My Role in the Film Hobo Heyseus and Getting Inside the Directors’ Heads

I had the great opportunity of auditioning for, landing and playing the role of “Florence” in the movie, HOBO HEYSEUS, this past May.

This intriguing indie feature, written by JoshuaOwens, Tracy and Jon Russel Cring, and directed by Jon Cring, offered all of the elements I love and look for in film-making: a great script, brilliant talent and, above all, people who truly care.  At the end of the day, love goes a long way when attempting to create something in collaboration with a whole battalion of individuals, whether they be film production crew, producers, actors, or editors.

As an actor, I’m always looking for those roles that are just slightly left of center, complex, complicated, yet real.  “Florence” was exactly that kind of character – she was the tough, weathered, frustrated grown daughter of a challenging old man, and she refused to back down to him, no matter how much she loved him, nor how much he may have tried to bully her into submission with his dominant patriarchal values.

What drew me to this film?  The script.  Plain and simple.  I'll tell you one thing: Tracy, Josh and Jon know how to write.  I loved the compelling scenes and characters that the script had to offer and was flattered to be considered for such a great role.  That script gave me something to chew on and, as an actor, that was like putting honey in front of a bee.

In prepping for a role, I find that researching and questioning everything is essential to getting to know your character.  It’s like putting together the scattered pieces of a puzzle or solving a mystery.  Who is this person? Why does she say these things and what happened to build her up to his moment?

That’s where the director fits in.  A good director will have all the answers ready for you.  A GREAT director will work with you to discover the answers together to find the perfect fit between your personality and that of the character written on paper AND, if you’re running into road blocks as the actor constructing your character, a BRILLIANT director will help guide you (without telling you “how to be” or what to do.)

I enjoyed the privilege of working with a fantastic director in Jon Cring.  There was never a moment that he was not there for me to answer questions or explore options – he actually LOVED that I reached out to him to involve him in that process.  As a result, I was able to construct a character in Florence far beyond what was written on paper and deliver what my director dreamed of on set for the screen.  

Further, because we had done both of our “homework” on the character far in advance of the scene on shooting day, the actual work was more fun with room for experimentation.

I told Jon after working with him, “Thank you for allowing me to find the best actress within and pulling out things I did not think I could achieve in my performance;” and I meant every word. 

A true, brilliant director is a leader who sees the best in you even when you’re sabotaging your self – and he/she guides you and supports you through the inner doubt toward something greater.

I cannot wait to see the results for HOBOHEYSEUS. 

“Florence” was a wonderful character to mold, and I look forward to seeing “her” on the big screen. 

Until then, as I wait with abated breath, I thought that I would allow my readers to get to know the directorial team of Jon and Tracy Cring, as well. 

Jon and Tracy Cring live, eat and breathe film – a rare breed of married lovebirds who get along and collaborate both in work and play.  Please note, I’ve not edited a single word or syllable from their responses to my questions; it’s as honest a “he said/she said” as you can get in the world of film.

Enjoy!

TRACY ANSWERS:

1.)    What did you want to do when you “grew up” when you were five? 

I wanted to be everything. I was really curious and constantly into everything. At three years old I recited the entire biblical Christmas story from memory and could mimic back entire sermons, so I kinda liked acting. I hung out with my Dad in the garage handing him tools while he worked on cars, built things, invented things, so I wanted to be an inventor. My Mom was poetic and verbal... a stay at home Mom decorating, cooking, making my clothes so I wanted to be a designer and a dancer. My Grandfather was a Painter, Potter, and Photographer and inspired me. By ten years old I was recording little movies on my Grandparents VHS Camcorder and showing them at family events...most of them starred my Barbies. In high school I loved the week we studied genetics so I read every book in the library on the subject, but was better known for my artwork and writing. I had a ceramic mosaic embedded into a building at Riverwalk Park in Chattanooga, TN, and some short stories and poems were published in a young writers magazine. When I turned eighteen I won a film festival in LA which was a short I wrote, directed, shot, and edited with all the characters played by the same actor. That pretty much did it.

2.)    What are your biggest regrets?

Not going to film school. Not going has given me a unique way of looking at things because I learned from projects, hands on, but I feel like I could have saved myself from mistakes early on. I put myself through film school by watching all the movies I could, reading scripts, reading books about scripts and making sixteen feature films. 

