Today Her Campus UBC got the honor to interview four amazing actor and actresses: Bronwyn Henderson, Taylor Scott, Seamus Fera, and Cassandra Phillips-Grande from the upcoming UBC student film production: Naked Cinema III: Shortfalls. Naked Cinema III is a three-story film all which was written, acted, and produced by UBC students under the instruction of UBC faculty.
HCUBC: Would you please introduce yourself and the role you play in this film?
Brodwyn: My name is Bronwyn Henderson, I’m in my final year of the BFA Acting program, and I am playing Catherine in the Short Falls: Sunday Supper.
Taylor: Hi. My name is Taylor Scott, and I play Blair Huntington in one of the shortfilms: #sisterqueens.
Seamus: I’m Seamus Fera and I am a final year BFA Acting Student. I play the role of Adam in Short Falls: Sunday Supper.
Cassandra: My name is Cassandra Phillips-Grande, and I’m a final year BFA Acting student. I play Jenny in #Sisterqueens as well.
HCUBC: What’s your story like in this film?
Bronwyn: Catherine is engaged to her childhood sweetheart, Adam, who is also the roommate of her brother, Paul, who is still in deep grief for their father who died a year ago. Frustrated with the confines of a religious environment, and the lack of sexual attention from her husband to be, Catherine seeks the friendship of Britni – a sexually promiscuous girl she meets at a comedy bar – and invites her to “Sunday Supper” at her fiancé and brothers’ apartment. Then, of course, craziness ensues!
Taylor: Blair is a former pageant queen, tasked with mentoring the new winner. Blair is a perfectionist, and although she teeters on the edge of a breakdown for most of the story, she feels the need to keep a smile plastered on her face. Then, an incident occurs, which forces her to evaluate the toll a constant smile has taken on her sense of self. You’ll have to come see the film to see how it all plays out!
Seamus: Adam is a Theology student from a small town who is engaged to his childhood sweetheart Catherine and is roommates with her brother and his best friend Paul. Adam is a bit of a busy body who likes order and things to go according to plan. He is also the child of a minister and is lead vocals in his congregation chorus. Although everything seems good on the outside, Adam is dealing with some demons of his own – I can’t give any more of it away. You have to go and see the film!
Cassandra: We follow Jenny’s journey, from preparation to crowning of Miss Sea to Sky, a Beauty Pageant she has little interest in being in. When she arrives at her first post-pageant event, a photoshoot, a dark secret is revealed, and her alliances are put to the test.
HCUBC: I heard the Naked Cinema Project is built on improvisation. What is it like to produce a film in such an unique way?
Bronwyn: The creative process for Naked Cinema III was a very unique and educational experience for me. Building the script from improv to shooting felt like we were encountering stories in the reverse order to what we had been learning for the past few years in acting school – going for what you want in a scene then finding the words, rather than finding what you want from the words already on the page. I think this made us build the scenes and relationships from an honest place, which made the stories feel more real during performance.
Taylor: It can be intimidating taking part in an improvisation knowing your words may end up in a script. Some days I felt overwhelmed because I couldn’t find the words to convey what my character wanted. Thankfully, we had an incredibly supportive team of writers and directors, who were always there to remind us that creativity requires a release of expectations. Naked Cinema III is by far the most collaborative project I have ever worked on, and it was a pretty first-rate experience.
Seamus: I come strictly from a background in theatre so I was very nervous about not only acting but also generating the story for the film. However once we started the process I discovered that it was really similar to how I work theatrically when building a scene or a script. Having found amazing, real humans to be inspired by over the summer made it really easy to drop into the character’s situation.
Cassandra: Improvisation was key in creating the script. We started off with a skeletal frame of the plot, and an inspiration for the character. Then we put our characters in a variety of circumstances, and saw what manifested. Often times, my impulses surprised me! Improv is exciting that way, it teaches you about yourself, what’s really going on in your mind. You never know what is going to happen!
HCUBC: I’m happy to hear you all enjoyed the process! It certainly sounds challenging to me. To follow up, what’s your favorite memory from producing this film?
Bronwyn: My favourite memory from producing the film was the fantastic catering that Seamus (Adam) provided for us on set. Since our story revolved around a “Sunday Supper,” Seamus prepared an amazing meal – complete with a salad, roast chicken, and scallop potatoes. Between takes we couldn’t stop eating to the point where I don’t need to look at scallop potatoes again for another year. Then, of course, it was tons of fun working with the crew and my fellow cast members through the whole shoot. We definitely laughed a lot – especially when Seamus bled on my face during a take.
Taylor: My favourite memory has to be shooting on location. We were filming in an alley in Gastown, and in the middle of a scene it began pouring rain! You have to employ a different set of skills when you aren’t inside the safety of a studio or a theatre. I was drenched, it was freezing cold, I was wearing stilettos– and it was crazy, but all those factors actually propelled my performance.
HCUBC: Filming in the rain sounds crazy to me! I hope you weren’t sick after the shoot! What about you, Seamus and Cassandra? Any favourite, or insane, memories from set?
Seamus: We filmed at my house, so when we wrapped, I had made instant chocolate pudding and we all sat around laughing and eating. Our film takes place at a dinner so we ate a lot. Also, during one of the more active scenes in the film, I got a nose bleed and had to finish the take with a faint trickle of blood. I don’t think Bronwyn was too pleased about having to be near me. Also, Rehmat Babbar (one of the writers and directors) and I discovered that we will one day run off to India and become Bollywood sensations. There are just so many great memories!
Cassandra: My favourite memory is bonding with the cast and crew. In any creative process, trust in the people around you is key to creating stunning, honest work. Our team was incredibly supportive and vocal, making the project a wonderful experience.
HCUBC: OK, one last question. What do you think is the most interesting about your story?
Bronwyn: I think the most interesting part of the story is what makes the characters become truly honest with each other, and how they negotiate their relationships once the truth comes out. This is definitely something we explore in Sunday Supper, and I think it plays out very interestingly.
Taylor: I think the most interesting part of #sisterqueens is the characters. Often women in film are allowed to be ‘flawed’, as long as their flaws don’t impede their ability to be ‘relatable’. Instead of striving to make our characters palatable, we chose to honor the contradictory truths of very different women. Our storyline showcases four women in their most vulnerable moments, and the result is steeped in moral ambiguity. My hope is that our characters will cause the audience to question their own complicity in imposing value judgements on the worth of the female narrative.
Seamus: That is easy. It is the relationships between each of the characters and how they develop over the course of one crazy dinner. Also, a shout out to colleague Sarah Jane who composed two beautiful songs that I got to sing in the film.
Cassandra: For me, I think it’s the dynamics of the relationships between characters. Our cast is all women, and we regularly discussed the interactions of young women in an atmosphere which is typically seen as exploitive—the Beauty Pageant. If you choose to participate, is being objectified empowering? Where is the line for what is considered “moral”, specifically for women, and who gets to determine that? We hope that the audience is left with questions that provoke a discussion.
Other than the two stories above, Naked Cinema also features another story about a former hockey player struggles to regain balance of his life as his dream falls apart. All the stories are intriguing and they sure will make you laugh, cry, and think.
Naked Cinema III will be showcased at the Student Nest Theatre on Jan. 30th and Jan. 31st at 7:30PM. For more information, please check out their facebook page.
HCUBC can’t wait to see this amazing film! Thank you Bronwyn, Seamus, Taylor, and Cassandra for allowing us to interview you! We wish you all the best in your future acting careers!