Meet Amani Summer | Actress and Children’s Book Author

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amani Summer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amani, how does your business help the community?
I help impact the community through my career and my personal life. As a kid actress, I bring joy and entertainment to others through my work. In my personal life, I spend time giving back to the community by volunteering at nursing homes. I also use money that I have earned through acting to donate to various organizations. Some of the organizations include a women and children’s homeless shelter, The Ronald McDonald House, St Jude Research Hospital, The Humane Society, food pantries, and more. Each year, I host a toy drive for Christmas to support children going through a hard time. I get my Christmas joy by knowing I am able to help make another kid’s Christmas a little better.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
As an 11 year-old actress, what I feel sets me apart from others is my genuine love for the craft. Fame and money do not excite me. That is not why I do it. I just love being a part of bringing someone else’s ideas off the paper and onto the screen.

I am most proud of every audition, callback, and booking. I work hard in everything that I do, so I am proud of my work because I know that I give it my all.

My mom put me in an acting camp at The Actor’s Scene when I was 4. One of the acting Coaches (Coach Briona) told my mom that she thought I would do really well with acting, and she should put me in classes. My mom put me in classes for that year, they had a showcase, and I got my agent, Carol Shaignaw. Carol started submitting me for projects. At first, I just kept auditioning, but I was not booking anything. I did not get discouraged because I learned that auditioning is just part of the job. I just kept praying and working with various acting coaches. Then, when I was 7, I booked my first feature film, The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster! Coach Diana Lovell worked with me on the audition. Since then, I have been in several commercials, TV shows, and movies. My acting coach Alicia helped with some of my TV show bookings. Through this process, I learned that if it is for me, it is for me. God opens the doors that He wants me to have. So I just do the audition and I let it go! If I get it, great! If not, I don’t get discouraged because I know there will be another opportunity. The ones I do not get just means it was meant for someone else.

I am also a children’s book author of Addy You Are A Fish. As a children’s book author, what I feel sets me apart is that I really love helping younger kids get excited about reading! I enjoy doing storytime with them. My book helps provide opportunities to connect with them and to speak at events to motivate others.

I am most proud of myself for stepping out of my comfort zone and speaking at a school to a group of 8th graders about my book when I was in 5th grade. I was a little nervous, but I did it!

One challenge I faced as an author was getting my book published. It took forever to get the illustrations how we wanted them. Instead of getting discouraged while we waited for the illustrations, my mom let me start a read-aloud YouTube channel to help promote other children’s books.

What I want the world to know about me is, it has taken alot of hardwork and late nights to get where I am. I will not give up when things get tough. I will continue to push through to reach my goals. So keep watching because God still has a lot more for me to do!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
When I am not working I enjoy just being a kid! There are so many things for kids to do and places to eat!
First we need to stop by Snooze for breakfast.
We would probably go to Beat The Bomb because we would have to work together to get out of each room. If it’s a nice day outside, we could go to Treetop Quest so we can zipline through the trees or take a ride on the ferris wheel downtown. One day we could walk the Atlanta Beltline and eat at some of the restaurants.

Atlanta has some beautiful murals. It would be nice for us to just go around to see all of the creative murals.

We could also catch a movie at the Regal in Atlantic Station. Afterwards, we could eat at one of the restaurants. I love dancing so of course, we could not leave without making some dance videos in the green space!

If we wanted a sweet treat we could go to Fluffy Fluffy or Insomnia Cookies.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to give a shoutout to God for giving me the talents, and my mom for helping manage everything. She invests her time helping me accomplish my goals and dreams. When she sees that I am interested in something or I have an idea, she does her best to help me make it happen! She has also taught me the importance of prayer, giving back to others, and not doing things that go against my values and morals. She motivates me in everything I do, and she is always there to cheer me on!
Also shoutout to:
My family and friends who support me.
Agent-Carol
Acting Coaches- Alicia and Diana
The first person to give me a chance in a feature film-Bomani Story.
All the casting directors, producers, directors, that have booked me and everyone who has helped guide my mom along the way.
And of course huge shoutout to Shoutout Atlanta for sharing my story!

Website: https://www.amanisummer.com

Instagram: @amanisummer_

Youtube: @summerzworld

Other: Storytime With Summer YouTube- @summerzstorytime

Storytime With Summer Instagram-@summerzstorytime

Image Credits
Antwaun Way