Many of you already know that I was a German Soap Star for 13 years, but a lot of you reading may not know this random fact about me.
At the age of 18, I was cast in Germany's longest running and top rated "Weekly TV Drama" and had to learn to speak German for my role as party girl "Patricia" who had come to Germany in search of her biological Father -and once she found him, decided to stick around and cause trouble in the neighbourhood.
It was a very fun role to play and one of the most surreal and amazing experience of my life, to be in at the deep end of "sink or swim" and to then become "Big in Germany" almost overnight.
I did not really get to play the fame game though, as I was also doing a degree in Fine Art : Film & Video at St. Martins College/University of the Arts in London.
The Film degree was a fascinating experience of personal inquiry and self expression and a really important part of my growth as a creative. I was determined not to give up the degree when I was cast on the tv show and I still feel a bit bewildered and proud of my younger self for being able to do both at the same time.
I graduated from college and continued flying occasionally to Germany to shoot my scenes but I had large chunks of time on my hands between taping the shows. I didn't really want to do what actors do, which is keep going to auditions and facing rejection on a daily basis. Motivated by my filmmaking degree, I did all sorts of media free-lance jobs behind the scenes in London - from being a Producers' assistant to working on the MTV Awards and joining the publicity teams of independent films. I eventually landed as a creative in advertising for an extended period, which mostly involved researching and brainstorming and occasionally making viral videos. I setup Little Wonder Productions to focus on the Writing, Directing, Producing and Co-Creating films.
I found continuous fulfilment for my childhood acting dreams with the ongoing role on the German tv show. When my character was eventually written out after 13 years, I wrote and performed "experimental electronic musicals" at iconic London underground club "Madame Jojo's", which led to releasing albums of original songs on itunes and commissioned performances at The Venice Biennale d'Arte.
Cut to 2018.
I am now first and foremost a Mother. This takes up most of my time and consumes much of my energy. I love it through all it's challenges and my heart explodes daily.
I have recently started to make time for myself, my writing, creativity and free-lance work.
I write most mornings during the week and I would like to publish a book, when I feel there is enough material that people would enjoy reading.
The bulk of the work I do now is coaching.
I offer an "Empowerhour" (via skype or occasionally in person) to support people in "Dreaming BIG", connecting to authenticity and figuring out an effective plan for achieving authentic goals.
I can do so much in a focused hour and I feel really confident about this work I do, which draws on my practical experience as a producer and creative combined with my holistic studies in coaching, yoga/meditation and healing.
I am also a consultant.
This is sometimes the result of an Empowerhour experience, people ask to bring me further into their projects on an ongoing basis. I give my input, feedback, ideas and make useful introductions as a consultant on a weekly or monthly basis. I work hourly with individuals or teams once a week or monthly and also attend meetings in person if required.
I love working as a coach and consultant it is a really effective way for me to support people in a focused and contained timeframe. It is always interesting, challenging and fantastic to see happy and fulfilled clients moving from strength to strength.
My new fun and exciting freelance work is as a "VOICE".
This makes a lot of sense to me, considering my years of experience as an actor, singer/song-writer and radio presenter. I have a lot of experience using my voice a a mode of communication and expression.
There was a period when I lost my confidence personally, professionally and creatively and I became very anxious at the thought of performing or being in front of an audience. I chose to focus on personal development, holistic and esoteric studies as a way to "return to my source" and had no clue that it would lead me on such an incredible journey towards a new way of being and relating to myself and the world.
I now live with full heart-centred presence as a coach, consultant, voice and producer.
I intend to work only with free-lance flexibility until my child goes to school, so all of the above roles feel like a great fit- combining my experiences, skills and authentic intentions.
Here is an example of what I can do in the voice arena. I love doing this work.
If you are looking for someone to voice your project, then get in touch:
https://www.voices.com/actors/yogiada#demos