May
2008
Alin will be graduating from middle school in early
June. Through an audition process Alin was accepted into
the Academy of Performing Arts at Huntington Beach High
School. Alin was very excited to get into this
prestigious program. He worked very hard on his
monologues and was quite nervous prior to his audition.
Wee have not determined whether Alin will attend
Huntington Beach High School for the academic part of
his day or if he will continue on with the home
schooling through the Pacific High School program. Alin
did so well with his home schooling through middle
school and learned so much that we kind of hate to see
him go back to public school, on the other hand, Alin is
such a social person that we don't want him to miss all
of the social activities that go along with a typical
high school experience. We will be meeting with the
district representatives soon to discuss all of Alin's
options. In the meantime Alin is getting ready for Film
Making Camp for several weeks this summer and then on a
New England Cruise with Grandma Sue. Busy, busy, busy!!
Update: February 2008
Alin had a wonderful time on the Mexican Riviera Cruise he took with Grandma Sue, Ivan, Mathew and Val. Alin says he really enjoys cruising. He likes the freedom of moving around the ship, participating in the various activities on and off board, and of course the food! Alin is already getting ready for the Caribbean cruise he is schedule to take during spring break. Cruising has been a wonderful experience for the boys. They have been able to see different areas of the world and get a feel for where and how other people live. Sometimes living in Orange County (The O. C.) gives people a limited view of the United States let alone the world. Although the Alin lived in a Romanian orphanage at one time, I think sometimes he forgets about all of the privileges we have living in Southern California. Seeing the street children in Mexico was a real eye-opening experience for Alin and all of the boys.
Alin is taking a film making class on Saturdays mornings with the Art and Learning Conservatory. He is learning some techniques on how to prepare, make and edit a movie. This is a good beginning experience for Alin who plans on attending three weeks of a film making summer camp.
November 2007
Alin is enjoying his film making class through the CHEP on-site school program. While most of Alin's education through home-schooling is actually at home, he is taking a couple of outside classes with other home-schoolers. According to he teacher, Alin is a leader in the film classes. He know a lot of film-making terminology and has learned directing skills from the various plays and film projects he has participated in recently. Alin is very good and organizing and directing the other students in his group. Although Alin's love is acting he seems to also be developing in interest in directing and in script writing. We are hopeful that Alin will be able to attend film-making camp this summer.
September 2007
Alin enjoyed his summer. He attended three of the four sessions of Camp Bravo. Alin loves this performing arts camp held in the Big Bear Mountains. Although normally a bit of a loner, Alin seems to make friends during camp and enjoys reacquainting himself with past friends from previous years of camp. Alin was unable to attend the last session of Camp Bravo this summer because we went on an Alaskan Cruise with grandma Sue! Alin had a great time on the cruise (who wouldn't?) along with Ivan and Nikolai. The boys enjoyed exploring the ship, trying all sorts of foods, going to the shows, and most importantly relaxing in the spa! Alin also enjoyed the land excursions. He was very interested in the Alaskan wilderness and the dog sledding. I am still waiting for Alin to share some of his photos so I can put them up on the web site!
June 2007
As you can see in the recent pictures, Alin decided to cut his hair! We think he looks great and much older than his 13 years! Its definitely time to get another head shot.
Alin successfully finished a year of home schooling. With the help of Grandma-
Sue and our good friend Shelley, Alin received some excellent support and tutoring. Alin will continue with home
schooling for his 8th grade year and then hopes to move on to Orange County's School for the Performing Arts. Toward the end of the school year, Alin was able to enroll in an outside elective class called "Jewelry Making." Alin enjoyed this class very much and looks forward to expanding his interest in jewelry making into a active hobby.
March 2007
Alin just received word that he got the part of "Zek" in the MYART show of "High School Musical." He is very excited to get a lead part and even more excited because he loves this show so much. This is the biggest part Alin has earned in a MYART production. In this show, Alin has many lines and several songs, including his first solo, Alin has always taken acting classes but now he also wants to improve his singing ability to maximize his "High School Musical" performances in May and, of course, in future musicals.
Thanks to a generous donation from Lloyd Lwin and The Moise and Carol Ann Emquies Trust, we are thrilled that singing and voice lessons for Alin have been funded for the next three months!
