Only thirteen-years-old and already making a name for herself, actor and singer, Simone Miller stars in a new original web series called Detention Adventure. Check out this incredibly fun series on CBC Gem and get to know Simone below!

Hi Simone! Detention Adventure looks like such a fun show! Please tell us about it and about your character, Raign Westbrook.

Hello! Thank you so much for this opportunity Defective Geeks! Detention Adventure is a CBC Gem original web series, about three nerds who purposefully get themselves thrown into detention. In detention they meet Brett, the school bully, and together the group looks for hidden clues to try and find Alexander Graham Bells’ hidden lab that is said to be hidden under the school. 

Director Katrina Saville with Producer Gurjeet Kaur Bassi collaborated on I Beat Up My Rapist, a short film based on a true story from xoJane (titled “My Friends and I Beat Up My Rapist, And I Will Never Apologize for Getting Revenge”). The two women chat about the motivation behind the project and what moved them.

Tell us about I Beat Up My Rapist and what was the inspiration behind the story. What drew you to this particular narrative and why?

Katrina: I read the memoir essay online when it went viral 3 years ago. Leif’s (the author) writing is so vivid and compelling, I immediately began imagining it on the screen. It’s almost like I could see certain scenes pop off the page right away. I sent the essay to Gurjeet (my good friend, and producing partner) and asked her what she thought. She replied pretty quickly, saying– we have to make this. I contacted Leif personally, and asked her if we could option her essay to adapt it into a short film. Thankfully, she was open to working with us, and trusted us to tell her story.

As an Asian-Canadian, Samantha Wan is forging a path to inspire creatives within the entertainment industry and advocating for the importance of representation in television and movies. Her show, Second Jen, is a buddy comedy about two second-generation millennials who are trying to make it on their own in the big city. Find out more about her work below!

Hi Samantha, congratulations on your nomination for Best Comedy Series in 2019 Canadian Screen Awards for your sitcom, Second Jen! Tell us about your show and how you came about creating it.

Thank you! Second Jen is a sitcom about Second Generation kids and their crazy immigrant families. Two Asian Canadian girls moving away from home and experiencing all their adult-ing firsts together. It’s based around the lives and neighborhoods of my co-creator, Amanda Joy, and myself. We created the show because at the time we found there weren’t many developed roles for us as Asian actors. We created what we thought was a pilot (later we realized it was more 22 min short films) and then used it to pitch at the Banff World Media Festival. There we got the show optioned by Don Ferguson Productions and some interest from broadcasters. Skip over three years of stuff that is less exciting to hear about, numerous bible rewrites, pitches, and LOTS of waiting ( maybe a bit of crying, thinking the show was over, then it wasn’t, then it was…), Rogers Media picked us up for development and then series! We finished our second season last year and are super proud of the work. The nomination is the icing on the cake!

Sarah Abbott is a young and rising star who will be starring in Lifetime’s television-movie, Mommy’s Little Princess, which will air on March 17th. She can also be seen in Netflix’s Black Mirror and the upcoming vampire series, V-Wars, alongside Ian Somerhalder. Get to know her below!

Hi Sarah! Thank you for doing this interview with us. You’ve had such a very full career at such a young age already! Tell us how you got into acting and who or what inspired you to pursue this creative journey?

When I was younger, I loved Disney channel and it sparked my interest in acting. My mom then spotted an ad in our local newspaper saying an agency was holding open call auditions. My parents and I discussed it and we decided it was worth a try. A short amount time later, I was signed with the agency! My first jobs were commercials, but I built my way up to bigger roles from there. 

The lovely Arista Arhin is best known for her role as the young Michael Burnham on Star Trek: Discovery, where she delivers a strong and emotional performance. She spoke to Defective Geeks about the challenges and inspiration for her work, as well as her upcoming show, Bajillionaires. Read all about it below!

Thank you so much for answering our questions, Arista. It is so exciting that you get to portray Young Burnham in Star Trek: Discovery! Can you tell us what it’s like working on this series and knowing that it’s part of this huge, sci-fi universe? 

It felt unreal and a little startling when I first got cast for the show knowing that I was now part of one of the most iconic TV shows of all time. When I first started filming, I felt under pressure to deliver a great performance knowing how huge the franchise was and not wanting to disappoint any of the fans. Yet, after a lot of positive feedback, it really meant a lot to me to know that people enjoyed watching me on the show. I was very happy to have been invited back to Season 2. 

Tennille Read stars as Frankie’s close friend, Bianca, in season two of Workin’ Moms. She is also the co-founder of Theatre Inamorata, a company focused on developing female-centric stories for the stage. Tennille talks to Defective Geeks about her work and the importance of representation in the creative community.

Hi Tennille, thank you for answering our questions! Tell us about Workin’ Moms and your character, Bianca? How did you get involve with the show? 

Workin’ Moms is a comedic sitcom about women who are juggling their professional careers with their personal lives and being moms. I love the show because we get to see women in different situations, expressing themselves in ways that we don’t typically see on tv. I first got involved at the end of Season 2. My scenes were with Juno Rinaldo’s character Frankie, and I think the powers that be liked our chemistry because I was brought back in Season 3. I think Bianca is pretty courageous, choosing to become a solo-parent and all, and I think she’s pretty relatable.

Defective Geeks is feeling particularly lucky with this interview, featuring actor, Jade Hassouné, who stars in Shadowhunters as Meliorn an extremely handsome and alluring fairy (aka Seelie). Jade himself is as alluring in real life– get to know him more below and find out about fandom, acting and his journey into his music,

Hi Jade, thank you for doing this interview! First of, what has it been like being a part of a show as big as Shadowhunters? What has been the best part about it? 

Hello! Thank you for featuring me! 

Well it has been a dream come true, that’s for sure. And the two best parts has been the life-long friends I’ve made on the show, with who I get to travel the world now to meet (the other best part): the fans. The fandom is something extremely special, it is rare that a TV show gets such a huge following and we are all very fortunate to have this ocean of love constantly ready to support our every move. 

Using a catchy dance beat, Bree Taylor’s new song, You Played It All, is about dating and relationships in today’s modern world and was inspired from Bree’s personal experience. She spoke to Defective Geeks about her rise as a musician, what it meant to overcome negativity in her life and embracing her passion with 100% confidence. Read more about her journey and her new song below!

Bree Taylor’s new single, You Played It All, from her first EP Unbreakable is out now, available on Spotify, iTunes and GooglePlay.

Hello, Bree! Thank you for taking the time and answering my questions. First of all, how long have you been singing and what has it been like pursuing music as a career? Who are your personal inspirations?

I have been singing since I was a kid. I always loved singing, writing and being creative and I was always surrounded by music growing up so wanting this as a career has always been on my mind and in my heart– it just took me a long time to really get the confidence to go after it. I was a very shy and introverted kid because of bullying in school which was the opposite of who I was at heart. I felt like I had to suppress myself. I was told I wasn’t good enough and couldn’t sing and it discouraged me from performing and affected me in having that confidence to pursue it as a career. It took me growing as a person and going through life events to really set me back on this path and realize that this is my purpose and what I am meant to do. I owe a lot of it to my relationship with God. I truly feel that this is my God given purpose and when I trust and have faith, I find that that is when magic happens with my music.

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