When most of us were headed off to school for the first time in kindergarten, actress Chelsea Rendon was starting her career. And not even a year later at six years old, she landed the lead in her first feature film.
Rendon didn’t undergo formal acting classes or schooling. Her training was “working and learning on set” and she has continued to do so successfully, for almost thirty years in drama on television and in film. Decades later she is still at it, working, learning and exploring new avenues. Within the past couple of years, she landed her first animation project and her first sitcom.
Stepping Into Audio: Montecito
Now Rendon’s entered the world of audio drama in the all-new audio soap opera Montecito. The audio only drama, a dark paradise enclave of the ultra-wealthy, is a throwback to the genre’s original radio form with a modern twist. Montecito brings explosive drama, betrayals, deception, sex and scandal, where there are those who fight to maintain success—and those who plot to steal it.
Series creator and Emmy nominated producer, Grant Rutter, has assembled some of daytime’s best; Rick Hearst (General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful), Crystal Chappell (Venice: The Series, Days of Our Lives, Guiding Light) , Vincent Irizarry (All My Children, The Young and the Restless), Mike Manning (Beyond the Gates), Peter Porte (Days of Our Lives), Emme Rylan (General Hospital, Guiding Light), Marc Anthony Samuel (General Hospital) and Kelly Thiebaud (General Hospital.) Wow, right?!
Mina Rast-Granville
Rendon portrays “Mina Rast-Granville,” the “sassy treacherous narcissist.” Even though this is Rendon’s first audio role, her approach remained the same. “I treated Mina as I did any other character, breaking down scenes and looking at her backstory. Grant is great to work with. He told me what he was thinking about the character and where he was going with her. I took what he said and added my own essence. In audio, your voice is all that matters. The key is to take all that Mina is and bring it out through my voice.”
How did Rendon accomplish that?
“Mina is a straight up narcissist. My job is not to judge her but rather to take that, play her as I see her and portray her in a way that the audience connects with her. She’s flawed but there are reasons why. Mina does go to the extreme. She wants to be in a position of power, and she keeps reaching for things that she thinks will satisfy her but never seem to.
But she does care about the people in her life. It is up to me to humanize her, so people understand why she is the way she is. Life has thrown so much at her, she’s had to react in certain ways to survive. I see Mina as a good reminder not to be so quick to judge people, to look a little closer first. In a way, we all have to be Mina at times. We all have to fight for ourselves.”
What’s Next for Chelsea Rendon
You can listen to Montecito on YouTube and all podcast platforms.
You can also see Rendon soon in the upcoming comedy heist film, The Unexpected. (Photo: Montecito Team.)
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