Your new movie Alice
- in a few words, what is it about, and what can you tell us about your
character in it?
Alice
is about a streetwalker in her twenties, and Alice isn’t her name.
She’s intelligent but with limited education and limited funding she’s
had no choice in her current career. With a small daughter and a disabled
mother to support Alice has turned more and more to alcohol to help her
through the day. You also wrote the screenplay for
Alice
- so what were your inspirations, and did you write "Alice" with
yourself in mind from the get-go? Alice
is actually an extension of a character I wrote for a short story in
school. When director Douglas Reese [Douglas Reese
interview - click here] asked if I wanted to work on this project and gave me
a rough idea of what he wanted I knew she was the way to go. The character
was originally much older and inspired by the song "Could I Leave You" from
Sondheim's
Follies.
What did you draw upon
to bring your character to life, and how much of Joi Itapson can we find
in Alice? A
few years ago I watched a movie called Water, the
characters played by Lisa Ray and Seema Biswas were what I pulled for
Alice. They created characters where it was obvious that they had so much
more to offer but circumstances keep them trapped. I often have headaches
that make me physically ill and I kept thinking, Alice has the same
but her headaches never goes away, the knowledge of that kind of crushing
pain is what I wanted most to convey and I hope I succeeded.
What can you tell us about your director
Douglas Reese [Douglas Reese
interview - click here], and what was your collaboration like?
Doug
is so much fun to work with, he generally lets me know what he wants then
stands back and lets me run with it. He trusts me to know what he needs
and when he does get specific he does it in a way I can understand and I
appreciate that. How
did you and Douglas Reese first meet even, and what can you tell us about
your previous collaboration Nikki?
Doug
and I meet last year in a Psychology class and it was love and first
sarcastic comment. Nikki was the first time we worked together and that
was a spur of the moment thing for me. Doug let me know what he was
thinking and the characters came together very easily.
Back
to Alice - what can you
tell us about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? Doug
had definite ideas for how he wanted things to look and we worked through
everything scene by scene. I did spend most of the first take trying and
failing not to laugh, I think it says a lot about how we both think that
we needed to laugh before we started on creating something with so much
pain.
Any
future projects you'd like to share? Doug
and I are working on a new project called Saviors. A few months ago he
asked if I was interested in being a vengeful ghost and I’ve fallen head
over heels for the project since. Shaping the character finding out who
she is has been an adventure in how far I can push myself.
What got you into
acting to begin with, and did you receive any formal training on the
subject? Stage
shows were what drew me to acting. Watching productions of Shakespeare,
and then shows like Wicked and the stage version of the Lion King. I have
no formal training, aside from several classes at State Thespian
Conferences. What can you tell us about your filmwork prior
to Alice? Aside
from Nikki most of my work has been on stage. I found it initially awkward
to work on camera because I was so used to facing my audience and
exaggerating my movements and emotions. However I have come to appreciate
the range of subtle I get to display on camera.
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How
would you describe yourself as an actress, and some of your techniques to
bring your character to life?
I
am very detail-oriented when it comes to acting. I need to know who my
character is and what drives them. When I can I do a breakdown before I
start. It might be the writer in me that needs that backstory before I can
really begin. Actresses (and indeed
actors) who inspire you?
I
am a massive fan of golden age actresses and actors. Gene Kelly, Cary
Grant, Rosalind Russell, Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Sidney Poitier.
There’s a class that they exude regardless of their character that I
love. Your favourite movies?
Gentlemen
Prefer Blondes, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (Maggie Smith is my hero),
Charade, I could just keep going I devour movies from that era. Movies
from recently include The Princess Bride, and About Time. ...
and of course, films you really deplore? I
have a love hate (mostly hate) relationship with The Room and Mercenaries.
While I enjoy laughing at them I also can’t unsee them and trust me
I’ve tried. Your website,
Facebook, whatever else?
I
don’t have a site but I am on Facebook, Twitter and Imgur and more
recently Pinterest. Thanks for
the interview!
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