SAN ANTONIO — Caitlyn Rodriguez may be 17-years-old but she's already a writer and director of a TV pilot episode.
Caitlyn was born and raised in Pearsall, Texas about an hour away from the Alamo City and was drawn to the stage at an early age. She participated in pageants in San Antonio and though she would not typically win, she would earn Best Performer by telling jokes to the audience and doing dancing skits.
"Having that early connection helped me find myself and find what I want to do," she said.
As a child, Caitlyn would also perform in plays at the Wonder Theatre, formerly the Woodlawn Theatre.
“And that’s where I really found my love for performing. It’s just so fun to be these characters and bring all these stories to life," she said.
Caitlyn's like most teenagers her age playing sports, performing in One Act Play, hanging out with friends but the weekend before she started her senior year she filmed her first TV pilot episode for her series "Senioritis."
Caitlyn asked several people from all around the Lone Star State including Dallas, Austin, Bryan and San Antonio, to help turn her dream into a reality - and they all jumped at the chance.
“They all took the drive down here. You know I didn’t promise them the most money in the world. I promised them an opportunity to bring this character to life. And they said yes. Everyone did," Caitlyn said. “It’s awesome that there’s that many people in one state interested and willing to come down to help."
She said that every crew member from "Senioritis" had previously worked alongside her on a different project.
"Senioritis" tells the relatable story of high school seniors who are nervous and scared about the next chapter in their lives.
“It’s a personal story to me of the anxieties of ‘what’re you going to do after high school?’ Like it’s tough. It’s tough. I’m currently in my senior year and I was thinking about it my junior year and I was like this is a, it’s a little scary." Caitlyn added, "“It’s something I can connect with a lot.
Despite Caitlyn's impressive film resume "Senioritis" was her first big project - especially as a director. Caitlyn said she was used to being an actress on set and realized the role behind the camera is much different.
It was not simply ready, camera, action.
Caitlyn mentioned facing some mishaps before even hitting record like realizing she had the wrong SD card and having to search all across San Antonio for the right one.
“You don’t expect for those kinds of things to happen but I feel like it happened for a reason.
Caitlyn explained this delay helped the two main actors hang out and bond which brought more authenticity to their characters who play best friends in high school.
“I learned a lot of things. I learned a lot about cameras that I didn’t know before. And like shots, and coloring. It worked out. It’s tough. It’s stressful but it’s only stressful if you let it be and it will work out in the end," she said.
The pilot episode was filmed in Pearsall with many moving parts and schedules.
Caitlyn said she was thankful her superintendent signed off and let her use the high school as a location for the show. She also mentioned using personal props throughout the episode to fit in with her small budget.
“But we got it done in three days because everyone kept pushing and kept motivating and the actors were so ready to go all the time, it was great," she said.
Currently "Senioritis" is being edited by a UT student. Caitlyn admitted a decent amount of cuts were made and hopes the episode will be fully edited and ready for viewing by November. She will then submit the episode to multiple film festivals in the hopes of showing executives what she can accomplish.
Caitlyn plans to shoot her second episode during Thanksgiving break or Christmas break.
“So, I wanted to both inspire filmmakers of my age that it is possible and people also my age that just want to see a show that [shows] you’re not alone in your anxieties," Caitlyn said.
Caitlyn thanked her community for stepping in to help her. She said she received multiple donations, and even got tacos catered by a local business to help feed her actors.
“Pearsall is a smaller town, and I want to make something of it. And I really want to connect with my community and connect with other people my age and inspire and be like you can put something together if you like believe in yourself, push through no’s, and talk to your community," she said.
Caitlyn said she will continue to act, write and direct because whether she's in front of the camera or behind the camera she's happy.
“Because I’m either putting on someone’s story for them or I’m visualizing my own thing and I’m seeing it come to life and either way it’s so incredible," Caitlyn said. “I’ve just you know taken things by the reigns and I’ve tried to push myself in more directions to do every aspect of film.”
Caitlyn said she was grateful to the Nikki Pederson Talent Agency, a program out of College Station-Bryan where experts are brought in to help youths develop their talents. She said it's where she got the opportunity to meet Former Disney Channel star Raini Rodriguez.
“She was super sweet and super helpful.” Caitlyn added, “It teaches you a lot. It teaches you a lot about the industry. It teaches you how to like bring not only the character but yourself because that’s really what people are looking for. They’re looking for you not a character.”
Caitlyn said when she first started out in the industry she didn't realize she would have to get use to rejection.
“You hear no a lot, you know what I mean? That’s the biggest thing that you have to learn is you’ll hear no a lot. But like the first month I heard no I was devastated. I was like ‘Mom what am I doing wrong? Like I don’t know what I’m doing.’ But the more you do it the less you take it to heart like ‘Okay I just wasn’t fitting for this role,'" she said.
Caitlyn advises other young filmmakers and actors to push through the negativity and follow their dreams. She offers these four pieces of wisdom:
1. Get used to no.
2. Say yes to your yeses
3. Build a community/connections
4. Keep creating