3.)    If you could do one thing all over again, what would it be?

 Meet and marry my husband sooner. 

4.)    What type of movie is on your “To Do” list?

 A Disaster Movie. I love destructo-films! I've seen "Twister" (Jan De Bont Dir.) about 150 times. 

5.)    Who are your favorite actors?

GerardDepardieu, Kate Winslet, Ciaran Hinds, Audrey Tautou, Toni Collette, MichaelShannon, Jimmy Stewart, Olivia de Havilland, Keira Knightley, CharlotteGainsbourg, Paul Newman, John Cazale, River Phoenix, I love Actors so very much, this is only a surface list... not to mention Meryl, Pacino, Hanks...I can go on and on. I even respect Keanu Reeves!

6.)    What directors do you most admire?  Loath?  Why?

Admire...Brian De Palma, Francis Ford & Sophia Coppola, Catherine Hardwick, JohnHughes, Tony & Ridley Scott, Amy Heckerling (She's a hit when she hits and a big miss when she misses!) These are the Directors who've made some of the films that I can not imagine my world being the same without. Highest praise may go to Lars Van Trier for The Kingdom and Krzysztof Kieslowski for Three Colors Trilogy which I discovered in a shockingly vast foreign section at my local video store in little Soddy-Daisy, Tennessee. I remember watching The Kingdom and thinking, I wanna do that. 

 Loathe...Michael Mann, McG, Brett Ratner, Tyler Perry...Honestly Michael Mann doesn't deserve to be with the likes of McG, but I just see the Mann style so heavily on every film he does, and I'm not that into it. These Directors are concerned with appealing to the most base audiences, I find little art in their work. 

 7.)    What single event, if there were one, would you say influenced you the most to bring you here today?

 So I had won equipment as a prize at a film festival and I guess I suffered from the pressure of making a follow up success...ha! I had been teaching myself to use the camera and editing equipment, but lacked inspiration for a story. I worked as a phone surveyor, and this would be stand up comedian I worked with asked me to read some of his stuff. I read it, editing and punching up jokes as I went and handed it back to him. He would have been offended, but he liked the revisions. I told him it might be better as sketch comedy and I could film it, maybe make it into a TV show. We made eight episodes and while there was never a second season of "Street Walking," it formed a friendship based in creativity and respect which turned into the love of my life.  

8.)    Where is “here” today?

 Here...I am so happy to be here, not just at the precipice of so many passion projects, but alive, in this time, making films. This is the most exciting era since the 70s for film, technology and innovation, the death of celluloid... I wake up in a dream every day and wonder what will I learn today?

9.)    What is it like working and living together as a couple?  Does being a couple make it easier? 
More difficult?

The only time we fight is when we are apart. People close to us would agree with that statement. We both strive for honesty and equality in our relationship. We have the same conversations everyone else does...what's for dinner, you take the dog out, who didn't flush the toilet? I know so many people who are struggling in the business and their partner works in the 9-5 world. I can't imagine trying to explain the pitfalls and triumphs to a significant other who has no clue how challenging it really is and how much you have to give straight out of your heart to perform on the job. People look at me and think I have it easy. I wake up when I want, I take a nap if I want, I get to watch a movie at 11 a.m. if I like. I look at them and hope they get the same enjoyment from doing something they love, and remind them I sacrifice all the normal stuff for the hope of doing something extraordinary. Having someone by your side, pushing you, applauding you, and picking you up is invaluable. Stephen King often writes sweetly about Tabby, his wife, she's a writer too, and he trusts her because he knows she has talent and good taste. I feel the same about Jon. 

10.) What is your current mantra in life?  Has is changed from what you once considered your mantra?  Why?

 If you ever want to see me get angry, tell me NO. I hate no. I refuse to hear it. I will drive you crazy asking why and coming up with new ideas, so don't even bother. My poor parents, I bet I was a challenging kid. I think my mantra would be and has been on some level for a long time "Shut up and do it". You may suck at it, you might find a hidden talent. I mean it in an everyday way too, do everything you can to jam pack as much into a day/week/month/year as you can. I think I would add "and keep doing it" to that. You have to have consistency in this business and just as a musician gets better the more they play, I believe a filmmaker does also. 

