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| At nineteen years old, up-and-coming performer CHRIS has plans to change the world. Giving his first public performance in front of his church congregation at the age of five, Chris moved on from his church stage to his local theater and quickly landed leading roles in local theatre productions. Shortly after that, he was enrolled in acting classes, working his craft, making a name for himself, and taking his hometown by storm. Out of all that came endless offers for Chris to perform in his hometown, mainly at local athletic events and charity functions. He was quickly selling out local venues - even performing for a crowd of over 3,500 at an arena performance at his home high school. "The cool thing about it all is that it was my first arena performance EVER, and there were 3,500 people that showed up! That kind of support is unbelievable. I never expected in my wildest dreams to have that many people there. And when the lights went out and our music started...when all those people started screaming my name and cheering...that's what makes it all worthwhile," Chris says. |
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| As you can tell, it didn't take long for Chris to get noticed. Continuing to perform at his home high school for huge crowds, Chris had the opportunities that he needed to get his feet wet and really get an idea for how the industry worked. Shortly thereafter, Chris was getting offers for, of course, more local plays, musical theatre, commercials, and even as a full-time paid choreographer. He accepted a lot of the offers, doing everything in his power to be seen, and ended up appearing in a national anti-smoking and cancer prevention ad. "That was my first real taste of what it was like. It was a totally different experience for me being in front of the camera, because it's a lot more intimate. I was used to having this huge audience to play to and a lot more room to cover, so you learn to tone it down a bit for the camera. But all in all, the whole experience made me want to perform even moreso than I had before. It was definitely a learning experience, and we had a blast making it," Chris recalls. |
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| Chris gained national exposure from the commercial, appearing in newspapers, magazines, on t-shirts, and of course, on film. With the experience he needed under his belt, Chris ended up signing a management deal with the Helen Wells Agency, a nationally known and well-respected agency. "They're really cool," says Chris of the agency. "They've given me a lot of creative freedom when it comes to my performing, and that's definitely something that's really important to me. I don't just want to be a puppet for someone, I want to be able to really effect people with my performing, and just by being me. I mean, just to be able to make someone smile by them seeing me perform, or to make someone's day by signing a piece of paper...just to have someone say 'that's really cool, what he's doing'...just to be able to effect someone so positively...that's really special to me." During the summer of 2004, Chris' career soared to new heights. Not only did he perform his first ever headlining concert, he also got the chance to perform alongside Lava Records newest recording artist, pop sensation Cherie! Chris shared the stage with Cherie on two different stops of the Simon DTour Live Mall Tour and even got to help open up for Ryan Cabrera. "That was the coolest thing I've done to date!" Chris says with confidence. "The audiences were amazing...I was up there, having the time of my life and I could look down and see that they were having the time of theirs...nothing's better than that." |
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| Already in 2005, Chris has performed and made appearances at numerous events, conventions, shows, and dinner theaters. Chris has been working alongside Paws, Inc. (the creators of Garfield) to choreograph a music video for Grammy-winning recording artist Red Grammer. After wrapping the video, the producers liked Chris so much, they asked him back to work on the follow-up single, both of which will be featured in an upcoming press campaign in affiliation with the world-famous cat himself, Garfield! With a rapidly-growing fan base, a new management team backing him 100%, and a level head, maturity, determination, and talent beyond his years, CHRIS is definitely back in the spotlight, this time brighter than ever. "It's funny because a lot of time, I get the whole 'overnight success' thing, but what people don't realize is that I've been working towards this my entire life," Chris tells us. Chris is anything but an overnight success. His hard work, dedication, and perserverance have paid off in making him one of the most sought-after new names in the business. And it's just the beginning. |