Leading ladies 4th grader is nominated for Best Child Actress at film festival
Ten-year-old Tenley Boushek of New Prague was nominated for Best Child Actress at Z-Fest Film Festival for her role in "The Puppet King,” a short horror film directed by Nick Michael. Tenley is pictured with her mom, actress Sonya Boushek, who was also recognized at the festival. Tenley is holding the doll from the “The Doll” and wearing the crown from “The Puppet King”—films in which she held lead roles. (Photo courtesy of Sonya Boushek)
She’s 10 and has already starred in multiple films.
Tenley Boushek, daughter of Devin and Sonya Boushek of New Prague, just completed fourth grade at New Prague’s Falcon Ridge Elementary and was recently nominated for the Best Child Actress award at Z-Fest Film Festival, an annual Twin Cities based contest-style film festival that features original, seven-minute, short films.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Tenley said. “I do a lot of auditions, and I don’t get every role, but it’s really fun when I do get one!”
The young actress started performing as a dancer at the age of two.
Then, she got involved in theater and fell in love with acting.
Small roles led to bigger roles, which led to more opportunities and more performances, and eventually, she started auditioning for commercials and short films.
As a kindergartener, Tenley landed a role in the short film “Lemon Shark” directed by Kate Nowlin, which helped her learn the ropes of the film world and begin networking with other filmmakers.
Her resume now lists multiple commercials—including a short promotional film for Mountain Dew—a music video, and a dozen short films, ranging from feature Hallmark productions (“Christmas Inn Farmstead”) to short films.
“She’s driving all of this,” Tenley’s mom explained with a smile. “I grew up doing modeling and theater and some film work, but I never told my kids about any of it. Tenley discovered all of this pretty much on her own, and I’m along for the ride—supporting her and driving her where she needs to be.”
The mom-daughter duo has even managed to land...
To see more on this story pick up the June 16, 2022 print edition of The New Prague Times.
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