From the local stage to the small screen; Austin resident stars in online commercial

Published 11:15 am Wednesday, August 20, 2014

A 17-year-old Austin girl, Jannel Howard, is featured in this screen shot from a national series of back-to-school commercials for Sears. -- Courtesy of SEARS

A 17-year-old Austin girl, Jannel Howard, is featured in this screen shot from a national series of back-to-school commercials for Sears. — Courtesy of SEARS

Seventeen-year-old Austin resident Jannel Howard has taken her talents from local stage productions at Riverland Community College and Southland High School and utilized them for the small screen.

Howard starred in a commercial for SEARS and Seventeen Magazine, which will appear as online advertisements on websites like YouTube and Pandora.

“It was super fun meeting all the other kids and getting pampered,” she said.

Email newsletter signup

She filmed the commercial right after school got out this year in a Minneapolis home.

Though the commercial is only 16 seconds long, Howard said she spent the majority of the day preparing and filming.

“They gave you a short little script, but [the directors] changed it on the spot,” Howard said. “You have to be flexible and ready to think on your feet.”

Seeing the commercial the first time was a surreal moment for Howard.

“I was really impressed because I hadn’t done anything like that before,” she said. “I shared it all over Facebook.”

With one project under her belt, Howard hopes to do more commercial work in the future.

“I’d love to [film more commercials],” she said. “I just have to get called in some more.”