Meet Y&R's Sasha Calle (Article about Lola)

[Lynn1]

From the September 17, 2018 issue of Soap Opera Digest (pp. 4-5):

Meet Y&R's Sasha Calle

Prior to being hired to play Y&R's Lola Rosales, newcomer Sasha Calle was trying hard not to be discouraged after losing out on several parts.  "I actually moved by myself when I was 18 to L.A. for college and I graduated with my BFA in Performing Arts," recounts the actress.  "We had a showcase when I graduated a year ago and I got my agents, and since graduation they were sending me out on auditions like crazy.  We would get so far and it was just, 'No, no, no, no.'  I would call my mom and say, 'It's okay, we've got this.  Don't give up on me.  Believe in me.'  But it was really rough because of so many 'no's'."

That changed when Calle tried out for Y&R, although it would take a while for her new role to come to fruition.  "I actually auditioned for Lola two months before and it was two months until they called me again," she shares.  "We did that one audition, and then two months later they called my agency and said, 'We want to test her.'  I was like, 'Oh, okay!  And they said, 'And we want you to read on Wednesday,' and I said, 'It's Monday,' and they said, 'Yes,' and I was like, 'Okay!' "

This time, Calle read with Michael Mealor (Kyle).  "It was a beautiful test, I mean, it was so lovely," she smiles.  "They wanted to know all about me, they asked me questions about my life and we laughed a lot.  I left and I called my agency and said, 'It couldn't have gone better, I think.'  And then 40 minutes later they called me to say I got it.  I was so happy and I started crying."

Since Lola operates a food truck business called La Vida Lola, Calle's first day at work was shot outside and she worked with Mealor.  "The food truck is new and I was so excited when I saw it," she enthuses.  "It was incredible.  After we were done, I looked at Michael and asked, 'Did we do good?' and he said, 'Yes.'  He's great!  If I have any questions, he'll answer them.  I'll ask, 'Michael, what do I do?' and he'll say, 'You just chill for now,' and I'm like, 'Great!' "

On her first day, Calle also met he soap brothers, Jordi Vilasuso (Rey) and Jason Canela (Arturo).  "They're amazing!  They feel like brothers!" she reports.  "One day after set, Jason said he was going to work out and I said, 'I'll come with you!'  They feel like my brothers already.  It's been very interesting for me as an actress to work with different people.  And especially for soaps, you just meet them and they throw you in there; you don't really have time to rehearse.  It's so astonishing for me, and it's wonderful.  It's going to be such a wonderful experience to play Lola.  She's sassy and a lot of fun."

Executive Producer/Head Writer Mal Young reveals that he has big plans for the Rosales family.  "They will be a different tone for the show and have got their own journey to go on," he explains.  "They'll interact pretty much with every character on the canvas, but they also have some big, dark secrets that will be stories on their own."