple Music and Spotify.

According to the budding artist, the project is all about elevating him to the next level, affording designer clothing, doing everything he wants but staying true to his roots, and acknowledging the people who helped him get to where he is. Moreover, Gold Franko seems to favor a track on the album called Weirdos due to the fact it pays homage to the late Drakeo the Ruler and his unapologetic persona and sound. 

“I sampled Drakeo the Ruler where he’s talking about loyalty on this Instagram live,” the rapper explains. “People were switching upon him, and I felt the same way. With him passing away, I wanted to do a tribute and keep his words alive.”

It seems that all is looking well for the promising rapper, with his project of two years finally coming to fruition. Furthermore, he is set on releasing more music in 2022, even preparing for a February release of an R&B album. 

As things are turning out for the best for this talented individual, he hopes to start his record label in the near future and help others become motivated so they too can fulfill their dreams of being artists.

To thrive in the highly competitive and cutthroat entertainment industry, being merely talented is not enough; one also has to have an excellent work ethic. This is something that actress Dora Rodriguez firmly believes in. 

She is a former Miss Universe Canada finalist and a top Playboy cover model. Since her early days in the entertainment scene, the determined young woman has proven her versatility and expertise. 

The remarkable individual is turning heads due to her unrivaled skills and abilities. She has recently appeared on the sixth episode of the second season of Sexy Beasts, a reality dating game show on the popular streaming platform Netflix. 

As a professional model, she has appeared on multiple magazine covers like Harper’s Bazaar Vietnam and FHM Netherlands. The stunner had even wowed people when she graced the December 2021 cover of the fashion authority L’Officiel Arabia Magazine.

What helped Dora Rodriguez land these incredible projects is her tenacity and perseverance. As the gifted individual profoundly explained, “I’ve always believed hard work and dedication trumps talent any day, but if you have both, the sky won’t be your limit; it’ll be your point of view.” 

Taking inspiration and guidance from this extraordinary tenet, the multi-talented woman has consistently honed her skills. Additionally, she shows unrivaled passion for her craft through her steadfast commitment to becoming better. More specifically, at the end of 2019, she enrolled in acting classes at the popular Speiser Sturges acting studio in Los Angeles. By doing these things, the actress has successfully scaled her career to greater heights.

As a testament to her prowess, she has appeared on numerous productions, including A Simple Woman. In addition, she was freshly cast for an upcoming TV show that will be aired on Univision. 

In addition, she has established herself as a social media influencer who has an impressive follower count of more than 600,000 on Instagram. Because of her massive following, Dora Rodriguez has received several offers from big brands to promote and post their products. For example, she has worked with Dior, Fashion Nova, Victoria’s Secret, and Pretty Little Thing. 

Staying true to her principles, the dynamic woman is always looking for new avenues for improvement. Currently, she is starting to build her YouTube account as a way to show people her acting chops. Her last two uploads featured snippets from her previous projects, the short films Consequences and I’m In Love.

Moving forward, she aims to continue elevating her talents and widen her horizons. While she continues to become a better actress, the inspiring woman also hopes to pursue new endeavors that will showcase her dancing and singing abilities.

Dora Rodriguez is undoubtedly one of the most promising actresses of her generation. Not only that, but her unrivaled dedication and passion have allowed her to stand out from the rest. As such, fans and audiences alike should keep an eye out for the amazing individual as she makes her way to the top of the industry. 

Technological innovation has played a significant role in creating new occupations in several industries through the years. However, with the world turning over a new leaf as society moves towards a digital age, one of the most sought-after professions is being an influencer.

With various social media platforms today, it has become easier for anyone to break out as the next big thing on the internet. Aided by streaming video platforms like YouTube and TikTok, more individuals and collectives have been leaning towards a profession in front of the camera to perform a series of pranks and showcase their lifestyles. Joining the influencer circles are upcoming internet sensations Chris Foster and Jasmin Gomez.

Chris and Jasmine are a couple who run a series of social media platforms where they have been posting their shorts. The couple primarily creates comedy and lifestyle content, helping them earn more than 50 million views on their Facebook and TikTok, where they have more than one hundred thousand subscribers. 

The two were on entirely different paths before coming together and pursuing their online endeavors. Jasmin Gomez hails from Chalatenango, El Salvador, where she thrived as an athlete at school. Her primary sport was soccer, which helped her shape into a fit figure. Eventually, Jasmin moved to Los Angeles to pursue a modeling career with a few agencies. Jasmin divides her time between her professional career and school, studying to realize her dream of becoming a business lawyer.

Before moving to Los Angeles, California, Chris originally came from Karachi, Pakistan. Initially, he studied business before starting a couple of small businesses, including a phone repair store, stocks trading, and delving into IT. Although his primary goal is to grow his businesses to help the people in Pakistan, Chris found himself drawn to music. From there, he would delve into the influencer lifestyle, creating funny videos for Facebook, TikTok, and YouTUbe.

The couple would eventually meet in early 2021 while working on a music video. Like an old love story, Chris and Jasmin fell in love. Realizing they shared the same goal of pursuing an influencer lifestyle, the couple started collaborating on their brand, ChrisAndJasmin.

