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Your upcoming movie The Cellar - in a few words, what's it
about, and what can you tell us about your character in it?
The Cellar is about a young girl, Abigail, who joins a church congregation in order to
find refuge, however, after joining the congregation she becomes
suspicious of the inner workings of the church, and after asking too many
questions, she finds herself imprisoned underground in The
Cellar with no recollection of how she got there.
Abigail is a very fragile and trusting girl, who is extremely vulnerable to the
outside world. Abigail longs for a support network to help her find
stability and to be able to heal from her childhood, however, due to her
naivety she finds herself in immense danger, fighting for her life to
get out. What
did you draw upon to bring your character to life, and how much Meghan
Adara can we find in her? To
bring Abigail to life I made notes on the characteristics from within
the script and from her past experiences that I created in my character
backstory such as upbringing etc, researching into these specifics to
what the overall impact would be on personality and mental health, to
see if we had any similarities that I could use to influence my
performance and characterisation. Having analysed and made notes, on a
personal level I could identify with some of the issues that she has
faced, and so I drew upon my own personal experiences to bring a part of
me into Abigail, connecting these experiences to my research in order to
build a genuine and believable performance. How did you get involved with
the project in the first place? I
got involved with this project by director Jamie Langlands getting in touch and asking me
if I would be interested in being a part of it. Having read the script I
absolutely loved the concept and wasn’t a genre that I had done before
so I jumped at the opportunity. At first I just thought I would be
playing one of the supporting roles, so to find out that Jamie wanted me
to play the lead role I felt honoured to be given the opportunity and really
excited to get started.
To what extent could you identify with The Cellar's approach to science fiction and horror?
I have worked on a few horror films over the years, so this is a genre that I am
quite familiar with and absolutely love working on, but I haven’t
worked on many sci-fi projects before, so it wasn’t a genre that I
instantly identified with, and has been quite a different experience to
what I am used to working on. In order to prepare for this project I did
a lot of research into religions, cults and human experiments etc, as
these are some of the main themes throughout the film and connected
these themes to reality based on the research I conducted. This enabled
me to create a detailed background for both Abigail and the formation
and history of the church congregation she becomes a member of,
connecting fiction to real life events. What
can you tell us about The Cellar's director Jamie Langlands, and
what was your collaboration like? Jamie
and I have worked together on various projects over the past couple of
years, getting to work with Jamie on any project is always such a great
experience as we get on really well and so to be able to work with him
on this has been such an amazing opportunity and a lot of fun. Although
we have worked together previously it has always been as castmates and
so going into this project with Jamie in a different role, it has been
really intriguing to see a different side to him. What I have loved
about working with Jamie as the director is he has given me free reign
to make my own choices about how to play the character, and I think that
is because we have worked together before so we know that we can trust
each other on these decisions. A few words about the
shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
The shoot has been a lot of fun to work on and I would say that the overall
atmosphere has been quite relaxed and chilled, despite the genre of the
piece. Having all worked together before, we all get on really well and
it has been a great opportunity to have all come together to work on
another project, which has taken away some of the on-set nerves and
pressures. Before
each scene, Jamie speaks with each actor, talking us through what the
overall plan is, what each individual character is going through in that
particular scene in order to really convey the intentions and emotions
and how many shots there will be.
From what I
know, a campaign to raise finishing funds for The Cellar is
currently under way - so could you talk about that fundraiser for a bit?
Yes, so we have already had 4 days on set, however, in order to be able to
complete the film Jamie has created a IndieGoGo page to raise some
additional funds to secure the last vital locations needed for the
project. If you are interested in supporting our IndieGoGo campaign,
there are some additional perks, some of which are super exciting that
you can choose from, including:
- A Social Media Shout Out,
- A Thank You Credit,
- A Digital Copy of Film,
- Behind the Scenes Photos,
- A Signed Copy of the Script,
- A Day on Set,
- A Role in the Film,
- Associate Producer Credit,
- Executive Producer Credit and
- Co-producer Credit.
If
you wish donate, you can find additional information about our IndieGoGo
campaign here:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-cellar-horror-feature-film-finishing-funds#
Any
future projects you'd like to share?
Yes
absolutely, thank you for asking. I have numerous projects I am working
on at the moment, ranging from feature films, short films and TV shows
but I’ll just mention a few that I have upcoming.
- Therapy
(feature film), written and directed by Scott Clist. Currently in
pre-production, due to start shooting at the end of March/early
April.
- South
Parade (feature film), written and directed by Tom Walters. Currently in
pre-production, due to start shooting later this year.
- Hegemony (feature film), written and directed by Allan McTaggart.
In production.
- Adam’s Attic (feature film), written and directed by Luke Mepham and
produced by the production company Macroverse Films. Currently in
pre-production, due to start filming later this year.
- WallDale
(TV show), written and directed by Matthew Cathcart
and produced by the production company Golden Horizons. In post-production. You can check it out on IMDb here:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26424426/
- Crook
(short film), written and directed by Nadiira Omar and produced by
Primaryuh. Currently in pre-production, due to start filming at the
end of March.
I would also love to announce that my latest short film Apart has
been released on YouTube. Written and directed by Ben Wood. Apart
will
also be entered into film festivals as well, so keep an eye out for it.
Here is the synopsis:
‘A short social realism film portraying a day in the life of a young single
mother, living away from her son’.
I am really proud of this short film and I had such a wonderful time
getting to play the lead role, Tara. It was such a great experience from
pre-production to being on set getting to work with such talented
individuals, and I will hold this project and character very close to my
heart for years to come. Working with Ben on this project was such a
privilege and he was so supportive throughout every step of production.