11.) Which one of your characters, as writers, do you feel reflects you the most?

I write a little piece of my life and my viewpoint into every character. What I've seen, what I've heard, how I felt. I don't have enough talent to just make it up. I just keep writing me. (I mean that in the least egotistical way possible!)

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JON RUSSELL CRING ANSWERS:

1.)    What did you want to do when you “grew up” when you were five? 

Five? Wow! My Father was on the road with a Gospel group called Soul Purpose. So, occasionally, he would take me on the road to tour with him. I would run the reel to reel tape deck and sometimes Dad would write skits for my brother and I to perform onstage.So I guess the easiest answer is I wanted to be a performer like my Father singing, playing, acting, and making people laugh. As Rush says "living in the Limelight, the universal dream." Everything I have done has sprouted from the seed of not being content to sit in a crowd.

2.)    What are your biggest regrets?

I love film but not always film philosophy "Love means never having to say your sorry" yeah right."I don't believe in mistakes." but they sure believe in you. "There are no regrets." BS. I have many. My brother dying, my early relationships, what an Ass I was from sixteen to twenty-five lol. I definitely regret not writing sooner. Not trusting more people in my early career. Its interesting though I find the one thing you never regret is risk.I love regret. It keeps you aware of what could be missed.

3.)    If you could do one thing all over again, what would it be?

I would remake my first twelve films. I did it under this idea of twelve feature films in twelve months. I just wish that I would have been brave enough to make them better than I did. They are mostly good with a couple bordering great but I didn't make the little changes,edits,choices,and fight the important fights. I would also help Tracy edit. I've finally started that process and we come up with awesome ideas together, things we would never have dreamed of separate. Not being part of the edit was laziness on my part. Truly.

4.)    What type of movie is on your “To Do” list?

All of them lol. I am not a genre snob at all. I would love to do a Western, an action film, Erotic Thriller, Lovecraftian Horror, Amish Porn....

5.)    Who are your favorite actors?

Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, Dustin Hoffman, Ben Foster, Michael Sheen, Martin Sheen, Kurt Russell, Meryl Streep, Karen Black, Emma Stone, Julie Christie, Lily Taylor,....the list is endless. I love actors who can play character parts and the occasional lead. 

6.)    What directors do you most admire?  Loath?  Why?

Some directors have perfected one part of the craft. For example no one shoots a film like Kubrick, Lumet is amazing with actors, Lucas understands audiences, De Palma is the mood master, Lynch will twist your sensibilities. Here are a few that are the whole package.

Coppola - He made some of the greatest films in history in different genres
John Carpenter - Horror will always get the shot straw for film aficionados but he writes, scores, and directs some of the best "Popcorn" films ever.

David Cronenberg- A true independent. Study his career to see how to turn your vision into great art.
Of course I haven't mentioned the directors of the 40's and 50's Capra, Hitchcock, etc. The 70's style speaks to me and I tend to concentrate there. As far as loathe, I just hate when a film wasn't directed. It's like watching a ship run aground. BTW I love Michael Mann, which Tracy hates so it is very subjective.

7.)    What single event, if there were one, would you say influenced you the most to bring you here today?

My marriage without a doubt. I never had the confidence that I would find someone and didn't know how fucked I was without them, LOL. Every "artist" needs a partner. No one can fill every void in themselves. Van Gogh had his brother and Michelangelo, his lover. Jesus needed twelve for God's sake. How many bio pics feature the unsung hero (Hitchcock, Amadeus). It takes two as the song says. Tracy and I finish each others thought but still surprise each other everyday. I am not saying everyone needs to work with their spouse. But find someone to bounce off of dammit. Even if its a Cocker Spaniel.

8.)    Where is “here” today?

I began this year wondering how it could top last. It already has. Here is shocking, intimidating, and staggering me with a new adventure nearly every day. Here is the sky being the limit but loving my scars when I fall from it. Here is fun baby!

9.)    What is it like working and living together as a couple?  Does being a couple make it easier? More difficult?

What Tracy said was true, we only fight when we are too far apart. I have friends that work all day separate and go to bed at 9 because there kids are up at 6. so they see each other 4 hours a day when they are tired and cranky. Now that sounds hard. No thanks man. I am incapable of not running my own show. I am a terrible employee and I have the termination notices to prove it. I only get cranky when we are not making something, planning to make something, or have a direction in which to march at least. You can be a God creating from inception and letting it evolve until it surprises you. That is a giddy life.

