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Your new series Barbee
Rehab - in a few words, what is it about?
It's
a rehab house filled with a wild cast of characters that provide
constant chaos and laughs. In this world, there are three types: 1.
Life size Barbees and Kens who have crazy addictions. 2.
Humans that are addicted/obsessed with Barbees and Kens or Barbee clothes
etc. Snd 3. Wildcards - these are just plain crazies! One is
an alien pretending to be a Barbee. Another is a cat lady that we
think might be human but she's so far out there that we can't be sure.
Then there's Alice from the iconic Nightmare On Elm Street series.
Supposedly this lady was the only one not killed off by Freddy Krueger in
the entire run of movies - I'd say she made a deal with the devil
himself, wouldn't you?
How did the project come together in the first place? This
pink infused Barbee tornado all started in the mind of my co-lead Vanessa
Bednar [Vanessa Bednar
interview - click here]. She's nuts but she's my kind of creative and brilliant.
She brought me in early on to do a cameo as "Cop Ken", but in
reality she was trying to get me to collaborate on the project as a whole.
She knew I had my own production company, Iron
Orr Productions, and was
hoping I would bring the technical precision and focus it takes
to produce a show. Turns out I came, I saw, and I never left.
She's a clever one, that gypsy Vanessa. What
were your sources of inspiration when writing Barbee
Rehab? The
original concept was really from the mind of Vanessa. You can open
that Pandora's box of crazy... I'm not gonna. Just kidding... kind of. Anyway, when I came in, I brought the experience
of running a set and crew etc. I stressed the importance of
"Story" and reminded Vanessa of the need to follow the elements
of "The Hero's Journey", so we would create a complete and full
story to tell. We then started to write together and flushed
out these extremely rich characters and then threw in a lot of
conflict and chaos. Vanessa wrote many of the parts for
specific people/actors we have worked with or studied in class with.
I wrote a couple parts for similar people and then we wrote some parts for
friends that never acted before.
What can you tell us about your Barbee
Rehab co-writer Vanessa Bednar, and what was your
collaboration like? She's
great. I am grateful to have met her and look forward to all of
the great projects we have in production now and future projects. We
work really well together. We are kinda like the Cop Ken
and Dr. Midge characters in the show. It's a very Sam and Diane
relationship like on the classic show Cheers. We work great
together now - and believe me, we had to go through some ups and down to
get to a point where we learned to deal with each other. I am a
tornado and very rammy when I'm hyper-focused and know what I want.
She reminds me all the time, "your creative brain is firing faster
than theirs so you need to slow down or stop to let them catch
up." My intensity and passion for the work can
be misunderstood by actors until they learn the pace and style I operate
at. I am learning to have more patience and trying to remember that
each actor receives information differently from a director. Vanessa
is a great buffer between me and the actors when needed. She is
great at dealing with the stuff I am not as good with, and I am great at
handling the stuff she prefers not to. We're a good team.
We've managed to avoid killing each other so far. Do talk about Barbee
Rehab's brand of humour! It's
crazy. It's whacky. Sometimes cringe-worthy. It's in your face
and unapologetic humor. There is nothing else out there to compare
it to. We realized that when we were putting the pitch deck together
and preparing to pitch the series to distributors. A few words about your
directorial approach to your story at hand?
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I
love directing and I love working with committed actors.
But, I really love actors that understand "everything should be in
service to STORY." I learned so much about story from my long
time acting teacher Stuart Rogers in North Hollywood. His teaching
and process has upped my game as both a director and actor. The
short answer is my approach to directing is: "I try to be in
service of story as much as I can." It's more important to
make the story great than it is to get the perfect camera angle, pan shot
or whatever. I realized early on that most people watching won't
even realize the work you put in to get an amazing dolly shot or drone
shot or whatever. However, they will absolutely stop watching if the
story is weak or missing elements etc. We have all left a movie
theater, or turned off a show because it was missing something
or we were left unsatisfied by an episode and couldn't quite put our
finger on what was missing. That missing thing was story-related
for sure. Of course your DP and director buddies will
appreciate those amazing shots you spent forever on, but the general
audience is there to be moved by the story and characters. You also appear in
front of the camera in Barbee
Rehab - so what can you tell us about your character, what did you
draw upon to bring him to life, and did you write Cop Ken with yourself in
mind from the get-go? Yes.
I was lucky enough to both act and direct in the entire 7 episode series.
It was challenging but never a problem. Yeah my character... it just
made perfect sense. I have always been a protector and have a
background in law enforcement to draw upon. Vanessa and I realized
very early in writing that we had to have a strong antagonist to challenge
Dr. Midge. She is of course the main hero of the story and we knew
she needed to have a strong adversary. Hence Cop Ken was born.
