Brambleton Teen Featured on Pilot TV Show

Ever want to be on TV?

Sydney Wayne, 13, of Brambleton, might soon be able to cross that wish off her list. The Stone Hill Middle School student took part in the taping of a pilot episode for a start-up TV show called "The Chillin' Show." 

"The Chillin' Show" will feature local students and cover a variety of topics of interest to teens.

Wayne was a model in the second pilot episode of the show, which highlighted the importance of recycling clothing because it is better for the environment and saves money.

The episode features a game-show style competition to see which students could best dress and accessorize two models, using second-hand clothing. In the final bonus round, the teams were asked to get extra creative and make an outfit using potato sacks.

"It was a lot of fun. I liked all the cool outfits and looking at all the clothes that they have," she said, referring to a trendy, new consignment store called Plato's Closet,  where the pilot was taped. The store, which opened in September, is located at the Dulles Eastern Plaza, in Sterling and sells second-hand, name brand fashions for teens and twentysomethings.

Wayne's mother, Jennifer, who was at the taping, was also impressed with the store and the idea of getting brand name clothes at a fraction of the retail price.

"I was blown away by the store," Jennifer Wayne said. "It's amazing. We're sold."

Store owner, Elaine Singer, said the store has been doing brisk business.

"It's been extremely well received," she said. "We've been breaking all our sales goals since we opened."

Unlike other consignment stores, Plato's Closet will pay you on the spot for clothing that you sell to them. But the store only accepts clothes that are in season, in good condition, and no older than 18 months.

The show featured fashion marketing students from Herndon High School and staff from Plato's Closet, who helped judge the competition. The episode also included students from Sterling and Burke, VA, as well as Marymount University in Arlington, VA. The hosts of  "The Chillin' Show" are sisters Abby and Alexa Miller, 13 and 16, respectively, of Sterling.

Abby Miller is a local musician that already has a large fan base on YouTube with 10,000 daily viewers. She also recently worked with Ashburn resident Taylor Love to help raise money for a charity that researches a type of cancer from which Love suffers.

"The Chillin' Show" is the latest project of Fairfax, VA, Emmy award-winning producer, Mike Gillette. Gillette, who has an 8-year-old daughter, said his inspiration came from that fact that he wanted to give kids more substantive television shows to watch.

"'The Chillin' Show' fits my goals, which are to reach people in different ways, when they're not expecting it. Each episode will have a specific message for young people." Gillette said. "We'll cover things that the network television shows aren't. But we'll keep it real, local and simple, and it will be fun, watchable TV."

Gillette, who has worked with Miller on other projects, liked the interaction between Abby and her older sister, Alexa, and thought the chemistry between the sisters was perfect for the show, whose target audience will be primarily girls between 13 and 17 years old.

The first, pilot episode of the show included an interview with the band Parachute and stressed the importance of staying in school. A third, pilot episode will feature "The Chillin' Show" hosts speaking with child psychologists about a variety of issues that adolescent girls face.

Gillette hopes to sell the show to a cable network and also run it as a web-based show. The show will feature local students in locations around the Washington, DC, metro area.