News
Take a look at what I've been up to!
Frozen Holiday Surprise
It's the first Christmas in forever that Jaime gets to announce she will be ringing in the season as an AEA performer on the Cinderella Castle Stage with her dear friends and family from Arendelle! Jaime doesn't want to spoil too many surprises, but she is so grateful that she gets to share Anna's favorite holiday tradition (ringing the Yule Bell!) with families this holiday season. Though this is certainly Jaime and Anna's favorite time of year (and it's already worth the wait!), both ladies are sure to keep the joy of the season in their hearts all year long!
The event runs every evening at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom from November 5th - December 31st, 2024! Learn more and buy tickets by clicking here.
❄️ Watch Jaime's favorite Holiday Surprise HERE! ❄️
Very Merry Mix-Up
Jaime is feeling very merry this holiday season because she will be playing the scientifically sweet, BOGO-deal-loving, baker-- Betty-- in The Very Merry Mix-Up at LEGOLAND Florida Resort! She is excited to share holiday cheer and spread the magic of the holidays by delighting families with festive four-part harmonies, delicious props, and even a jovial tap solo this winter.
About the show: "After a mix-up in the kitchen, Mrs. Claus' crew of holiday helpers find themselves in a delicious dilemma! Join the frosted fun by singing along and learning to believe in the magic of the holidays." Watch it HERE!
The event runs during regular park hours on Nov 29th - December 31st, 2024! Learn more and buy tickets by clicking here.
Seaworld Spooktacular
Jaime has been having the sweetest time with her favorite candy witch, Saltwater Taffy, this spooky season! She has loved connecting with children and families from all over the world as they visit SeaWorld Orlando's kid-friendly Halloween event -- SeaWorld Spooktacular! As an atmosphere actor on the trick-or-treat trail, Jaime makes great use of her improv skills and often recruits some fellow candy witches & warlocks to help her brew tasty potions with her sisters (as seen in this video).
The event runs during regular park hours on August 31st - November 3rd, 2024! Learn more and buy tickets by clicking here.
Music Video
Always down for a new adventure, Jaime was quick to accept an offer to be featured as the female lead in a new music video being produced by Smile Space Studios! The video will mark the release of a brand new song What If? composed by Nick Pedraza and sung by JERICHO (@jerichomusicoffical). You can see Jaime playing the romantic opposite of singer, JERICHO; after all, sometimes it's fun to be "the one that got away."
Check out the MV by clicking here!
Frozen Sing-Along
The gates are finally open, so now seems like a good time to share that Jaime has joined the Disney Live Entertainment team as an AEA performer at Walt Disney World!
If you ever head over to The Hyperion Theater in Hollywood Studios to visit Arendelle, you may just find Jaime "gown and all, fetchingly draped against the wall" at For the First Time in Forever: A Frozen Sing-Along Celebration under Actors's Equity Association (AEA). Check out a clip here!
Fun fact: Jaime visited Disney every year growing up because her parents got married at there (her mom even got to ride in the Cinderella coach)! However... while she can appreciate the classics, Jaime thinks Queen Anna is pretty cool too.
Go Xtreme!
Safe to say summer 2024 has been pretty extreme! Right out of college, Jaime joined the entertainment team at Legoland Florida Resort and has had the pleasure of bringing the stylish Brick-Tok influencer, @LOLLeah, to life in their epic stunt show, Go Xtreme! She is so grateful for the chance to work under the guidance of Zach Page (Show Director) and alongside the AWS Productions team-- including Jill Schulz (Producer/Creative Director), Jaren Grob (Stunt Coordinator), and of course the talented All Wheel Sports stunt performers. Though she isn't doing any stunts herself, Jaime has perfected the art of taking a very "xtreme" selfie or two.
Teaching artist
Jaime is excited to continue her journey with Orlando Family Stage as she joins their education team this summer (2024) as a Lead Teaching Artist for Baby & Me classes. She will also be a Co-Teaching artist for a few of their Youth Academy summer camps, including Acting Up: Inside and Out, Playtime with Peppa Pig, and Rock and TROLL!
UCF Graduate!
New graduate alert! As of May 2024, Jaime has officially graduated from the University of Central Florida Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting and a Minor in Dance. She is excited to take her training out into the world and see what life brings her. As a proud alum-knight: Go Knights, Charge On!
(Jaime is also very proud to say that she finally achieved her goal of getting straight A's all throughout school, K-college! That hard work paid off, woo-hoo!)
Performance Capture
After following the yellow brick road, Jaime found herself joining the OZDA Productions/Illuminating Magic team as the performance capture artist for Dorothy in their new 360, interactive dining experience, Wonderful Dining Adventure in Oz! With the help of Zanim8tion, Jaime was able to animate the sweet, yet headstrong little girl we all know and love through both motion capture and facial capture. Jaime is excited to work with the Illuminating Magic team on this new project, as it is the first time they are working with a well known story and adding a twist to fit one of their dining shows. Click HERE to learn more about the project & OZDA Productions.
