Meet Cara Gabriel | Actor & Fun Kid

We had the good fortune of connecting with Cara Gabriel and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Cara, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I am a child actor born in CO. I had a friend that was interested in acting and they had introduced me to the world of acting. I had no idea what it was, but I found it was like playing pretend and I was all in! I quickly learned that it is a lot of hard work. It is not easy to smile at a lamp and pretend it is your dad and react to him while keeping your face toward the camera. I’m still learning but I love pretending, so it doesn’t really feel like work for me. I like being creative and creating these worlds my characters have to live in. Sometimes it’s hard but it pushes my brain to work and be creative. All the other stuff behind the scenes like hair and makeup are always fun for me. I like how acting has helped me with my school work. I have become a stronger reader and writer because of it. If I change my mind in the future I will always have the skills and confidence that acting is giving me. I love that for me.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I recently just celebrated my greatest achievement in my child acting career. I booked and filmed a co-star role on a hit TV series for a major network. It will be released mid-march. I am so excited about that! The experience was so fun. Being on set, backstage, getting hair, makeup, wardrobe, my own dressing room, being driven around in a golf cart, my own personal teacher to help with my schoolwork, and the food was amazing; are all experiences I love to keep having in my acting career. I started this journey 1.5 years ago. I have done about 75 auditions in this time. I landed my first commercial 3 months after I started training. I have done a couple commercials, lifestyle promotional shoots for companies and now my first tv show. I love traveling around city to city, state to state and experiencing these sets that allow me to play pretend. One of the most unique shoots I had was shooting with really military tanks. Me, a little 7 year old girl at the time, had to yell at grown men because I was in charge of them in a war like environment. It takes a lot of training and practice to learn this industry. I was blessed to have won a scholarship to an acting studio that paid for me to train with them. I was able to take classes and attend workshops with directors. The acting coach Mrs. Abi has been very supportive, challenges me, and gives me honest feedback so I can get better. I would say my biggest challenge is dealing with my Dyslexia. When I have to turn in an audition quickly and it has a lot of lines. I have to really focus my brain and use tactics like tossing a ball around while I’m learning my lines, Ms. Tracy Gray taught me that one. Or rely on channeling my emotions like Mrs. Abigail Cisneros taught me. Balance in life is another challenge. I have school all day, extracurricular activities, and working at acting it is important to slow down hang out with friends and go to the park because I’m a very social person. My mom says “It is very important to have balance when you chase your dreams so you don’t look back and say I wish I would have.” I want to chase my dreams to see how far I can go but I want to show other kids they can chase their dreams even if they are different from mine and we can all cheer each other on. I want to cheer for others just as much as I feel love when people cheer for me. Just because we are kids doesn’t mean we can’t do awesome things!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would take them to Pikes Peak! The drive up past the clouds is amazing! Being able to be in a cloud or above the clouds is such an amazing experience. I also love North Pole Santa’s Village any time of year. It is very chill and just fun. Classic zoo visit at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, because feeding the animals never gets old. My favorite park is John Venezia Community Park. You can get wet in the summer and there is a lot of room to run around and play! My favorite place to eat is Z!eats they have the yummiest sandwiches. Ninja Bowl Sushi is my favorite place because the food is good and you can order it the way you like, plus the owners are always so nice to me.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Shoutout to my family & friends for supporting me while I chase my dream to be an actor in a movie. They have supported me, paid for things I need, moved schedules around, and just cheered me on (which is my favorite part!). God for giving me the talent and passion for life. Nova Arts Acting Studio for believing in me and continuing my training. My talent agents DDO LA and MH Artists for signing me and believing I have talent to chase my dream.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/caracurlylife/

Image Credits
myrafablingphotography, zacharysalasphotography