"Vice"- Louisiana Film Prize Short Film with my Students

I had a really cool experience over the summer helping my Love Acting students make their own short film called “Vice”. I directed it, and we had talented actors Hannah Papizan and Eric Carney write and star in it. Most of the actors in Baton Rouge are hungry for experiences, but lack opportunity. Actors know that they need to have a reel in order to have the opportunity to get an agent or start developing their career. Making short films has always been a great way to help actors launch into the professional world because they not only can get footage to add to their reel, but they get the experience of being on a set.

Hannah Papizan and Eric Carney are two very special acting students to me. They both came to Love Acting with some experience under their belt, knowing they wanted to pursue acting as a career. I’ve watched them develop their talents through our intermediate acting class and then growing into the advanced class and expanding their skills on-camera. Hannah and Eric participated in the Actor’s Showcase, and I knew it was time for them to make their own short film to really show what they can do. I challenged them to write their own script that I would direct and Aaron would shoot. We also knew we wanted to submit it to the Louisiana Film Prize.

Hannah and Eric both wrote characters for themselves that they felt would be characters they could play in other movies— characters they’d want to be cast as. It’s always fun directing your own students because they already know your communication/directing style, so when we were on set it was like a big family making a movie. We decided to take some risks and push the limits during their big fight scene by adding a physical fight to the already emotional banter. It definitely raised the stakes of the scene.

When I found out that we got into Louisiana Film Prize I was not surprised, based on these actors’ dedication and openness to push themselves. While on set, it felt like performances that should be applauded. Aaron and I love working together with him working in the role of director of photography and with me directing— it’s like we’re one feisty brain. We are not afraid to confront each other as in our 13 year marriage and are able to achieve artistic goals through good communication and our interconnection. We have some similar taste in films that we love. Like one of my favorite directors Greta Gerwig, we hope to be able to tag team creative projects (like Frances Ha, Barbie, etc.)— and Vice, and much more in the future.

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