Maureen Kedes is a Los Angeles based actor, producer, writer. She began with short films and then streaming TV and several full-length features, mostly independents, mostly leading roles. She is also now writing and producing a limited run musical TV comedy and a full length dramatic biopic.
You are known for enjoying the “juicy” roles. Tell us about your recent projects.
I’m most excited about two projects.
A full-length quirky comedy, The Greatest of All Tina (“the goat movie”). It’s so bizarre and funny. I play the mom of a young woman, Tina, played by super-talented Krystyna Ahlers (who also produced the film). She is down and out on her luck. After a strange encounter with a goat, she decides to live her life as one, saddling me with her baby. Brody Gusar, the comic-genius screenwriter, created the fully-fleshed out character of Pam, the mom. My character goes through every emotion possible and has a huge arc, from super over-the-top lines, shrieking, to super subtle acting. It’s an independent film released later this year. Distribution is already lined up. Shot on location in California’s central coast.
A medium-length film, Thundercloud Lane. This is a 3-person heavy drama with comedy mixed in. My husband is played by Sandy Hackett (son of legendary Buddy Hackett). Our daughter, played by Gabriela Noble is about to get married, but to herself, in a weird bohemian ceremony. My husband is a former road comic who is now home due to his stage partner passing away. I’m a world-famous artist. We all live in Oregon and I have to deal with the two of them. There are several intense “bomb drops” of information that come out as the story unfolds. This is the second film for an amazing, new writer/director, Kitsann Means. She intends to release this separately, and then later, as part of a trilogy exploring mother-daughter relationships. I saw her first film and was floored. We shot on location in Oregon. The actual artist who painted the portraits featured in the film, Melanie Pearson, trained me with paint so it looked authentic. I ended up buying a collection of her work.
You’ve studied at Lee Strasberg in NY, at American Conservatory Theatre in SF and at Beverly Hills Playhouse in LA and have done tons of Improv training and work. How have these experiences helped your career?
To answer your question succinctly: My training is everything. I draw from it daily. Young performers write to me all the time. “Hey, I want to be an actor. Any advice?” Or my personal favorite, “Hey I want to be famous. Can you help me?” Guys, if you are in it to get famous, I don’t have words. But for the ones who have the passion for the craft, first get your training!! You can also book smaller jobs, while you are training, and you will learn immense amounts while building your portfolio. Do theatre when you can. Actors are vessels of emotion. We are always learning, evolving, adapting, changing. The last 2.5 years, since I re-launched my career, I’ve done 41 projects, 4 full-length films, 28 shorts and 9 TV/Web. Believe me, that is incredible training! When it slows down, I drop into an in-person class. My favorite: The Actor’s Circle in Culver City because Marcie Smolin is an awesome teacher but also because she lets me drop in and out due to my schedule. It’s about the craft. It’s about the work. Young actors don’t realize how much better it is for actors now than the old days. There is so much more opportunity.
You have played a Senator, evil leader of a dystopian Cult, and Cougar. How do you prepare for these roles?
Whenever I try to explain my method, I usually fall flat. It’s circuitous. First I read and re-read then re-read the script again. I probably read the script 5-10 times. One of the hardest things for me, because I’m not a spatial thinker (for example I have a terrible sense of direction) and because I am a theatre-based trained actor, is that we shoot out of sequence. Trying to build an arc for my character, remembering where I am in the story emotionally, so I know what choices to make, is challenging. The other method I use is to try every single possible choice, even if it is completely off, to add color, nuance to the performance. For example, if I had a line, “My daughter is a goat!” I know that the director, for comic purposes, will want me to scream that and go as huge as possible and be upset. But I will try it a thousand ways while practicing: crying; singing it like opera; whispering; loving; angry; laughing, jealous, and on and on. What ends up happening is that a nuance or moment from that playtime might slip out in the end result.
Another question people ask me all the time is, “How do you cry on cue like that?” Again, I tried Method acting. It’s not for me unless I do a million takes and I dry up. Then, in that case, I do have to draw from some part of my life. Which I hate doing. All I can tell you is, I do the following: It should go without saying that I know my lines inside and out –so that if you woke me in the middle of the night from a dead sleep, I could recite them; then I focus, deeply; I drink water (tears are water); I breathe deeply (yoga breathing); I feel the connection from my gut to my heart; I imagine how I feel as the person in the scene. I stay calm and focused, I cut off every one, until I hear, “Sound speed, rolling…” Then after the director says “Action,” I take my time, but I’m usually ready by then. With digital you can do that. In the old days, film was so expensive. I do not start until I am ready to cry. If the crying part comes somewhere in the middle of a scene, by the time it comes, I have been holding back, which in my opinion is much more interesting to watch than actual crying. I look at my acting partner(s) and put myself in the situation. So in that moment, I am actually feeling what the character is feeling. That’s the only way I can explain it.
Tell us about your new musical TV comedy.
It is a limited-run series I’m developing with Brody Gusar, my writer/director of the Goat movie. It’s called Sextra Credit: Diary of a Teenage Lingerie Clerk. It’s a family-friendly, coming-of-age, high school musical, loosely based on a true story. I am writing and producing. He is writing and will direct. We are writing a supporting role for me as the Hollywood Madame who runs the shop.
How do you switch gears from dramatic roles to comedy?
It’s an interesting question because in a way, there is no difference. If you are in a funny scene, your character is taking it seriously. The two favorite upcoming projects I just mentioned required both. I will add that it is difficult to teach comedy. You either know what’s funny and have timing, or you don’t. My years doing improv are everything. I improvise a lot, depending on the director and the writing. Lately, I’ve had the incredible fortune to get handed such amazing scripts, I dare not change one word.
How have you evolved as an Actress?
Well, I’m continually evolving. I think the greatest difference from me now as opposed to my younger self, is that I know my value and I know that I can’t please everyone. I stick to my gut no matter who I am reading for. I don’t approach a project trying to guess what they want. I approach every opportunity as if I already have booked it and with how I would like to do it. Then, I love, love, love getting direction because I love, love, love exploring choices. We get so hung up sometimes that we forget: we are in make-believe-land. We should be having fun!
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@maureenkedes
Maureen Kedes