Amaris Gagnon is a writer from the small town of Agawam, Massachusetts. Writing has been something that Amaris has enjoyed doing since childhood. A young girl of a diverse cultural background, Amaris attended school in a community where diversity was not very common, and wasn’t necessarily celebrated by her peers. Amaris details the many difficulties she faced growing up in a small town, including racism and limited career options. She shares the personal journey that brought her to Los Angeles to pursue her dreams, and how she was able to find her identity and purpose through writing. Full show notes available at http://ktla.com/SpokenDreams.

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Amaris Gagnon, Writer

A storytelling podcast from KTLA 5 in Los Angeles. Each week, Aspiring actors, musicians, models, filmmakers and more share their stories and experiences of working to fulfill their dreams in L.A.'s entertainment industry.

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Arts

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Film Interviews

Paul Beahan is an entrepreneur, producer, and the founder of Manimal Records. He was born in San Diego, and was always interested in the music business as a child. He even started his own imaginary record labels as a kid. Eventually he started playing music, and joined up with a few bands around the San Diego area. As his friends and bandmates went on to do well as musicians, Paul realized he didn’t feel like he was cut out to make a careerplaying music. He needed a change, so he headed up the coast for Los Angeles and ended up going back to school. He ended up working in the world of fashion in New York, but that path would eventually draw him back into the music business that he had once been so eager to leave. He found success after starting his own record record label, and eventually began putting on live festivals. Now, Paul is excited to bring something big to Malibu Canyon.

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Paul Beahan, Maliwu: Malibu Canyon Music Festival

Angela Martini is a former model and Miss Universe pageant title holder turned Life coach, film producer, and author. She was born in Albania after the fall of communism and had an fairytale childhood, but after civil war broke out in Albania and danger grew, the fairytale ended. Angela was forced to leave her mother behind and move to Switzerland to be with her father and step-mother. Suddenly, Angela’s childhood became less idyllic and she dove further into her own dream world. After visiting family in New York City, Angela fell in love with the United States. Upon returning to Switzerland, her new fairy tale dream became moving to New York City to work as a model. Of course, as in all storybooks, Angela wouldn’t get there without a journey full of trials and struggles. Eventually, Angela did make it to New York City, and she lived happily ever after...or did she?

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Angela Martini, Former Miss Universe Model/Life Coach

Binx is a pop artist originally from South Africa. She grew up in small towns without a lot of venues for entertainment, so people became the entertainment, and Binx found out early on that she loved being in the spotlight. She loved performing for friends and family, and after seeing Britney Spears on television, Binx suddenly knew exactly what she wanted to do with her life. With the love and support of her family, Binx grinded away at pursuing her dreams of being a famous pop star and was eventually able to make her way to New York City. She was dubbed "The African Bee" because of her South African roots and the elaborate bee costumes she wears during performances. Binx was gaining a lot of traction in New York City, but when L.A. began offering opportunities, she would have to decide whether to leave everything she’d built in New York to start all over on the West Coast. Making things harder yet, Binx experienced an unexpected tragedy that made her question whether she would continue with music at all.

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Binx, Pop Artist

Manny Garcia is an educator, creative, and clothing designer. He was born in Texas and raised primarily in Michigan. He grew up surrounded by music, which ignited his creativity, but despite that passion, Manny pursued teaching. Later, his ambitions outgrew Michigan, and the desire to give music a shot was too strong to ignore—so he moved to Nashville. But as a Mexican-American wanting to explore his cultural identity, Nashville proved to not be the right fit, and when music wasn’t working out, he pulled up stakes and headed for Los Angeles. He fell in love with the city, but in order to make ends meet, Manny would again have to put his creative ambitions on hold. But after a humanitarian trip to Ecuador, Manny learned lessons about the world, and about himself, that would change his life forever. 

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Manny Garcia, Educator/Clothing Designer

Asha Dahya is a journalist, a Ted X speaker, host, and author. She was born in England, but spent most of her childhood in Australia. Since a young age, Asha has always been talkative and loved performing. She had aspirations to be an actress, but later found that path was not a good fit. Asha began working as a television host, and suddenly found herself working for some major networks. Once she felt established, she wanted to explore new challenges and opportunities outside Australia, which brought her to Hollywood. The move proved to be difficult, and Asha may have underestimated the challenges she would face in Los Angeles. Down on her luck, Asha longed for a supportive community that she didn’t have here in the U.S. She started the blog Girl Talk HQ as a place for like-minded women to share their stories. Little did Asha know, her media savvy and desire to speak her truth would lead Asha down a new path that would open doors she never expected.

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Amaris Gagnon, Writer

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