Member Since: 2017
What has been your favorite role?
Eula Baek in the most recent feature I starred in called Peppergrass. It was a very physical shoot outdoors with sparse dialogue. I love that she has a strong will, is quick on her feet and good in a crisis. I’m also so sick of the stage direction, “She cries.” so I liked that Eula didn’t have the time to indulge in her feelings much. We also shot during the pandemic and I have never been more grateful to be creating in a time when some have deemed artists, “unessential”.
What do you do when you are not performing?
Just like everyone else: I loiter, I Zoom a lot, try new recipes, spend too much time on Instagram, go for walks, buy a box of donuts to “spice things up”, consider adopting a pet and then remember I’d be bad at it, send in countless self-tapes, start (and don’t finish) books, work out sporadically, experiment with cutting my hair etc. In all seriousness, I do all of those things but I have been dabbling more in theatre direction and I also coach actors for their on-screen auditions.
What organization / activity are you involved with or passionate about that people would find interesting?
We are the in post-production phase now of a digital play I just directed called, The Strid. It is a modern fable about integrity, family, grief and how we all relate to each other through the land. I think our civic duty as artists is finding creative and meaningful ways to serve our community via our work. In this case, it was very important that our piece had some continuity stemming from the sentiments of our Land Acknowledgement and we also wanted to go beyond just the recital of one so we partnered with the Calgary Community Fridge and the Centre for Newcomers. We are encouraging people to donate to these organizations as a form of ticket purchase. Is that something folks might find interesting? I really hope so.
What Director would you like to work with?
I am interested in working with directors who appreciate a balance of rehearsal and improvisation; ones who like actors; and create safe spaces that instill confidence. I enjoy the products of directors like Barry Jenkins, Lulu Wang, Mike Leigh and Andrea Arnold but would they be cool to work with? I don’t know, I haven’t met them.
What is your favorite movie and/or TV show?
Fleabag is so worth the hype. I seem to watch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind every year or so and I love watching Nailed It! because I am still very much a child.
As a Performer, what is one thing you wish you would have known sooner?
That I have the power to say, “no”. There’s an unfortunate thing where as actors, we feel we’re always scrapping for what’s available and that we should be grateful for every chance we get. However if you’re simply not feeling a script/the writing sucks/it’s offensive/doesn’t feel good and you’re just dreading prepping the audition: you do NOT have to do it. That’s reason enough. Just respectfully decline. We are the only ones responsible for shaping our bodies of work and while it definitely includes saying yes when we have that privilege, it also means saying no at times.
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