Friday, March 26, 2010

Spotlight: Andrew Fanelli in Prep School Blues

I am thrilled to present the next installment of the spotlight interviews, an intimate chat with the amazing Andrew Fanelli who played Edgar in Prep School Blues. Although the character met a grisly off screen death in between seasons 2 and 3, Fanelli is well and thriving in New York City along with his band SHAPES. You can currently find their new EP "I feel, therefore I drink" online on MySpace and at the iTunes store.

Q: What got you into acting?
Fanelli: i genuinely don't know what got me into acting. i suppose just wanting to be the center of attention... or maybe it's cause it's easier for me to be honest when somebody else is writing my words. my mother inspires me. and so does my cat. i used to run. there's something inspiring about that yeah? never stop moving forward.

Q: How did you get involved with the PSB project?
Fanelli: oh man. i was working at a vegan place called sacred chow. i hadn't seen chris conner in almost a year. and he just glided in and started talking about this project. it sounded like a lot of fun and over time we took a character, Edgar (my character), and really brought him from somebody who was just there doing whatever it is that he did, to being a very important person who i believe genuinely changed the other characters lives. i think anybody who came in contact with edgar was changed by him and had their lives turned upside down. i know i did.

Q: Any favorite behind-the-scenes memories?
Fanelli: thousands, but none i can speak about in public :D

Q: How did you connect with your character?
Fanelli: i just tried to find myself in him and him in me. easier said than done haha. actually w/ edgar chris had written a very vibrant exciting young man who was just so real it was hard not to connect with him. perhaps he was a little too close to me... in the sense that playing him really did confuse me. sometimes i didn't feel as though i was acting... not to say i'm some amazing actor. i could be awful. but... edgar and i are very similar. there wasn't much character work that needed to be done. just work on myself... and i'm still working. ha.

Q: What are you working on now?
Fanelli: oh man. been signed exclusively for voice over work. i average about 1-3 auditions a week... which is amazing. freelancing w/ a bunch of on screen agents. working very passionately with my band. we just released our first EP and oddly enough have some attention, and the possibility of future mentions in italian vogue (don't ask. i don't know either. great management.), nylon, and interview to name a few. and there's one really exciting documentary project so to speak that i really actually am not at liberty to talk about. not by my own doing, but ya know... i actually can't speak of it. haha. so seeing how that turns out and if it does turn out you'll all know haha. so fingers crossed. xoxo right? that's how we do things? ;)

Thanks so much to the divine Andrew Fanelli! Check out Fanelli in Prep School Blues at youtube.com/PrepSchoolBlues

Sunday, March 21, 2010

The Demon Lady - More on First Run 2010

Gearing up to enter the dark, erotic world of The Demon Lady? Make sure to check out The Demon Lady's profile on the official First Run Film Festival 2010 website, along with information on the other exciting new films showcased this year. Remember to come see The Demon Lady on Sunday April 11, 2010 at the Cantor Film Center for the 1:30 PM block of screenings. A world of forbidden passions awaits you there!

Friday, March 12, 2010

The Kobolds at Ace of Clubs

Speaking of bands, here's some pics of The Kobolds, featuring Nicholas DiMichele, who played Jack in Prep School Blues. These are from their show last week at the Ace of Clubs in downtown New York City.




You can learn more about The Kobolds at their official website. They are also on MySpace and Facebook!

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Shapes EP Released!

To celebrate the release of SHAPES new EP, here's some pictures from the release party and concert in NYC featuring lead vocalist Andrew Fanelli, who played Edgar in Prep School Blues. Congrats Andrew and SHAPES!





Listen to SHAPES new EP and learn about their future live appearances at their MySpace.

The Demon Lady - First Run Screening

Why did I put up this pic of Zephyr smiling? Well...more than a year after our shoot, "The Demon Lady" will finally premiere next month! So, after a very long wait and a complex set of circumstances, my film "The Demon Lady" will be screened at the Maurice Kanbar Institute of Film and Television's First Run Film Festival 2010. Contrary to previous updates I put out on twitter and facebook, the film will be screened in the festival proper at 1:30 PM on Sunday April 11, 2010 at New York University's Cantor Film Center (36 8th Street New York, NY 10003, Room 200).

Below is the afternoon's films screening schedule, including some excellent films you should also watch by my fellow classmates from NYU.

Keep checking back for more information on screenings of "The Demon Lady" and my other films!

Spotlight: Sara Smaltz in Prep School Blues


Up next on the spotlight feature, here's an interview with the red-headed vixen Sara Smaltz who played Gabrielle in Prep School Blues as well as some pics of Sara with co-stars Bryan Dechart and Andrew Fanelli.

