Ann Mahoney: The Essence of Story Telling

Discover the heartbeat of acting with the extraordinary Ann Mahoney, as she shares her profound insights into the art of performance. From nurturing the unique spark within each actor to embracing the stark realities of self-taping in our digital age, Ann's wisdom as an actor, educator, and writer radiates through every word. She delves into the power of an actor's personal narrative in shaping their on-screen presence and unwraps the complex layers actors must navigate when embodying characters that test their moral compass. It's an education in authenticity, and Ann's masterclass in acting is not to be missed.
 
 Have you ever wondered how actors find the truth in their portrayal? Ann brings to light the transformative Suzuki method, emphasizing the actor's physicality to cultivate a compelling 'neutral' face that allows their true essence to shine. Her stories of character exploration and the importance of a support network remind us that acting is not just a solitary craft but a communal journey. Her candid reflections on the emotional and moral quandaries of the profession offer a rare glimpse into the actor's world, where humor and humanity intertwine with the characters they bring to life.
 
 Not only does Ann enlighten us with tales of her storied career, including her role as Gladys Presley in "Sun Records" and her foray into the Shakespearean realm as Hamlet, but she also peels back the curtain on "The Walking Dead" and the famous "slap" scene. Her passion for both performing and playwriting pulsates throughout our conversation, culminating in an exclusive look at her work on and off the screen. Ann's dedication to her craft and the joy she finds in teaching are testaments to the enduring power of storytelling, leaving us with inspiration long after the final curtain call.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hi, this is Anne Mahoney. I am an actor, teacher and writer and I am frickin' thrilled to be on NOLA Film Scene with TJ and Brian.

Speaker 2: 0:15

NOLA Film Scene. Hello, welcome to NOLA Film Scene with TJ and Plato. I'm TJ and, as always, I'm Plato. We're going to talk to somebody who I've been looking forward so long to talk to on our podcast, one of my teachers, anne Mahoney. Hello, thank you for coming, anne. Yay, yeah.

Speaker 1: 0:39

Yeah, I get to talk about my favorite thing in the whole world what we do.

Speaker 2: 0:42

Yes, excellent. Yeah, I have mentioned you without mentioning you a few times because I took your self-tape class over Zoom during the pandemic.

Speaker 1: 0:51

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 0:51

And I took it August of 21, had to stop because my wife and I went on vacation, came back like six weeks later and took it again and you were like you already took this. Yeah well, I felt like I needed it. And the same thing happened with Charlie Adler not that I stopped his, the class is six weeks apart or so and then both of y'all the first day went you've improved so much. And I was like whoa, because in Jim Gleason's class it's every week and you see some, but you can't see the gradual change as easy.

Speaker 1: 1:16

Yeah, it's hard to be objective about yourself.

Speaker 2: 1:19

Yeah, and that meant a hell of a lot to me and helped me go from student to actor in my own mind.

Speaker 1: 1:23

That's awesome. That's all I want to do as a teacher. I've had so many teachers in my life that were the opposite of like. They almost were trying to convince me not to do it. Sometimes not all of my teachers. I have had great teachers too. But I think as a teacher, if it's not for you, you're going to figure that out on your own. It's my job to try to find the sweet spot and the unique talent that you have, what you can bring that no one else can bring by virtue of not being you, and nurture that and be a cheerleader and be honest when you know it misses the mark. But then when you're improving, when the real, when the real authentic you is coming out across that camera boy, encourage it right.

Speaker 2: 2:01

That's right, right. We found I'm a lovable goofball. You are encourage it, right.

Speaker 3: 2:04

That's right right we found I'm a lovable goofball.

Speaker 2: 2:05

You are and and one of the scenes I picked from your book with the title of your acting book is slap courage for the on-camera actor I keep wanting to say, slap her around the world, and I'm like that's not it. I was the assistant with a beaker, you know, in at a lab oh, I loved you in that scene you know the big boss is coming and we have these special compounds that we have to add to the thing and I'm like drop, oops yeah yeah, just just like you said, just that you loved it, and ann would give us our critiques online, like send us a video that we could all see, and she's like I love this for you.