Since then, ChrisAndJasmin got 50 million views on their videos with over 2 million likes on their TikTok page. Their most popular short is the naked towel prank, going viral on TikTok and generating over 12 million views. Following their hit, ChrisAndJasmin have been consistent in releasing funny and lifestyle content. Their biggest hit to date is a prank that had Jasmin putting on layers of printed shirts to reveal the words, “I know you’ve been cheating on me,” written across her belly.

Apart from pulling pranks on each other, ChrisAndJasmin also film themselves pulling pranks on their friends and family. But often make sure that their jokes never go too far, knowing that others will try to follow their antics.

With their social media platforms growing, ChrisAndJasmin are set to become one of the biggest names in the influencing circle. They hope that they will be able to fulfill their individual goals along with their growing platform.

The difference between a good stage production and a great one is design. While it might not be obvious to every audience member, the sets, costumes, sound, and lighting are integral pieces of the play creating atmosphere and context that allow the story and characters to come alive. Christian Fleming, an emerging stage designer who is one of 15 emerging scenic designers to have their work showcased at the upcoming World Stage Design 2022 International Exhibition, shared some of his thoughts on and approach to design. 

The following is an excerpt from the interview:

What is the most important thing to consider when designing a play?

It is important to remember that you are designing a story – a story that unfolds over time. It’s experiential. I work in an audience-centric design approach where the audience factors in every step of the way. Approaching the design through the audience’s experience makes it easier to determine if a design choice is adding context and is clear. It is too easy to get lost in conceptual or thematic ideas and forget that the audience is not in your head but are experiencing everything fresh in the moment. By considering the design in actionable steps (ex: “the audience walks into the theater and then x happens…”) you can distill any intellectualized concepts into the design decisions that support them. Those specific choices about the world and characters create context for the audience dramaturgically framing the production they are about to experience. 

Do you think that your audience-centric philosophy stems from your work as a director? 

My experience as a director arms me with an intense appreciation for the production process, an intimate understanding of how to tell a story onstage using all the elements available to a production, and a critical eye to be able to see when something might be exciting, but isn’t contributing to dramaturgical clarity. I’ve always enjoyed the world-building process and what I love about theater is that it is a collaborative art form and each production is a fun puzzle to solve together. Each team brings a unique perspective on how the production will reveal new aspects about our world and the human condition. I believe that design, like directing, is all about storytelling, and by extension, I view my job as a designer to make visual storytelling decisions that activate the audience’s imagination. 

Activating the audience’s imagination through design is really interesting. Can you elaborate more on how you achieve this?

Part of what excites me about designing theater is the inherent non-literal nature provides a platform for a greater array of expressionistic modes of conveying story. I am fascinated by how a prop such as a red scarf, can be more powerful than the actual blood it signifies because in its transformation into a symbol the scarf activates the audience’s imagination. I carry this directly into my work. I often view my process as one of distillation. I cull inspiration and ideas and strip them away to find the poetic essence of the play. In that process of stripping away, I discover the elements that have the most symbolic power. In pursuit of clarity, I trust in a “less is more” approach to ensure that those main symbolic choices will have great impact.

Do you have a typical process? 

There is a sort of standard process most designers go through – reading the script, meeting with the director/team, discussing the themes and high level ideas about the world of the play, culling visual research, and beginning to formulate the design. I find it exciting that each production is different and my process tends to change based on what a particular script “wants.” Part of what drew me to theater design is that it combines many artistic disciplines (drawing, painting, sculpture, architectural drafting, scale model making, 3D modeling, fashion design, graphic design/illustration, photo-manipulation, etc). Often I’ll work in rough sketches and then begin a preliminary model to check the ideas in three dimensions. I find it best to work in a scale model because the true depth and perspective closer mimic what the audience will see. I do, however, see the industry shifting toward a digital practice and have been incorporating 3D modeling, 3D printing, and game engine pre-visualization into my workflow. 

Is there a particular production where you discovered something about how you approach the work? 

When designing “The Light in the Piazza”, I focused on what was psychologically holding the central characters (Margaret and Clara) back and developed a design that put the incident of Clara’s trauma onstage. Wrestling with the design cemented my understanding of “content dictates form”. I realized I had designed an art installation of the play instead of a world that would allow the action to come to life. The core of the idea was solid, but the execution didn’t match the way the show was written. This lush, sweeping score needed a design that matches it’s refined sophistication and allowed the audience to be transported to the romance of Italy like the central characters. Because we, as an audience, are most familiar with scene changes where furniture travels horizontally, all of the furniture floated in and out as a gesture that beautifully matched the feeling of Guettel’s gorgeous score and aligned with the idea of being transported to a new, but familiar romantic world. It was stunning to see scenes end and the furniture of the world slowly float away as strings and harps arpeggiated. 

Christian Fleming is certainly a designer who intimately understands how to tell a story and use all the elements available to a production to his advantage and has positioned himself as one of the young designers Broadway’s eyes are keenly watching. Based in Manhattan, Christian designs sets and costumes both in NYC and regionally. He holds an MFA from Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama where he trained under noted designer Narelle Sissons. His work has recently been seen at Pittsburgh Festival Opera (Rusalka), Pittsburgh CLO (Game On), and Pittsburgh Opera (Afterwards: Mozart’s Idomeneo Reimagined).

The World Stage Design 2022 exhibition will be held in Calgary, Canada from Aug. 6 to 16, 2022. To know more about Christian Fleming and his work, make sure to visit his Instagram account and website.