Last summer, when Garage Sale Mystery had its special limited series event during the month of August, the installment entitled The Beach Murder featured a young lady whom I recognized but couldn’t quite place. As the potential love interest of Logan Shannon (played by Connor Stanhope), Yasmeene Ball waltzed onto the screen with vivacity and elegance beyond her years. Since that time, I have noticed the considerable number of works that have featured her talents, and I knew I wanted to interview her. In light of the upcoming premiere of Marrying Mr. Darcy this evening (June 2nd) on the Hallmark Channel, Yasmeene took some time to answer a few questions about her career thus far.

RH: What inspired you to become an actress? What kind of training have you had?

YB: I love the idea of being able to tell a story through actions and emotions while portraying someone other than myself.

Although I haven’t had any formal training, my experience with each character I play or audition for is by an instinctual understanding of what the character is going through at that moment and then portraying it as accurately as possible.

Over the years, I have had coaching for major feature films when I was in the final contention for a role, and I have also done network testing for TV series. I think an actor grows with no limitations and learns their inner strengths with each new experience.

What was your first professional job? What are your memories of how you got the job and your experience working on it?

Motive

My first professional job was on a season finale episode of a TV series called Motive (crime,/mystery, drama). I auditioned for the role to play a young Julie Dyer. This character is traumatized in the opening scene, which was different and fun for me to play. I was very excited to work with Warren Christie and Kristin Lehman!

Please tell us about your experience on the UP film The Tree That Saved Christmas.  Any special memories while filming it?

The Tree That Saved Christmas

On The Tree That Saved Christmas, I was ten years old, and being cast in this movie was my first lead role. I played Victoria, who was one of two daughters of a very busy dad and corporate executive (played by Jim Thorburn … Tammy Gillis‘ husband!). David Winning was the director and was incredible to work with. Lacey Chabert starred in this movie, and she too was a lot of fun.

The Tree That Saved Christmas (with Lacey Chabert, Jim Thorburn, and Alisha Newton)

A special memory that comes to mind when thinking back to filming was when Alisha {Newton} (who played my sister) and I found a really cute kitten in a barn on the Christmas tree farm where we were filming and we took turns snuggling with it in between takes.

You had a recurring role on Supernatural. How did that come about? What was the experience like filming that show? What has been the fan response to your character?

With Jared and Jensen
Supernatural

Supernatural was a lot of fun! I recur in three episodes of season eleven playing a character named Amara (tween / teenage years). Playing Amara was interesting as she was unaware of exactly who she is and also of her special powers which she explores as she ages. Amara was fun to play as she would go into a trance-like state to initiate her powers which would catch others off guard.

My overall experience on this show was everything one would imagine it would be like… a lot of fun!

With Jensen
Supernatural

Supernatural has a huge fan base (similar to the amazing Hallmark fan groups: Hearties, Darcies, etc.), and their response to Amara was better than we could have hoped for. Years have passed and I still have people ask about Amara …I love it! My on-set experience was really neat as one of the main leads, Jensen {Ackles}, directed the first episode that I worked on. On the last day of my last episode, in my trailer, I found a lengthy hand-written note from both Jared {Padalecki} and Jensen along with a gift which was very special and completely unexpected… something I’ll always
treasure.

I saw you in Who Killed My Husband? You got to work with Lini Evans and David Winning amongst others. Your role was very intense. How did you get into character in the amazing way you did? Were there any special challenges in playing your role? What was the on-set atmosphere like? What was it like working with David and with Lini?

Who Killed My Husband?
with Andrea Bowen

Who Killed My Husband? (originally titled Under Fire) was a fun project to work on and was also a
reunion for David, Lini, Jim and I (we had worked together previously on The Tree That Saved Christmas). I am so thankful to have had an opportunity to work with all of them on multiple projects… they are all extremely kind and warm-hearted. I hope to work on many more projects with each of them!

The on-set atmosphere was relaxed, with the exception of a couple very sad yet significant scenes … these scenes had Lini, Andrea Bowen and I crying for a long time. The character I play, Chloe, experiences dire health issues. She has a life-threatening asthma condition which can lead to respiratory failure. This role required some research for me to gain a better understanding of asthma attacks and how dangerous they can be.

Currently, we can see you in Travelers. What was it like being a part of this show? Any special memories or moments? What can you tell us about your character without ruining the storyline? What episodes can we see your character?

Travelers

Travelers is an incredible show and is very special to me in many ways. Eric McCormack and the entire cast and crew were all very welcoming and amazing to work with!

Travelers
With Eric McCormack

I was originally cast in season 1, episode 5 as a misfire traveler historian. They brought me back to recur for the season finale, episode 12 as a traveler assassin. My role as Charlotte was fun to play as she is an ordinary girl whose life is instantly altered forever after being selected to become someone she is not. This role was very intense and required many levels of emotion. Travelers also trained me in martial arts to have Charlotte become a ninja 😉

I won’t share too much more as this could possibly ruin episodes for those who haven’t watched. I am very proud to be involved with this show.

Last summer, we saw you in Garage Sale Mystery: The Beach Murders. What was it like being a part of one of the most popular (if not the most popular) mystery movie series on Hallmark? Any special moments from filming?