February 2007
Alin recently finished the last show of the MYART production of "Peter Pan" held at Cal State University at Long Beach. He took his role seriously and did very well with his first lead part in a play. Alin will begin rehearsals for two plays this month with the MYART productions of "High School Musical" and "Seusical." Alin continues to hope that he will get more opportunities to act in films and on television. Unfortunately Alin is very tall and mature looking for his age. Due to the employment laws for minors, the number of hours a child actor can work depends on the his/her age. The younger the actor the fewer hours he/she can work per day. Therefore a production company wants the oldest actor who can fit the part, because he/she can work the most hours. In the entertainment industry most casting agents are looking for teenagers who can play a younger child and looking for young adults to play teenagers. In the meantime teenage actors, like Alin, who look their age or look even older have the most difficult time booking jobs. We are happy that Alin has not given up and continues to hone his acting skills through classes and stage plays.
December 2006
Alin continues to make growth...especially his thick curly hair. Alin has decided to grow his hair and no matter how much we protest, he stubbornly refuses to cut it. Actually we are starting to get used it, besides if you have such nice thick curly why not flaunt it?!
Alin still enjoys home
schooling with his is flexible schedule and
one-to-one attention from grandma Sue and dad. He
continues to participate in Tae Kwon Do three to
four times a week. Alin is also rehearsing several
evenings a week for the MYART production of "Peter
Pan." Alin is pretty excited because he has a lead
part in this show. Finally, Alin is slated to start
guitar lessons in January,
thanks in part to a generous donation from Dennis
and Terry Jack. Busy,
busy, busy!!
October 2006
Alin is enjoying home schooling this year. Over the summer Alin decided that he wanted to try home schooling. He felt like he had too much pressure to keep his homework and school books organized and he continued to be distracted by the noise and chaos in the classroom. So far Alin has done well keeping up with his assignments and attends a weekly Art History class with other home school students. Alin is also working twice a week with grandma Sue on his writing assignments and his grammar. We have seen an big change in Alin's stress level. He is much more relaxed working at his own pace and feels proud of his academic accomplishments.
July 2006
Alin has already attended two sessions of Camp Bravo this summer and is planning to attend one more week in August. Camp Bravo is a residential week-long camp for teenagers interested in theater arts. This is Alin's third year participating in this program. During the second session of camp this summer Alin developed a real interest in script writing. Alin has taken it upon himself to continue to write a play that he started writing while at camp. Alin is also interested in taking a dance class and learning to play the guitar. We are investigating appropriate teachers for both class at the moment. We love that Alin has such a wide interest in the arts and hope that we can continue to support his growth in this area.
Update: March 2006
It's been a lot of fun watching Alin's (12) NIKE commercial air on several channels. The commercial was first shown on January 22, 2006 and is still airing in March. Alin
(12) is proud to have people come up to him and let him know they saw the commercial.
Alin is further excited about receiving significant residual checks several times a month! All of the money Alin has earned is placed into his Coogan Account to hold for him until he becomes an adult. Alin says he will use his acting money to help pay for his college education.
The past several months Alin has also learned how to snowboard.
He has had dry-land snowboard practice once a week since the beginning of the year. Alin will be competing in a snowboarding event held in Big Bear this month. Alin has enjoyed learning how to snowboard although he says he prefers skiing. Alin will also be testing for his Orange Belt in Tae Kwon Do later this month.
January 2006
We are excited to report that Alin booked a national Nike apparel commercial that will first air on January 22, 2006 during the NFL playoff games. The commercial will air all over the United States on multiple channels. We are so thankful to KSA, Alin's management agency, who has made a big effort to send Alin out to multiple auditions. Alin had a great time working on this commercial and hopes to book more jobs in the future.
During Winter break Alin enjoyed a trip to Las Vegas with mom and dad as well as Nikolai and Val. Alin was excited to see the Lance Burton magic show.
Alin also went to "KA" which is a Cirque De Soliel production. Besides experiencing tons of buffets along the strip, Alin also had fun at the arcades and riding the various roller coasters.
Alin is enjoying middle school. He continues to be a conscientious student but still struggles with organization.
After school Alin is involved in acting classes and community theater. He also started Tae Kwon Do lessons last month. As always, Alin is a helpful and loving son and brother. We are very proud of his accomplishments.
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