This role really enabled me to really challenge myself as an actress, and
I was able to delve deep into the role of Tara, completely immersing
myself in the character and the world in which Ben created. You can find the link to the film here:
https://youtu.be/N6VbnmQySho?si=IoLKPlimI2LAh4ex
What got you into
acting in the first place, and did you receive any formal education on the
subject?
I had always enjoyed performing from a young age where I would put on
little shows with my friends to perform to my family and their families
just for fun, but never thought I would end up pursuing it as a career.
However, one day when I was over at my friend's house she asked me if I
wanted to go with her to her theatre workshop that she attended weekly.
Being extremely shy and reserved when I was younger I was quite nervous
about going and didn’t think that I would enjoy it but decided to give
it a go. I ended up enjoying it so much that I became a member and
attended weekly. Having attended that theatre workshop I realised that acting was something that I had great interest in, leading me to attend
summer drama workshops during the summer holidays and to take Drama as
one of my G.C.S.E options.
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From there I continued my training at college on the Level 2 Production and
Performance Course, progressing onto the Level 3 Acting Course. While at
college I became a member of a local theatre company in Brighton, where
I was scouted by an agent while performing at Brighton Fringe. Having
graduated from college I took a year out before applying for drama schools as I didn’t feel as though I was ready for
university. During that year I worked as an extra on some feature films and TV shows in
order to gain more professional experience and continue to develop my
skills as an actress working on a set outside of education. When the
applications for drama school reopened the following year I felt as
though from the experience I had gained, that I was ready to start
applying and so applied for 4 different drama schools being offered a
place at East 15 Acting School on the BA World Performance Course.
What can you tell us about your filmwork prior
to The Cellar? The
projects that I gravitate towards are usually dramas, horrors and thrillers as I find them really fun to do and love the challenges
they bring. I find that I tend to connect with the story and
character’s more within these genres and I think that it is because I
can really identify with what the characters are going through,
allowing me to really immerse myself within these projects and roles.
Although The Cellar fits into the thriller/horror genre, I haven’t
worked on many sci-fi projects before so it has been a very different
experience. How would you describe yourself as
an actress, and some of your techniques to bring your characters to life?
As an actress I tend to gravitate towards roles and characters that I
can relate to in some way and that I can see a bit of myself in. As an actress I think it is really important that I find qualities and
characteristics that I can identify with and that the audience will
identify with, so when I am preparing for a character I always like to
ensure that I can bring my own experiences into them to show the
vulnerabilities and complexities of these characters in order to create
a believable performance.
I have quite a long process to prepare for a project, as I really want to
be able to step into the shoes of the characters and build a genuine
performance, but I won’t mention all the steps I do in preparation so
are here are few:
I start off by reading the script fully to get a better feel for the
project and the characters within it. Having read the script once, I go
ahead and read it a second time highlighting any vital information about
my character and any other additional information that I believe it
necessary to showcase in my performance and the themes of the project.
From reading the script a second time, I research heavily into these
characteristics and themes, as I want to know as much as possible about
how it will influence the overall story development and the characters,
plus I find this step really fun. Having completed my research, I then
re-read the script again and start making notes as I go, incorporating
the research I have done to the script and analyse how it would affect
my character and the relationships I have with others. Once completing
these steps I start to bring the character to its feet, acting it out,
applying the research I have done and facts I know about my character.
Actresses
(and indeed actors) who inspire you?
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My favourite actresses have to be Suranne Jones and Jodie Comer. I
remember watching Suranne Jones in Doctor Foster’ and Jodie Comer
in Thirteen and was just in awe of their performances and
completely immersed. I remember after watching both these shows,
thinking to myself this is what I want to do as a career and gave me the
confidence I needed to do so. When watching TV shows or films I always
analyse the performances in order to keep developing as an actress,
particularly when watching Suranne Jones and Jodie Comer. I would say
that watching them when I was younger, just starting out in this
industry, that they both really inspired me to pursue my acting career
in a professional manner and have really influenced the way in which I
prepare for my roles in order to reach the depth and naturalism that
they bring to their performances. I think that is where my love for dramas,
horrors and thrillers came from, as I was always
watching these genres when growing up and where my connection to these
genres stemmed from.
As for actors there are so many I love watching and that have inspired me
as an actress, but to name a few: Brian Cranston, Dominic West, Jonathan
Rhys-Meyers, Tom Hiddleston and Martin Freeman (suppose I should mention
Daniel Craig since I met him when I was younger haha), again following
the drama genre. Your favourite
movies? I mean there are too many to choose from but my ultimate favourite film
has to be The Titanic. Whenever I say this is my ultimate
favourite film I get mixed reactions haha. I think it’s because I just
find it really fascinating and have spent a lot of time researching into
it. I guess you could say I am slightly obsessed, anything to do with
The Titanic and captivated. A few others are Monsters Inc and
Spiderman with Toby Maguire. I used to watch both these films
religiously when I was younger so I suppose it just reminds me of my
childhood. Others include About Time, Bridget Jones’s
Diary. ... and of course, films you really deplore?
I’m sure there are a few films out there that I’m not the biggest fan of
but there aren’t any particular films that are jumping out at me. Your/your
website, social media, whatever else?
I am currently in the process of creating my own website which is going to
be a little hub of all my previous projects and upcoming projects etc,
so will definitely announce when it goes live. But you can check me out
on the following:
Instagram: Meghan_Adara
Facebook: Meghan
Adara
X
or Twitter (whatever
you want to call it): MeghanAdara
I look forward to hearing from you. Thanks
for the interview! Many Thanks.
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