**You are able to see a short preview of Jaime's work during the rehearsal/filming process in the video featured to the left!
Attempt 101
Jaime was thrilled to step onto the set of Attempt 101, a new short film where "Love Wins!" As an avid gamer herself, Jaime was excited to see how a VR world would translate through a cinematic lens; however, she was even more excited to be a part of such a unique project and bring Samantha (AKA the girl of Martyn's dreams) to life. In a world where AI is taking over and online dating is the norm, this heartfelt, comedic short definitely hit home.
About the film: "This film is about Martyn, a self-conscious guy that uses virtual reality to replay his first date with his dream girl, Samantha. With each attempt, he pretends to be something he is not...Ultimately, he understands that all he needed was to be himself. This is a story about accepting one's self, knowing that you are enough for who you are." - Erika Miyamoto, Director
The film has been selected for the 2024 Key West Film Festival and has been nominated for Best Short Film!
Assistant Teaching Artist
Jaime recently joined the Orlando Family Stage team as an Assistant Teaching Artist! At OFS, Jaime assists with Baby and Me classes, Story Stroll classes, field trip seating, pre-show TVY activities, and a super magical Percy Jackson inspired Homeschool Class. She is also able to participate in various workshops led by OFS to grow her knowledge and confidence as a teaching artist. She is so excited to continue her creative journey within the world of TYA while gaining more teaching experience and sparking young artists' imagination!
Jeanette M Gould Traveling Theater
Jaime had the pleasure of creating and facilitating a lesson plan for K-5 patients at Nemours Children's Hospital as part of the Jeanette M Gould Traveling Theater under the mentorship of Elizabeth Brendel Horn. Jaime and her team of super co-facilitators got to step into the role of teaching artist and use Drama-Based Pedagogy to help patients find their unique superpower. This opportunity not only reinforced Jaime's love for teaching and gave her more facilitating experience, but it also touched her heart and reminded her of the profound power of play!
9 to 5
Jaime was part of the cast of 9 to 5 at Timber Lake Playhouse, performing as Candy Striper/Ensemble (u/s Judy). Throughout the process she was directed with kindness and clarity by Tommy Ranieri, the Manager of Theatrical Creative Development for RWS Global. Jaime's time at Consolidated not only empowered her as a strong female businesswoman, but it also provided her with many unique learning experiences— she got to work with a wire-fly system to aid in the flying of Mr. Hart, undergo firearm training, and maneuvered a turntable throughout the production. She is always looking for new and challenging roles to demonstrate her range and expertise, and this show definitely provided her with that.
The Sound of Music
Not only did she get to "solve a problem like Maria" every night, but Jaime also got to make her Liesl debut! Under the direction of Anthony Daniel (Associate Director for the SOM International Tour), Jaime got to truly dig deep into the history and learn more about the story behind the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic. She was honored to be able to step into various roles throughout the run of the production to share such an inspirational, heartwarming story with audiences at Timber Lake Playhouse. Jaime adored working with both casts of children and getting to hone her understudy skills. (When she went on for Liesl, she even got to wear the only costume piece in the show that was actually made in Austria! You can see her dressed in it, as pictured here. Jaime is holding one of the actresses who played Gretl.)
Pig Tales
Jaime is thrilled to step back into her choreographer shoes for Timber Lake Playhouse's production of the TYA show, Pig Tales (A Modern Fairytale). After much collaboration with the music director, Daxtun Heier, and playwright, Lee Adami, the creative team was able to put the musical up in only a week and feature some new composition for the show (and of course some dance breaks along the way)! She was glad to be part of the production team as well as the cast. She looks forward to making children laugh and dance in their seats with this fun fairytale throughout the summer.
GREASE
Jaime had the most wonderful time playing the iconic "Little Lulu of Rydell High," Patty Simcox, in Timber Lake Playhouse's production of Grease! Rydell High was brought to life with the help of the director/choreographer Daniel Gold and music director Oliver Townsend-- who both made sure that the cast was full of stamina so they were "born to hand-jive" for the entire run. Jaime was thrilled to gain more partnering experience throughout the process and to share her energetic cheerleading with sold out audiences every single night!
"Standouts in the cast include... Jaime Happel as overly enthusiastic sidekick Patty Simcox..." - River Cities' Reader
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Host
Jaime is so excited to lend her voice over to the video game world of Host, a new indie game by Arcadia Interactive! Host is a first-person-shooter, action-horror game where the player has been infected by a parasite, AKA the Cytogen, and must use his new abilities to take down the other mutants of Dr. Trong's failed experiment. Jaime's voice is featured in character-recorded audio logs that can discovered in various levels of the game.
Visit Arcadia Interactive's Steam page to download and play the game...and maybe hear a familiar voice along the way.
*The game is set to release on Steam in Summer 2023.
Motion Capture
For Developing
Video Games
Jaime recently got the chance to work on video games in the development stage alongside Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy in Studio 500 (one of the East Coast's largest motion capture stages—about 3,300 sq. ft)! Partnering with FIEA, Jaime captured animations for a lead patient in a VHA training/quiz game and the female protagonist in a third-person, survival horror game (Ascent, Get In The Box Studios).
