0:08  
Hi, my name is Chitra Ayer. I worked as a Montessori teacher until two years ago when I started my education at the Toronto Film School to pursue an acting career. I'm originally from Bangalore, India. I was born there and moved to Malawi, Central Africa. When I was a year old, around age six, my parents decided to send me back to India to learn the culture, the language. While I was there, I was cast in a school play, and I was cast as Snow White. I just loved being on stage and maybe part of it also had to do with the fact that I was away from my parents and getting all this attention made me feel, it just made me feel really happy. When I came back to Malawi, I got involved with, like a music group. It was of course, like singing all the Bollywood songs and you know, the yesteryear hits. It happened that people got to know more about me and I was, again, like a child star, like 10 years old, and I performed in front of 2000 people, I think, when I was 10 years old. I kind of was comfortable being on stage. So once I had my children, we were in living in Malawi, so we moved here. And we also just wanted to start a life kind of here. I was working at the Montessori school for children between the ages of 18 months and nine years. So every year we have a spring concert and you know, like, one year, we did all Michael Jackson songs with the little ones and it was just so adorable. And of course, we'd have the props and you know, costumes and it getting the music together, choreographing it, it was a lot of fun. It was also very stressful. Unfortunately, my older son got cancer when he was nine years old. For me, at that time, it was more like being in overdrive, because at that point, I was the sole earner, like I had a job full time nine to five job. It was tough. There was that guilt attached that oh, I have to leave my child at the at the hospital go to work, and just you know, watching your son lose hair. And yeah, it kind of all took a toll on I guess, like my husband and I our marriage. I guess the universe had to speak in some way and so we drifted apart and separated, eventually divorced. Time went on and I worked at the Montessori School and started feeling less and less inspired to keep doing the same thing every day. There was a huge void, something that wasn't allowing me to explore what I really wanted. But it was one evening and I was just sitting down my child, the eldest was in the drama program. And I'm like, you know what, that's something I really wanted to do for myself, and just being a part of his projects. And like, you know, just watching. I'm like, that's something I didn't explore enough. I have to do something. And I have toset an example for my children, that it's not just about being stuck in a nine to five job, you have to also have ways to inspire you in your daily living. That point 2009, I found the New York Film Academy, and then my treat for my 40th birthday did the month at in New York. And it was just exhilarating. And so one of my film camera acting teacher said, You know what, your kids are still young, you can still be a part of the industry by doing commercials, auditioning for like print jobs. So I just kept doing that. And just when I had time off, I would audition and get gigs. And my mom, my mom was like, really? What are you gonna do? You're only gonna get mom rolls and I'm like, yeah. And then my children, they're happy that I'm doing this for myself. So it was just really nice that there was a life outside of my sorrow and pain. I didn't have to feel like a victim and stay stuck. So Toronto Film School it was I'd always had that thought that I will go back to it one day. Fall of 2017 I joined, it was a huge adjustment period. Like I just felt because I was older and like, you know, all the youngsters would say, oh, they'd hang out after school or go out. Yeah, I struggled the first term I really struggled.

5:03  
I was like a fish out of water. And I'm like, What am I doing here? Like, did I make the right decision? Should I just quit and go? And then of course, there were my friends who would say, No, this is what you've wanted to do always right? You've always talked about it, so just hang in there. It's just a matter of seeing it through that getting over those uncomfortable moments. And then that's exactly what I did and I'm so happy I did that. Then from term to term six, I made like awesome friends, even though they're so they're younger than my kids. They're, they're amazing. I think there was mutual respect gained as well in the work that we were doing in class. The goal is to find meaningful work, meaningful scripts, set up on getting an agent, casting workbook, going out for auditions through through that, hopefully to just also enjoy and be passionate and stay passionate. I'm excited to fly. I'm ready to fly. I need to do this. If it's supposed to be if the universe has set this for me, and I want this and I'm saying it. Hopefully it'll manifest and I'm hoping for that.