Thank you Hallmark for welcoming me as a cast member on their popular GSM series! Joining GSM was my first project with Hallmark and I loved every second of it!! The cast and crew were all amazing.

Garage Sale Mystery

There were many special moments and memories made while filming. I am always thankful for the opportunity to meet and work with new people and make new friends on set while doing what we love. I also love to reunite with people that I’ve worked with previously. It was fun to see the key hair stylist, Shelly Jones, who I also worked with on the family movie Monkey Up! (Air Bud Entertainment).

You also got to be on The Good Doctor (one of our family’s FAVORITE shows). What was it like working on that show with that cast?

The Good Doctor is such a unique, true-to-life, raw and inspiring TV series! I was thrilled to be cast on this show and help contribute its message that we are all one… to ALWAYS be kind. This show is very deserving of its enormous success and the cast were all absolutely wonderful to work with!!

We also can see you on season two of A Series of Unfortunate Events. Please tell us a little about your character and what it was like working on that set. (My daughter and I are huge fans of that show).

Marrying Mr. Darcy

Yes, I play the character of Carmelita’s Lackey on season two of ASOUE, and there was a possibility of recurring in season two and season three. Carmelita is a very high-spirited girl and my character was one of her biggest supporters. The cast on this show were very fun to work with and many of us have stayed in touch since. Fun fact: Dylan {Kingwell} (who plays one of the Quagmire twins) and I also worked together on The Good Doctor.

I noticed you are in the upcoming film Marrying Mr. Darcy! If you didn’t know, that film came about through the hard work of the fans and is a much-anticipated sequel. Please tell us about your character and how your character fits into the story without giving any spoilers, of course.

With Cindy Busby
Marrying Mr. Darcy

Yes!! 🙂 I play the character Zara Darcy. On our first day working together, Cindy {Busby} and Ryan {Paevey} both mentioned the massive fan support of Unleashing Mr. Darcy and also how the fans’ excitement and infectious enthusiasm for the movie led to this sequel. This is amazing!! The anticipation and excitement on social media have been building as the fans and cast unite together to count down the days until the premiere of Marrying Mr. Darcy. The Darcy movie fans are incredible and are absolutely adored by each and every cast member on this show.

Marrying Mr. Darcy
with Frances Fisher

To share a little bit about Zara: she loves and admires her older brother Donovan; she approves of his relationship with Elizabeth; she is close to her Aunt Violet; she is very supportive of her family as well as the Scott family.

This project had such a fun atmosphere: Cindy, Ryan, Frances {Fisher},

With Ryan Paevey
Marrying Mr. Darcy

Tammy, Elizabeth {McLaughlin}, Ryan Kennedy, and Lini (our third project together!). Teaka, Tally and Gidget (Bliss, Jax and Rose), director Steven Monroe, executive producers and producers, the sound team, hair and make-up, AD’s, the entire cast and crew, Teri Wilson joining us on set, etc…. everyone was so kind and awesome!! I’m grateful for the special memories, laughs and good times. I am so thrilled, honoured, and thankful to be joining this wonderful group and very grateful to be part of this Hallmark experience. xo

Any other upcoming works you can mention?

I can’t mention any specific details at the moment, but I can share that I am currently waiting to hear back on a few different projects.

Photo by Ian Redd Headshots © Ian Redd Photography

How does school work for you when you are filming?

While filming, I have an on-set tutor. When I’m not filming, I am enrolled in a hybrid format program at my high school that offers a combination of classroom and online courses which works well with the flexibility that’s often required as an actor.

If you were asked to describe yourself in five words, what words would you use? 

Thankful
Calm
Ambitious
Athletic
Bookworm 🙂

I don’t intend on ever sounding like a broken record, but interviewing young people is a responsibility that I treasure probably even more than some of my adult interviews. There is something about the delight and enthusiasm of youth that many of us abandon as we grow older. Moreover, negativity in today’s world is rampant in every form of media and environment imaginable, and it is quite easy to become jaded and assume that all young people are on an erroneous path, thus producing utterly shattered lives for these troubled teens. Having the opportunity to connect with Yasmeene (who was extremely circumspect in ensuring that her answers were thorough and correct) was a delectable treat, and there is no doubt that this young lady is choosing the proper path to pursue which will conclusively lead to a life lived above the din of the rebellious souls that are clamoring for every sort of depravity possible. Yasmeene stands out as a gifted, budding actress who is pursuing her dreams and refusing to become sidetracked by things that don’t matter and could potentially and inexorably ravage her life.

I sincerely hope that all my U.S. readers will tune their channels to the Hallmark Channel on Saturday, June 2nd (hopefully networks in other countries will carry this long-awaited sequel relatively soon as well) and watch the premiere that is bound to be the social media phenomenon of June as Hallmark kicks off its “June Weddings” programming. Additionally, if you are so inclined, please visit all of Yasmeene’s links below and consider following this effervescent young lady and supporting her in all her future endeavors. Although she has been involved in the entertainment community for a relatively short time at this stage in her life, if I don’t miss my guess, this young lady is well on her way to incredible stardom of which even she may not be able to conceive at this present moment. Indeed, I long for the day when I can proudly”boast” to others within my circle of influence, “And to think I knew Yasmeene when…” 

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