The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui
Set to perform on the main-stage, Jaime is currently working on several roles in the ensemble of The Resistible...Ui at Theatre UCF. She looks forward to bringing Brecht's thought-invoking production to life and telling this story through the unique lens of a 1930's movie set. Her roles include Announcer, Chicago Vegetable Dealer 1, Short Man, Reporter, Film Crew, and U/S Servant.
Rosie Glass
Returning to the screen, Jaime is set to portray the role of Rosalean in the new short film Rosie Glass, directed by Cameron Gant. After overcoming production challenges due to the Florida hurricane season, she is excited to tackle such an important story about mental health and self-love (featuring some epic SFX shots). Learn more below!
"Rosie Glass is about revealing the quiet battle in your head, those moments in between the interactions that no one else sees. Rosalean must fight against a Shadow, 100% determined to take over her life. Help donate to this project's campaign at igg.me/at/rosieglass." - Cameron Gant, Director
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A Chorus Line
Jaime was given the chance to dance in this iconic show at Theatre West End—Sanford, Florida's first professional live theatre. She was honored to be cast as Lois and work under the direction of Mayme Paul, who played Val in one of the show's first national tours (and who had plenty of Michael Bennett stories to share during the rehearsal process). This production has been an amazing learning experience as well; Jaime got the chance to be a female swing, covering the roles of Maggie, BeBe* and Connie!
*Jaime got the chance to go on as Bebe and cherished every crazy second of it.
Awards: “Best Dance Production” in the BroadwayWorld Orlando Awards.
Nominations: “Top Production” and “Ensemble in a Musical” In Orlando Sentinel's “Orlando Theater Best of…” Awards
Shrek the Musical
Jaime has been hard at work polishing her tap skills, gaining puppeteering experience, and bringing her favorite fairytale creature—the Elf— to life!
She looks forward to her first in-person musical performance post-shutdown, and to letting her freak flag fly on the beautiful 2,700 seat Walt Disney Theatre stage at the Dr. Phillips Center for Performing Arts in Downtown Orlando on April 14, 15, & 16th.
Spring Dance Concert
After being accepted into the Dance Minor program at the University of Central Florida, Jaime had the privilege to participate in the spring dance concert for the first time. She was cast in a student-choreographed, Musical Theatre Jazz piece, one of her favorite styles, and got to rock a neon green bob! (See right of picture.)
MICHELLE
Jaime was extremely grateful to portray Evette in the new crime thriller, "MICHELLE." She got to put her detective skills to the test for this role and embrace her inner crime junkie. The cold, late nights on set were definitely worth all of the heart-warming connections she made and the experience she gained throughout the production process!
About the film: "MICHELLE is a short narrative film that follows the footsteps of Evette, a curious high schooler, as she recounts the last written moments of a local missing teenager, Michelle Burke. Online dating safety, "cat-fishing", and betrayal of trust are all at the forefront of this chilling story." - Director, Sydney Carlson
OUT of tune
Jaime was thrilled to continue her journey, stepping into the world of film! Shortly before production began on "Out of Tune," Jaime was asked to become familiar with an acoustic guitar-- something she hadn't picked up since elementary school. Needless to say, her experience on set was full of laughs and lots of learning. She looks forward to the film's premiere sometime in late April, and is excited to follow the film as it gets shared at various film festivals.
Howl-O-scream: Inaugural fear
Jaime is so honored to have been a part of SeaWorld Orlando's very first Howl-O-Scream event this past spooky season. She adored getting to time travel to the 50's every night to roam the streets of Bayside Reserve, a werewolf infested campsite. You may not think it from first glance, but Jaime makes a pretty scary lumberjack. Those who visited her in the scare zone, Deadly Ambush, can tell you that, even with only a knife to defend herself and an outhouse for a hideout, she always showed those crazed werewolves who's boss!
A Short Trip
To Hell
The world of film welcomed Jaime with open arms as she worked with a completely student-run team to create, "A Short Trip to Hell." The murder-mystery short film premiered at the Fright Knights Film Festival in October as part of LCA UCF. This was Jaime's first time being cast in a short-film, and she was excited to finally put her on-camera training to work!
The Crucible
Jaime was cast as Susanna Walcott in Moment 2 Moment Productions' performance of "The Crucible." As Covid-19 restrictions began to loosen, Jaime was simply thrilled to have the opportunity to participate in live theatre with an in-person rehearsal process again. For everyone's health and safety, the M2M team decided that masks were mandatory and the production would take place outside. Although these factors have become the new norm, there were always challenges to overcome as a team. This was also Jaime's first time performing at an outdoor venue, which added even more to her learning experience.
Still Life With Iris
Jaime loved embracing her inner child as the title character, in Celebrate TYA UCF's virtual reading of "Still Life With Iris." Getting to bring such a fun, fantasy story to life through a virtual platform, reminded Jaime how much appreciation she has for the magic of theatre.