10.)  \What is your current mantra in life?  Has is changed from what you once considered your mantra?  Why?

Give people more than they ask for or deserve. Nothing is more important than Happy. If it doesn't make sense stop promoting it. Be entertaining. Let people be, if they want your product they will order it from you.

11.)   Which one of your characters, as writers, do you feel reflects you the most?

I would honestly have to say "Hobo Heyseus" our newest film. I love the anti hero. Coolhand Luke, Billy Jack, Doc Holiday....I wanted to write a film with Josh Owens and Tracy with a complex lead character and  spiritual overtones. I believe the carnal and the divine is where all lasting art meets. I guess that's me. Well, not divine, but searching. We'll see if the audience can be entertained by my search. Shock and Awe now that's great film-making if you can get pull it off. 

The life of an actor, whether it be that of the theater stage or film set, can be both an exciting, but also a lonely life – punctuated, of course, by moments of sheer panic and self-loathing when trying to make a decent wage following what is one’s dream. 

Actually, it often reminds me of the time when I was a competitive swimmer.  You train numerous hours, both alone, and in a group, only to wait countless hours for your big moment when you get on a platform and spring into action for what, in the end, is really only a couple of minutes, seconds even.  Months of work all summed up in one exhilaratingly spectacular, or disappointingly dull, moment in time.

Still, when that moment is truly seized – there are very few things in life that bring such intense emotion, human connection and physical accomplishment.  It feels like life, truly lived… every moment of those accumulated seconds toward intellectual and creative expression.

Even now, as I write this, I sit in my picture car in Manhattan at 9 p.m. on a Friday night, miles away from my family, on the set of Spider Man, working as a Screen Actors Guild background actor, trying to earn extra money to make ends meet in between bigger acting and production gigs.  It is a small part of the big plan of working my way slowly up the ladder.

Do I have moments of intense self-doubt as to what I’m doing in this industry and is it a waste of time and passion?  Absolutely. 

And yet, as with the film Her Telling Heart, the short, Gothic thriller adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, “The Tell-tale Heart,” which I wrote, produced through my company, Personae Entertainment, directed and acted in, I do see progress toward realizing my career goals and personal/professional passion.

Above all, I see myself as blessed that I am in touch with my dreams and, moreover, able to pursue them.  This is something that I often think, in these times, we take for granted.  In reality, it is a luxury.

So, you see, sitting on the set of Spider Man for a wrinkle in time to pay the bills is really not so bad.  I am a small part of a bigger picture on this one.  – And, during waiting times like right now, I am able to do one of my favorite things in the world: write.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back?

The most difficult thing for me about the entertainment industry is uncertainty; you never know how things will work out.

And yet, turn this scenario around and you also find a lot of positive: you never know how things might turn out.

You are only as good as your last gig: Today crummy? Tomorrow is a new day!

I went to three call backs, two castings and was in a feature film. I thought my cards were decently stacked.

They all ended up jokers.

C'est la vie! That, truly, is life. In the end, the true test for me is pulling what positive I can away from these experiences, moving on, and, hopefully, building a more solid foundation for something better tomorrow.

I can't help but wonder, however, in this results-driven society, when have you finally made it? Does anyone really make it? Is that really the point?

Sometimes I'm angry at myself for having the courage to go after my dream and first love in life; to be an actress. I had a budding career as a journalist in Berlin and, in comparison to now, felt like I was on top of the world.

But I had to go and interview George Clooney, Shirley McClaine, Jamie Foxx, Michelle Yeoh and remembered, through them, my first and last true love: acting, the theater, film. They inspired me to the point that I gave everything up to move to the Big Apple, an enormous undertaking in and of itself.

It all seems like lifetimes ago.

You know, I get to a plateau where I think I understand it all -- and then the world takes another turn, and I realize that the only thing I know is that there is so much to know that I know nothing.

How's that for wisdom?

I think that Picasso said it best: Je ne cherche pas, je trouve. I do not search, I find.

So, let's sum up what could be found from the three callbacks, a feature film and no dice:

1.) I love auditioning and am getting to be good enough to receive a callback -- an enormous honor in an of itself.

