Have you ever met someone who immediately drew your attention and intrigued you? That, my dear friends, is called charisma, and not everyone has it, but you will definitely know when you meet someone who does.
The word charisma stems from the Greek word kharisma (favour, grace) and means “compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others”. Roslyn (Triandafillia) Rayias not only has tremendous charisma herself, but has built a career around spotting it in others.
Like many of us, Roslyn and her two siblings were raised in a blue-collar home by her loving parents, who placed a huge emphasis on education and working hard. Her dad was born in Alexandria, Egypt, with roots in Lemnos, and her mother being from Messologi, she was raised in a very proud Greek home, establishing pride for her Greek heritage from a very young age.
As the baby of the family − Roslyn’s siblings were older than her by 11 and 12 years − she was slightly spoilt but also very well taken care of. She speaks of her siblings fondly, describing her brother especially as a father figure in her life. Ros is not the only overachiever in the family − her brother has opened a school in Nepal and named it after their late father, George Papayianneris.
Roslyn studied arts at university, but with no particular passion for it. She tells me she never had an end in mind, never knew where she was going with it, but knew that an education was vital if she ever wanted to be successful. Strongly influenced by her sister’s career, however, Roslyn ended up working in banking for 11 years, as well as keeping her creative juices flowing, involving herself in theatre, enrolling with EEAMA social club for some fun. She had studied drama as a VCE subject, so it had always been something she was very interested in, and also a passion all three of her children have inherited.
One night in December of 1996 she, like many other Greek girls of that generation, found herself at Cafe Greco with her friends, having a fun night out. She spotted her now husband Costas sitting at another table, and, being the confident person that she is, wasted no time waiting for fate to intervene, nor did she play coy, waiting for him to notice her and potentially miss out on the man of her dreams; she took the bull by the horns and rode that bull over to his booth, where she propped up a chair next to him, started chatting, and the rest, as they say, is history. Five years later they were married, in a small wedding with 370 of their closest and dearest friends and family. I say small because Ros tells me most of Costas’ family lives in Cyprus and couldn’t make it, so it could have been much bigger.
After the loss of her father, and with her mother’s health taking a bad turn, Roslyn stopped working to help nurse her mother and take care of her children, Ellie, Peter and George. Her bond with her family is everything to her and you can see how much they adore her instantly. A self-proclaimed “helicopter mum”, Roslyn admits that no matter how busy her work life gets, she prefers a nanny to childcare, so that she can always have her family close by and be available to them just as her parents were for her.
During this stint as a stay at home mum, Roslyn found a talent agent to represent her and possibly do some casual work where possible. It was this experience, where Roslyn saw gaps in her technique and ways that she felt she could do the job better, that got her thinking of opening her own agency. Hesitant, with no clients, talent or connections, it was a very risky move to make, but she is now so grateful she did it. She can confidently say she completely built it up from nothing to over 600 local talents, as well as some national and international. A quick look at her site reviews will have you see one of the biggest casting agents singing her praises publicly.
RPR (Roslyn Papayianneris Rayias) talent agency is kicking goals, growing bigger and bigger every year. Roslyn’s biggest achievement yet, silver in the 2015 Aus Mumpreneur awards, in the Service Business category. This stemmed from a surprise nomination that still remains a mystery to her. This year she was honoured with a request to be on the judging panel. With big name clients such as Coles, Neighbours, House Husbands and Target, the agency is currently looking to expand and open another office in NSW soon.
Wanting to shatter a common misconception of what people think talent agencies are, Roslyn strongly suggests people come to an open day which she tries to hold quarterly for people, and more so families, to come along, get some information and see what RPR is all about. They are looking for real people and real families with real dynamics, of all different types of looks and ethnicities, and while skilled actors are definitely a part of it, the majority of her talent regularly get work as extras and on TV commercials where no acting experience is required.
The next open day is on 15 February and should definitely be placed into your calendar. For more information and to stay informed, find them on Facebook www.facebook.com/RprTalentManagement/, on the website www.rprtalent.com.au or Instagram www.instagram.com/rprtalent/ and subscribe to their posts.
* Zoe George is The Subtle Mummy (thesubtlemummy.com.au)