Dylan Conrique is a breath of fresh air.

With an authentic vibe and down-to-earth style, you may not initially suspect that the 13-year-old actress has rocketed to tween stardom in the past year.  However, it’s exactly this fun-loving personality that’s won Dylan fans, from her role on the web series Chicken Girls to her fast-growing Instagram following of over 300,000.

On Chicken Girls, Dylan stars as Kayla: a refreshing and sarcastic high schooler who helps balance out the drama of the ensemble cast.  Chicken Girls, produced by Brat, is currently in its second season and will premiere as a feature-length film this spring.  Other cast members include Annie LeBlanc, Hayley LeBlanc, Carson Lueders, and Hayden Summerall.

Besides acting on Chicken Girls, Dylan is continuing to pursue both her acting and singing careers.  Her singing covers on YouTube have hundreds of thousands of views, and she’ll be performing live on the DigiTour this spring.

Everly Mag got the opportunity to talk to Dylan about Chicken Girls, acting alongside her brother and best friends, her future in singing, and her advice for aspiring actors trying to break into the business.

Everly Mag: How did you get started on Chicken Girls?

Dylan: I was asked to be on Chicken Girls from friends I knew in the business.  The first day on set was amazing, as a lot of my friends [are] on the show and we all get along like family.

Everly Mag: How are you similar to your character, Kayla, on Chicken Girls?  How are you different?

Dylan: [Kayla] is funny and she knows what she wants.  She has lots of friends and loves to dance with her team.  I am similar to Kayla, as I dance and am friends with everyone outside of Chicken Girls.  [We’re] not really different, as the role and I have really molded one another.

Everly Mag: What’s a typical day like on the Chicken Girls set?  What are the easiest and hardest parts of filming the show?

Dylan: There is a lot of sitting around on set.  We get into hair and makeup, then usually start school.  Even though we are working, we are required to do a certain amount of schoolwork.  Somedays it’s hard if we are filming for most of the day, but most days we have time in between takes.

The easiest part of filming is probably working with my friends.  We are so comfortable with each other already that acting comes natural.  The challenging part is when we start laughing and have to be serious, then someone looks at someone else and it starts all over.

Everly Mag: What’s it like to act with so many other kids your age?  Do you have a closest friend on set?  What do you like to do on set when you’re not filming?

Dylan: I love working with kids my own age.  We have so much in common.  My closest friend would have to be…haha, not sure, I love them all.  When we’re not filming, we are doing schoolwork.  If we have no schoolwork, we might play games, work on our social media, read a book, or just talk.

Everly Mag: Describe your personality in 3 words.

Dylan: Funny (at least I think so), confident, and humble.

Everly Mag: What made you want to become an actress?

Dylan: I love performing in front of people.  Acting is easier than singing in front of people, so it was just the next step when I moved to Los Angeles.

Everly Mag: What do you look for in a friend?  What do you like to do with your friends?

Dylan: I look for someone who I can talk to and who doesn’t judge me.  [My friends and I] go to dinner, hang out at the mall, bowl, and go to the movies.  Sometimes, we just hang out and play video games.

Everly Mag: What advice do you have for teens and tweens who want to become actors?

Dylan: Don’t give up on your dreams.  It is very hard to do this and it seems very glamorous.  It’s hard work and a lot of rejection.  After an audition, I have to move onto the next one.  If you dwell on it or let it get into your head about getting the role, it will drive you crazy.  If you get it, yeah!

Everly Mag:  We saw that you’ve posted a lot of singing videos on YouTube.  Will you be singing on Chicken Girls or in any other upcoming projects?

Dylan: I would like to sing in some of the upcoming episodes, but we will have to wait and see.  I am singing at the DigiTour coming up.  I am going to be at about 10 stops.  I will have new music on my YouTube channel soon – March 4 will be a new cover.

Everly Mag: What should fans look forward to at the DigiTour this spring?

Dylan: The DigiTour is going to be exciting.  I will be singing a few songs at each stop, most likely a cover or two and an original.

Everly Mag: How does it feel to meet your fans?

Dylan: I love meeting fans.  They keep me inspired to keep doing what I do.

Everly Mag: What are the best and worst things about social media?

Dylan: I think social media is our generation’s platform.  It’s driven by kids our age, and we can control our future through it.  The worst thing is that sometimes people can say really mean things.  They don’t see you face-to-face, so they feel okay saying terrible things about you.  There is no accountability sometimes, other than deleting comments or posts and blocking them.

Everly Mag: How can kids spread more positivity and become more confident on social media?

Dylan: I think kids can keep it clean, nice, and be kind to each other through social media. You never know how someone else is feeling, and sometimes a nice word means a lot from a stranger.  Never compare [yourself] to others, we are all different.  We do things at different paces and levels.  It is hard, but someone wise told us early on that “You don’t get invited to every event.”  This has helped as we grow and are invited to more things – we understand how the process works.

Everly Mag: What’s something our readers should know about you?

Dylan: I grew up on a farm.  Not many people know that.  I ride a 4 wheeler and love the dirt.  I have a horse that I ride, too.

Everly Mag: What’s it like acting with your brother Caden?  How are you alike and how are you different?

Dylan: I love acting with Caden.  We have actually gotten a lot of jobs together besides Chicken Girls.  We have done commercials and print together.  We are very close.  We grew up on a farm, so it was [Caden and me] with all the animals, horses, cows, dogs, cats, and a pig.

[Caden and I] are very similar in that we care a lot about people and how they feel.  We are both hard workers and appreciate the downtime.  We do have the same friends, so we are together all the time.  I guess we are different in that we aren’t twins, as a lot of people think.  [Overall], we are very similar.

Check out Everly Mag’s interview with Caden here.

Everly Mag: What can viewers look forward to for the future of Chicken Girls?

Dylan: Lots of twists and turns.  Some new characters and more suspense.  Lots of really great things coming.

See more of Dylan on Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.  Did you catch Dylan and Caden taking over the Everly Mag Instagram?

Want to hear more about Chicken Girls?  Read Everly Mag’s article about the YouTube series or check out an episode.

Want to get involved with Everly?  Contact us through email or Instagram and apply to be an Everly Ambassador today.

Feature Image Credit: Brat