2.) I need to work on my callback technique.

3.) I could use more work on "Acting for the Camera."

4.) I need to get out there and see more theater and meet more people.

The other thing I love about acting? You can never, NEVER say that you've exhausted all of your resources. And, thus, it is back to the drawing board.
I'll keep you posted.

New Day

The quality I love most about actors and the talents that acting lends to them is the ability to reinvent and refine.

You are never confined today to what you were yesterday (unless, of course, you've made extremely bad choices in life and have committed some horrible crime).

And so I take back what I said in my last blog about age -- 37? Hah! I stay in shape and look like most 30 year-old-women with seven years' more life experience for my craft. I laugh in the face of aging and age stereo-typing by creating my own work and testing it to the max, pushing the boundaries in the process.

Life is fragile. Acting, writing and directing teach me to embrace and make the most of it.

Today, I send my thank yous out into the world for all of the truly beautiful people out there who live life with generosity and true integrity -- and rewrite their own destiny every day.

I'm Featured in Backstage!

Check out the October 30th issue of Backstage:



On the very LAST page you'll see the "last words" quotes and one from yours truly!

The One That Got Away

I've been traveling a lot lately:

I made it to the Reel Women International Film Festival in Los Angeles in early March, where my film A FORK IN THE ROAD, was an official part of the student film program within the festival line-up. That was an amazing experience, meeting and networking with industry professionals committed to bring films made by or about women to the screen.

The L.A. trip was smack-dab-in-the-middle of several "mini" excursions to New York City to take part in the Advanced Scene Study Class at Stella Adler Studios with Stella Technique pro Patrick Quagliano. I recommend returning to a learning and growth environment for every actor, whether just beginning or advanced, as it allows you to push your inner envelope and get more out of your talents and skills with every new scene being studied.

And now, I find my self in Michigan, home of the Purple Rose Theatre -- Jeff Daniel's Equity theater located in the heart of Chelsea, lead by Artistic Director Guy Sanville, with aplomb.

I just auditioned for the "Rose's" 2008/2009 theatrical performance season and do hope to be recognized for callbacks. But I'm also energized by the opportunity to step on stage there, again, and show what I've learned in the last year.

Tomorrow, it's back to Schenectady, New York, home of Proctor's Theatre, where I will most likely check out the New Plays Festival.

That, my Dears, is the one that got a away.

I had auditioned for the New Plays Festival over two months ago and was called back to read for the part of Desdemona in General Desdemona. I received an email that I should be there by 6 p.m. only to get a call at 3:30 p.m. from the producers asking me why I was late. "I was not to go on until 6 p.m.," I panicked. "Don't worry," they said, "we'll wait for you."

And so, I rushed, no make-up on, frazzled, and panting heavily--I so wanted that role! Kevin McGuire, the Festival Director, was more than generous and did his best to calm me down. I auditioned and he praised my work.

But I certainly was not as calm, cool, and collected as I had been the first time around. And I left feeling a bit let down.

Alas, I did not get the role.

And though I can't help wondering what might have happened if the time from the producer on the email would have been correct (3:30 p.m. rather than 6 p.m.), in the end, all you can do is write it down in your journal as an experience and realize that the one that got away is the one that was not meant to be...

I'll keep on moving, keep on learning, keep on auditioning until I get the part that is right for me.

Come see "Oh, Had I Wings"

Come support local filmmakers at the Lightworks Film Festival!

"Oh, Had I Wings," by Maggie Glass --(in which you'll sneak a peak of me in the role of "Mom") -- will be having its premiere at the Lightworks Film Festival this Saturday night, April 21st, at the Natural Science Auditorium on Central Campus at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

According to the schedule, the honors theses will be screened at 10:35 pm on Saturday night:
http://www.umich.edu/~fvsa/lightworks/program/
Soon the postings of each individual film will be up on the site, so you can see exactly when "Oh, Had I Wings" will be screened.

Director Maggie Glass recommends coming earlier, just in case the schedule gets shifted, and in order to see other great works in filmmaking art.

On the Slate

All those years of acting lessons are finally paying off.

I've got several film roles on the slate in the near future -- one is the role of a mother in a modern western, another is of a social worker in an incredible romantic drama, and a third is as a psychoanalyst in an incredible comedy.

More on those great new endeavors soon...