New York Film Academy (NYFA) MFA Screenwriting and MFA Acting for Film alum Antaneise Jasonya is an actor and writer from the south suburbs of Chicago, Illinois and recently booked her first commercial with DoorDash! Antaneise also wrote and starred in the short film I’m Press which has had a successful festival run. The film has been selected by Urban Media Makers Festival, Black Women Film Network and Feedback Romance Festival.
Antaneise spoke with NYFA about the laughter of an audience as inspiration, the importance of slow and steady networking and her other projects!
New York Film Academy (NYFA): Can you tell us a bit about yourself, where you’re from, and what brought you to New York Film Academy?
Antaneise Jasonya (AJ): My name is Antaneise Jasonya and I’m from the south suburbs of Chicago, a really small town called Monee. Growing up, I had a gymnastics and music background mostly but loved any and everything involving entertainment. I’d sit in front of the TV watching The Spice Girls movie for days at a time if I could. In 2015, I moved to California and performed as an LA Clipper’s entertainer for 3 seasons, teaching gymnastics on the side. Then, in 2018, I decided to go to NYFA to pursue my childhood dreams of becoming an actress. The best part was getting close to my classmates who are now life-long friends!
NYFA: What projects have you worked on since graduating? Have you won any awards or been showcased in any festivals or competitions?
AJ: Well, after writing my thesis script, premiering it at Warner Brothers theater for graduation and hearing real laughs from the audience at the showing, I was extremely inspired and actually decided to go back to NYFA to learn more about screenwriting. I just recently finished the MFA Screenwriting program and since then I’ve honestly gotten much needed rest. I also got an agent, booked my first commercial, and continued to fine tune scripts I began writing in the program. Currently, working on my web series The Love Equation; Romantic Dramedies are my favorite genre to write and act in, hands down!
Check out the trailer for I’m Press below!
NYFA: Tell us more about your latest project & how you got involved in the project?
AJ: The latest project that I worked on was acting in the DoorDash commercial. Fun Fact: after getting my agent, this was the very first audition I was sent on. On set they asked if I wanted to rep a specific team since it was sponsored by the NBA, and of course I chose my team, the LA Clippers! It was so cool wearing that red shiny jacket and felt sort of full circle. Oh, I didn’t originally have the line I’m reading, they kind of just threw it to me on set, I went with it, and they chose it for the spot!
NYFA: What did you learn at NYFA that you applied directly to this project and others?
AJ: From NYFA I learned to always be ready, take direction, and have confidence by making the line my own. Although I don’t consider myself the best networker because of how low key I can be at times, I also learned that networking even slowly helps. I say this because I ultimately received this opportunity because of my agency, getting an agent came about after interning with them first, and I interned with them because I took a chance at NYFA’s suggestion to find an internship.
New York Film Academy congratulates Antaneise Jasonya on her first commercial booking and the success of her first short film!