"The cock of the walk meets the queen of the castle." Tom
Sizemore even used that analogy in the show when talking to Cop Ken about
his relationship with Midge. Do talk about the rest of Barbee
Rehab's cast, and why exactly these people? Vanessa
and I were very lucky to work with some great friends and actors. We
always say it was more of a collaboration among talented friends than it
was work. There are some definite stand-outs for me as the director.
The obvious ones are Tom Sizemore, Bai Ling and Janice Dickinson [Janice
Dickinson interview - click here].
Lisa Wilcox was a lot of fun to work with. Johnny Wactor who
plays Star Trek Ken was always so great to have on set. Vanessa and
I always knew he was gonna bring his A game to every scene. We both
worked with Johnny in acting class and knew his level of dedication and
drive. The guy is just hungry, dedicated, and a DOER just like we
are. It shows in his body of work too. Then I'm sure Vanessa
has explained that more than a few of the Barbees are gorgeous ex-Hawaiian
Tropic models and never acted before. Some of these ladies were my
favorite to direct because they were raw and had not developed any bad
actor habits. For example, Kristy Dennis, who plays our Glamour
Barbee, was just a freaking blast to work with and across from. Karen
Ladoucer who plays Mermaid Barbee was another awesome person to play
with in character. Neither of these ladies had ever acted
before but both trusted me and worked with me to get through each scene...
I think we got some amazing work out of them. In turn, I
think they got a master class on acting from us. From the start,
Vanessa and I really wanted to give our fellow actors a great part and a
great story to allow them each to showcase their acting talent. We
always say that we wrote better parts for everyone else than we did
for ourselves. There are some really great characters in this
series. We are eternally grateful to every castmember
that brought them to life. Hopefully they will share their
work, their art, with the world. That's what it is - ART. Sadly, many actors don't do so out of fear of criticism or judgement.
I really hope that doesn't happen with our actors. They did way too
good of work on the series to be embarrassed by it.
with Vanessa Bednar |
A
few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
Every
shoot day castmembers would thank us and say how it was the most fun they
ever had on a set. That was so cool to hear over and over. We
were honored and glad they felt that way. Vanessa and I were wearing
so many hats and doing so much that we rarely got to bask in that
feeling. But we did recognize and appreciate the family feel of our
set and the cast involved. I think it shows on film, and for
that we are truly grateful. That feeling will be hard to recreate in
bigger budget projects, and I will really miss that part of this journey.
Tom was so great with the other actors in the cast. I don't
think some of them even realize yet how blessed they were to be able to
work with such a talented and legendary actor. We were tho, all of
us. Truly blessed to have in the cast and to work with him for as
long as we did. We miss him every day. The world is in for such
a treat. Tom was great in this role, and his comedic chops are
amazing. It's great to hear his rumbling laugh when I have the
episodes on. He was having fun with us in the scenes and it is clear
when you watch. Godspeed Tommy. We honor you with the work every
day.
Anything
you can tell us about audience and critical reception of Barbee
Rehab yet? Thankfully
it has been getting pretty good reviews. We know people will either
love it or hate it. We knew that when we were making it. And
that's ok if it's not received well by everyone. To each their own.
But either way, we know they will not be able to take their eyes off of
it... because it really is just like a train wreck that you can't look
away from. Any future projects you'd like to
share?
I had a really great supporting role in a heavy emotional indie film that I
wrapped on a few weeks ago and it is going to the film festival circuit soon. I was a "bad guy", or the "bad guy you
hate to love"-type. Well, that's the approach I took with the character.
In doing so, I was able to bring a little levity to an otherwise very deep
and disturbing story. Look for Officer Wade in Body of
Water by Terrisha Kearse. Also, Vanessa wrote a really great feature film with lead parts for both of us that we plan to get going on
this year. We are shopping her script now and hope to find the
right investors for that very soon. There are a couple other
projects that are in the works but have been affected by the strike.
Stay tuned. More great stuff to come soon.
with Bai Ling and Tom Sizemore |
What got you into acting in the first place, and
did you receive any formal training on the subject? I
always knew I wanted to act. But my blue collar upbringing would
never allow me to just pursue the "starving artist" lifestyle.
I worked another career for over 20 years and retired early from that
recently. I balanced taking acting classes, running the production
company, auditioning and filming, all while still working my full time job
for about the last 4 years of that career. I'm glad I came
into acting so much later in life. I think it makes me appreciate it
more. I figure that I worked over 20 years to earn the chance now to
be an actor and director. Likewise, that former career gave me the
opportunity to contribute to society, to change the world and potentially
save hundreds of lives. I mentioned before that I studied with
Stuart Roger and before that I graduated from a 2 year Meisner program at
the Ruskin School of Acting in Santa Monica. Both places are still a
home for me to work and continue to hone my craft. I am blessed to
have been mentored by some amazing teachers. What
prompted you to pick up producing, writing and directing for Barbee
Rehab, and which side of the camera do you prefer, actually? That
is the only way to have steady work and success in Hollywood today.