Q: What's your background in the performing arts?
Sara: I was a musician since I was a child. I played guitar and flute. Then I started singing opera when I was in high school and that led to me doing a lot of musical theater. When I moved to New York to go to college, I started acting in films, mostly as a favor to friends, then after time more people started asking me to do projects.

Q: How did you get involved with this project?
Sara: Chris needed an actress for the original pilot he was shooting for his intermediate class. I played both Rachel and Gabby in the first cut of the pilot, simply because we didn't feel like looking for another actress and were watching Twin Peaks (which featured Sheryl Lee in dual roles as Maddie Ferguson and Laura Palmer) at the time. The series developed from the strengths and weaknesses of the pilot.


Q: Favorite memories?
Sara: Visiting the beautiful Joseph estate, getting to visit Governor French Academy, our terrible photo shoot at the beach when me and Andrew got sun poisoning! Learning to play soccer and of course Emmy's 21st birthday which we celebrated during the season 3 shoot at PT's World Famous Showplace.

Q: How did you connect with Gabrielle?
Sara: I connected with her sense of loneliness and isolation and the continual nature of the setbacks she suffered. I definitely understood her defensive, abrasive nature.

Q:What was your biggest challenge during this project?
My biggest challenge was playing a "bitch", someone who is as aggressively confrontational as Gabby. Also wearing a really short skirt in the cemetery scene because it was very cold that day!


Q: What are you doing these days?
Sara: I am working as an assistant in Manhattan and finishing a script for a short film I plan to shoot later in the year and a documentary.

Thanks so much Sara! Don't forget to revisit Prep School Blues at youtube.com/PrepSchoolBlues

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Spotlight: Alyssa Peterson in Prep School Blues

Next in the spotlight series, it is my great pleasure to present an interview with the radiant Alyssa "Appie" Peterson, who played Rachel in Prep School Blues. I first met Alyssa years ago, she was the little sister of my friend Shaina from high school. A classically trained ballerina, Alyssa is one of the most intelligent, vibrant, passionate artists I know, even at her young age. When I first cast her as Rachel in the fall of 2007, she was only fourteen years old! As the series progressed I saw Alyssa both grow up and mature as an actress. Some of her scenes truly move me, even after all this time. Here's the interview.

Q: What got you into acting? Favorite roles? Inspirations?
Alyssa: My first experience in theater was in the seventh grade when my headmaster told me I was a little minx so I should be Charlotte Goodall in Tennessee Williams' Night of the Iguana. Funny start, but I already loved the stage from my ballet dancing and once I got into theater I knew I had found a true passion. I have enjoyed every role I have had the privilege of performing because each one teaches you something new about performing, the human condition, and yourself. Two of my favorites are Lady Macbeth and Christine in Dancing at Lughnasa - they both taught me a great deal about finding the role within myself. Some of the people who ispire me the most are Scarlett Johanson and Natalie Portman - they both take on so many different characters while maintaining a quality that is uniquely their own.


Q: How did you get involved in the PSB project? Who was your character?
Alyssa: As I said before, I was very active in my school's drama program, and my school's drama program was pretty much fueled by Chris Conner's love for theater. The first time I really got to know him was during a rehearsal for Cabaret in which my older sister was the lead. From then on, I have always loved working with Chris and anytime he has a project, I jump at the chance to work with him; so of course I said yes when he asked me to be in PSB. My character was Rachel, a girl I could have been in another life, and I have enjoyed developing her throughout the project.

Q: Do you have any favorite/distinctive memories from working on PSB?
Alyssa: Too many to count or list. I am very fond of season two, filmed in NYC, because I got to meet the actors in their own element. I had a lot of fun shooting the soccer scenes with Sara, mostly because we are both pretty girly and neither of us really knew what to do. What's worse is that I was supposed to be teaching her, and my athletic experience is mostly in a ballet studio, so that was pretty funny. Especially when I run...

Q: How did you connect with your PSB character? Any specific challenges? How did your character evolve over the course of the series and how did you portray this?
Alyssa: When I first read the script I wasn't very fond of Rachel, I thought she sounded like an exaggerated snob who thought fun would send her to hell. I spent a lot of time with Chris going over why she is the way that she is and what she was trying to work for - by the end of the project, I knew her inside and out felt her pain and frustration myself, at that point, it didn't feel like acting anymore it felt like I was just being myself.

Q: What are you doing now? Any current projects/plans?
Alyssa: I am currently a freshman at the University of Missouri - Kansas City double majoring in Dance performance and Chemical Engineering. I have performed in the fall dance concert and am preparing for the spring concert, which will consist of works by Balanchine, Gary Abbott, and Josh Beamish. I haven't done any theater or film acting since PSB, but it is definitely still a passion of mine and if given the opportunity would gladly perform again.

Thanks so much, Alyssa!

Watch Alyssa as Rachel in Prep School Blues at youtube.com/prepschoolblues

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