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Amy Walker

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Amy Walker
Amy Walker
Amy Walker
Occupation(s)Actress, Singer, Director
Websitehttp://www.AmyWalkerOnline.com/

Amy Frances Walker (born September 1, 1982) is an American actress, singer, and co-founder of the ConnectedFilm project.[1]

Early life

Walker was born in Seattle, WA, and grew up on Whidbey Island, WA, where she graduated from South Whidbey High School in 2001.[2] The South Whidbey resident performed in a wide variety of plays and musicals on Whidbey; she played Audrey in WICA’s “Little Shop of Horrors” and Hero, in Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” at South Whidbey High. Starring as Helen Keller in “The Miracle Worker” in a WICA production brought her acclaim across the island for she was only 16 and a high school sophomore at the time. With typical Walker gusto, she practiced for the role by doing the dishes and other things around the house blindfolded. Walker and the 1998 show received outstanding reviews, and the show was a significant spark for the young actor. Both of her parents are musicians and are well-known within the island’s entertainment circles, too. Her father, Tom, who leads the Salvation Army’s social services in the Northwest region, plays guitar and sings with the Rural Characters. Her mother, Claudia Walker, is a music therapist who recently took to the stage to star as Anna in WICA’s “The King and I.[3] In June of 2008, Walker was invited to attend the Discovering New Mysteries festival in Owensboro, Kentucky. Walker won Angie awards for best actress for her role as Betty Roberts in “Remember WENN” Live Radio Theatre and best supporting actress for playing Elena in “The Help” Live Radio Theatre.[4][5]

Education abroad

Walker studied Performance: Acting and Singing at the University of Wollongong in Australia in 2002-2003. From Australia, she flew to Wellington, New Zealand, where she lived and worked for a year and a half. She also played "Joan" in the short film Dead Letters, by Paolo Rotondo.

The ConnectedFilm Project

Inspired by the response to her videos, Walker wrote a screenplay for a film called Connected, with help from her script adviser, Marilee Jolin. Together with Sander Kallshian, the three co-founded the production company SoulFire Films in order to produce the film.[6] They created ConnectedFilm.com to fund Connected by dollar donations from 1 million people around the world, listing the names of every donor in the credits of the finished film "to show that each gift is equally important".[7][8] Once SoulFire has the funds needed, they plan to hire a cast and crew and film on location in the Seattle area.[9] In July 2009, Amy Walker and Mike Shafer were awarded "Best Music Video" at the Raindance Film Festival in Langley, WA.[10]

Amy Walker on YouTube

Walker quickly gained notoriety from her video "21 Accents" in January of 2008.[11][12] As of June 2010, she has reached an audience of over five million viewers every continent.[13] The video became an overnight hit on the Internet and earned Walker an appearance on The TODAY show.[14] Walker was also featured on Inside Edition in March of 2008 following the success of her video.[15][16][17] In June of 2010, Amy partnered with Nokia to promote their Foreign Accent Cup. [18]

One-woman shows

Walker performed her first original one-woman show, Amy Walker: Inside Out, in November 2007 at the age of 25.[19][20][21] Her second show was produced in Seattle in July 2008. In November of 2009, and January of 2010, she performed two live-streaming internet shows, where people were able to watch and chat from around the globe.[22][23][24] With the growing success of the show, Amy introduced her first Live Interactive Vlog Experience series in March of 2010, entitled "Amy Walker: LIVE".[25][26][27]

Awards

In 2008 Walker received an award at the International Mystery Writers Festival for "Best Actress" and "Best Supporting Actress".[28] Amy Walker and Mike Shafer were awarded Best Music Video for "We Are Connected" at the 2009 Raindance Short Film Festival in Langley, WA.[29]

Year Award Role Event
2008 Best Actress "Betty" in Remember Wenn by Rupert Holmes Discovering New Mysteries Festival
2008 Best Supporting Actress "Elena" in The Help by Bill Kirby Discovering New Mysteries Festival
2009 Best Actress "Pam Brent" in Personal Call by Agatha Christy Discovering New Mysteries Festival
2009 Best Music Video Director, "We Are Connected" (Music Video) RainDance Short Film Festival

References

  1. ^ Patricia Duff. "Amy Walker screenplay gets an early green light". The South Whidbey Record.
  2. ^ "21 Accents in 2 Minutes". NPR. Retrieved 2010-04-18.
  3. ^ Patricia Duff. "South Whidbey's KONG Connection: Clinton resident appears in summer blockbuster". The South Whidbey Record.
  4. ^ Patricia Duff. "Radio theater is alive and well in Kentucky". The South Whidbey Record.
  5. ^ Sue Frause. "Amy Walker: Moving on in New Directions". Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  6. ^ Patricia Duff. "Amy Walker screenplay gets an early green light". The South Whidbey Record.
  7. ^ Amy Walker. "Connected in 24 Accents". YouTube.com. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
  8. ^ "A soul on fire: A profile of actress, singer Amy Walker". The Digital Journal. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  9. ^ Patricia Duff. "Amy Walker screenplay gets an early green light". The South Whidbey Record.
  10. ^ "RainDance Short Film Festival winners announced". Seattle Pi.
  11. ^ "Speaking in Tongues". Black & White. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
  12. ^ "21 Accents". YouTube. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  13. ^ "Amy Walker on YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  14. ^ "UPDATE: Amy Walker on NPR and TODAY!". Seattle Pi. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)
  15. ^ "Amy Walker sings Danny Boy, appears on Inside Edition". Seattle Pi.
  16. ^ "Inside Edition". Inside Edition. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  17. ^ "The TODAY Show". MSNBC. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  18. ^ "Foreign Accent Cup Kicks Off". Nokia. Retrieved 2010-06-07.
  19. ^ Amy Walker. "Fearless – Amy Walker: Inside Out". YouTube.com. Retrieved 2010-05-08.
  20. ^ Amy Walker, Tom Walker, Claudia Walker. "Jubilee – Amy Walker: Inside Out". YouTube.com. Retrieved 2010-05-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  21. ^ David Marlett. "DIY Promotion—Amy Walker Style". Movie Maker. Retrieved 2010-06-21.
  22. ^ Amy Walker. "Live in March - Trailer". YouTube.com and Vokle Media. Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  23. ^ Amy Walker. "Live Interactive Vlog highlights 3/6/10". YouTube.com and Vokle Media. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
  24. ^ Amy Walker. "The Real Amy". YouTube.com and Vokle Media. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
  25. ^ Patricia Duff (2009-11-09). "Amy Walker performs live online". The South Whidbey Record.
  26. ^ Patricia Duff (2010-01-14). "Amy Walker goes live again!". South Whidbey Record.
  27. ^ Amy Walker. "Amy Walker Live". Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  28. ^ Sue Frause. "Amy Walker: Moving on in New Directions". Retrieved 2010-04-21.
  29. ^ "RainDance Short Film Festival winners announced". Seattle Pi.
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