Write, create, produce, do the work, make the art, and then share the art
with the world. I prefer acting because it really feeds my soul.
Directing is a close second. Editing is an art form in itselfs and
I learned it on the fly so I could edit the series.
Yes, self taught, and necessary to get things cut the way I envisioned it.
I really enjoy editing and I'm damn good at it but I would love it more if
I had more time to do it. People are hard to rely on in this business.
We tried a few editors but sadly each one set us back and cost us both
time and money. Near the end of the final post work we did
finally find two that were great and they really helped when we were
getting burnt out. One was Brian Scott Olds, he was such a great
help especially on the hour long season finale episode. The
other was my brother Hugh P. Orr, who was self taught as well. Eventually,
I will find the right editor that knows how to collaborate and
understands my language and vision. Gotta have hope, right?
Lastly, producing and writing are probably the hardest and my least
favorite roles but I am pretty good at both nonetheless. I think
every producer should learn and know how to do all the different jobs on a
project. It makes you well-rounded and a great asset on any set.
More importantly, you then know when some you hire to do a job is not
doing what you hired them to do.
What
can you tell us about your filmwork prior to Barbee
Rehab?
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with
Vanessa Bednar, Rachel Reilly |
I have a pretty good body of work considering the short time I have been
acting and directing. Several indie films, a Lifetime-movie, some
TV and some theater etc. I enjoy all of it and try to do as much of
each as I can. I hope to start focusing on building my voice-over
credentials in the near future. People are always telling
me I have a great voice for it... just have to find the time. Check
out my IMDb, Derek S. Orr, and you can see the projects I have been part of.
There are some really great teaser clips of many of my previous projects
in the "video/reels" section of my IMDb page. How would you
describe yourself as an actor, as a writer and as a director? I
am passionate, dedicated, driven, and unapologetic in every role I take on
as an actor. I love the deep, dark, ugly stuff you have to dig through to
really develop and do justice to a role. As a director, I feel
like I am always learning and growing but much of it really comes down to
just following your instincts. As a writer, I am still learning
and finding my voice for sure. Ultimately, I believe I am
a work-in-progress in all these roles. I like that and I continue to
be a student of all three. It keeps it fun and fresh. I don't
ever want it to become routine. If it did become routine, I would
walk away from it. Actors,
writers, filmmakers, whoever else who inspire you? All
artists inspire me. I try to see the beauty in each and every piece.
Even if it isn't something I would not normally watch or listen to.
Find the greatness in all art if you can. It takes great courage to
put your work out there to be judged and criticized. There are some
really great female showrunners and directors like Shonda Rhimes and Kathryn
Bigellow that I would really like to just shadow on set and learn from.
Oh, and Tyler Perry too. I was so envious when Bradley Cooper did A Star is Born with Lady Gaga. Dream job, project, role,
etc. I would die to have been in his position for that! Your
favourite movies? Shawshank Redemption - great story and
great acting. Million Dollar Baby - God
who was the writer on that one (as I check it on IMDb)? Ok, Paul Haggis.
That guy has written several great screenplays. I would love to
co-write something with that genius or direct one of them or both! Call me,
Paul! Speaking of that movie - like Million Dollar Baby,
love pretty much anything directed by Clint Eastwood in the last 30 years.
... and of course, films you really
deplore?
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I can't think of anything. I will say that I'm really not a horror
movie fan but I am still trying to find the beauty in those as well. Your/your series' website, social media,
whatever else?
Oh man. This is such a necessary part of the whole process of being
artists today. Let's see. I have social pages for both myself
and the Barbee
Rehab series.
Personal socials:
Facebook: Derek S. Orr
Instagram and Threads: dereksorr
TikTok: derek.s.orr
Snapchat: Derek Orr
YouTube: DerekSOrrLAActor
Barbee
Rehab socials:
Facebook: Barbee Rehab
Instagram and Threads: barbee_rehab
TikTok: barbeerehab
Snapchat: barbeerehab
YouTube: BarbeeRehabComedySeries
Anything else you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
Barbee
Rehab "Get Addicted". Thanks so much for talking
about the series. It was Tom Sizemore's last real complete project
and we are so honored and proud of all his work on the series.
He loved the show and was really excited about the release. We
love and miss him and hope everyone gets the chance to experience the
amazing job Tommy did on the series. It's a comedic side of Tom
previously only seen and enjoyed by his closest friends and family.
He is, was, and always will be a legend. On behalf of ALL the cast
members, I want to truly thank you for writing about our finished ART!
Thanks for the
interview!
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