CMTC Model & Talent Experience

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2014, Canada, Canadian, CMTC, industry, international, Mode Elle, model, shana gray, talent, Toronto

This past weekend, hundreds of Canadian models and talent attended CMTC to meet international agents and showcase their skills. Shana Gray, represented by Mode Elle (personal manager, mother agent) was among them.

During the weekend, Shana attended seminars and workshops presented by agents from markets as diverse as Paris, London and Milan, and presented her monologue on stage to pick up some useful acting tips from an LA casting director.

Shana participated in ten showcase competitions including photography go-see, runway, swimsuit, cover photo, commercial print, tv commercial, cold reading, improv, monologue and singing.

Although it is impossible to attend everything at CMTC, there are seminars presented from every corner of the planet, including modelling from New York to Europe to Asia to Africa, and practical workshops covering topics from acting skills to nutrition (presented by an international model).

In the evenings, models and talent let down their hair for some theme parties, and on the final night, an awards banquet is presented for the year’s top picks from the competitions.

The final morning concludes with callback interviews. After CMTC, international agents are able to follow up on interest in models and talent for their own specific markets. (Agents may be as diverse as model agents from every international city, acting agents from New York and LA, and music companies.)

CMTC is a very exciting experience, an opportunity to showcase Canadian talent to top agents in worldwide markets.

“It is impossible to predict careers, a lot of it depends on timing, and you never know what may come of it,” Shana explains. “Last year I spoke with New York and LA acting companies, and there was follow-up from New York, but my LA contact unfortunately passed away with cancer. She was very sweet. This year I spoke with a record label. There always appears to be interest from model agents, but these things are very unpredictable. You never know who noticed you, and there is a great deal of competition. You hope that people will connect with you if they need you at some point in the future. You keep working on your skills and portfolio, and you keep showing up whenever you can.”

In addition to knowledge gained and connections made, friendships are created and built, among models and talent, and across the industry. “Networking is really important. It’s a phenomenal industry with a lot of great people. They hold to the highest artistic standards as top companies and are very genuine people. I find it impossible to talk to everyone there because the schedule is so completely packed. But I hope these people can find me when they need me.”

Shana can be booked directly in the Toronto area market, and is represented internationally, via mother agent and personal manager Mode Elle. Agents can connect with Mode Elle to request Shana for their markets.

“Everyone is unique, and careers are as unique as each person,” Shana explains. “Ultimately, it’s all about enjoying the journey, the experience, and making the most of every opportunity.”

Shana on Casting Workbook
Shana’s Model Portfolio
Mode Elle (Personal Manager & Mother Agent)

Headshot & Resume (below), Comp Cards (check back soon)

CIQstories Official News

To The Ends Of The Earth

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artist dj producer, CIQ music, cities, electronic dance music, electronic musician, Europe, Gsynth studio, industry, international, new music producer, news blog, orphanage, travel

Never one to sit still, CIQ has been to many known and unknown corners of the world, whether for business or pleasure, music, vacation or nonprofit youth work.

By the time she entered high school, her music teachers had taught her everything they reasonably could. She turned her curiosity to the world and people, reading books from thinkers, meeting people from everywhere, and traveling to remote corners of the world in a pursuit of knowledge, experience and understanding.

Some of her first international trips brought her to Central America and Eastern Europe in the nineties. After training in the jungles of Florida in skill sets for international volunteer work, she found herself involved in construction projects in poorer communities. She spent a summer at a Central American orphanage, another in a community in Bulgaria, and another in Poland. She was also able to take in some tourism during her travels, particularly in Europe.

After high school, following a gap year with some intense music studies, she moved to the USA, to Illinois’ midwest and Arizona’s desert, for two years with Master’s Commission, an arts focussed youth ministry program that enabled her to further develop her skills on stage and in the arts, and working with people in the local communities, covering a wide range from youth and young adults social and popular culture, to children in the inner cities of America. Her special focus was music, a keyboardist and multi-talented musician in constant demand. She also found time to learn many new skills and be involved with many different creative projects in all the arts.

Following a successful audition at York University she moved back to Toronto where she spent two years focused on keyboards performance study, improvisation and electronic music. She didn’t waste a moment, jumping into the music industry, networking and finding leads before frosh week had even started. At this point, she became involved with working for a handful of media sources, promoting local events with club night and rave promoters, and performing mainly locally as long as it didn’t interfere with her studies. She also began travelling internationally to satisfy her curiosity with the music industry with a trip to Nashville during a school break.

She stayed in Toronto a few more years, studying producing engineering at Harris Institute music business school and working for a string of top companies in Canada’s music industry. She learned many new skills working for the best. Most of her work was in Toronto but she did occasional work with big events in USA such as Cornerstone Festival in Illinois and New York City’s CMJ college radio event.

She took plenty of time for international travel to places like London, UK, New York, USA, Cannes, France, Miami, USA, and several other popular cities worldwide, Southampton to Manchester, Detroit to Nashville, Montreal to Calgary, Stockholm to Gothenburg. She had already been in many countries in Europe since the nineties, including France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Austria, Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, United Kingdom and Sweden, Canada and United States in North America, and in Belize and Guatemala in Central America.

Eventually she moved back from the heart of Toronto’s arts district to a quieter location outside the city where she could focus in the recording studio, rather than working in Toronto’s music industry nonstop and promoting events on the weekends. In addition to creative projects, nonprofit youth work continues to be an important part of her life and career. Her motivation for working in music and the arts and with people was always to make a difference in the world, and to inspire people to live their dreams and to love one another. She now has the opportunity to reflect often near the beaches of Lake Ontario, and to spend quality time with her extended family. Too young to retire or lead a too quiet lifestyle at home, she took another entrepreneurial business course and is considering options for the future, and is still deeply involved in the international music industry. She spends most her spare time in her recording studio loft. Her work with youth takes her on adventures exploring beaches, parks and events in local communities and is a continual source of inspiration. She hopes her music will be influential in the international music industry in the future, and will inspire those who come into contact with her and her creativity in a unique and fresh way.

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