Speaker 2: 2:37

I will never forget that.

Speaker 1: 2:38

It's great yeah, I love that work. I love watching other people's work too, because I think, like in an world, I would love to have just a bunch of partners and we could all really believe in each other and watch our audition tapes and direct each other. That would be ideal because I think sometimes, when you're working on your own, you sometimes can't see those things that other people can see.

Speaker 3: 2:57

That's right.

Speaker 1: 2:58

You know, I have someone that I tape with who's actually not at all an actor, not even involved in the industry at all my sister-in-law. She's an insurance underwriter and I love taping with her because she's a no bullshit kind of gal and just by virtue of her being in the room, all of my isms, all of my tendencies to art it up as an actress go away because she's talking to me and it just all comes very naturally Like I just come right back down to earth. And so that's something I'm always learning Like that's a big tenant of mine is that if when you're done and you're finished, then you might as well quit, because there's always new things happening in your life, there's always new ways to get at stuff. You're always changing, and she's one of those people who, just when I have her across the camera from me, it just all falls away and I feel really truthful just by her being there.

Speaker 2: 3:44

Yeah, excellent, excellent.

Speaker 3: 3:45

Yeah, authenticity I find I've been hearing that word. It comes up a lot lately. That's the thing is being authentic. I did a still photography shoot yesterday the first one I've done and everybody else involved with the shoot were not actors for the most part, there were one or two, and seeing these people with no experience in front of a camera versus people with experience in front of the camera sometimes it's easier when you don't have experience I think to be authentic. I don't know. I guess the more repetitions I do, the easier it gets. That's a fact To bring myself out instead of oh, I'm just, I'm trying to pretend to be someone else.

Speaker 1: 4:23

Yes, it's so wild. I love the way you put that. I think that the authenticity is the key to all of it. So, you know, assuming all blessings, fairy blessings on all of us, all of us would love, you know, months to go and research and become a character and do all those things. Um cause we don't have to have any other job or work, and we would, would love that opportunity.

Speaker 1: 4:44

But the truth is, for the majority of us in this profession I think the strike taught us this the majority of us are hustling in every aspect, not just in our acting profession, and so we're looking for the authentic us over and over again. We don't have time to sit there and do all the months and months of getting into character and all that stuff. We have to have immediate access to our authenticity and our vulnerability to be able to do good work, and the best way to do that is to be doing work, which is tricky because we can't just do work by ourselves. We have to get invited to the party, right. We can go to classes, right. We can tape ourselves and watch ourselves, but there's a pressure level that you don't get to unless you're actually on set.

Speaker 1: 5:24

That's right, and so I found in my own work I'll be in the middle of doing a movie and I'll get a bunch of auditions, and those are the best auditions I lay down all year, because I'm just already in the gear and the mode of like this is how this needs to be. I just have to inhabit the space, I just have to be real. I don't have to guilt the lily at all. So, yeah, so what do you do when you have stripes and you have COVID and all those things happen that take you away from the actual practice day to day of it? Right, can you substitute it somewhat? Probably inski and Suzuki method? Can you tell us the differences between them? Is there one?

Speaker 3: 5:55

approach that works better for you than another.

Speaker 1: 5:57

Stanislavski is actually the original method acting which, in my opinion, has been massively bastardized in the modern acting world to this place of almost selfishness. Like the method now we think about people actually hurting themselves to become characters, right, doing things to themselves so that they can understand the character, or highly inconveniencing the other people on set and making them part of their process, whether or not they consent.

Speaker 2: 6:39

Right.

Speaker 1: 6:39

Yeah, yeah. So if you really want to know what method acting is, go back to read Stanislavski's book Books plural, and his idea was just really understanding the person from the ground up. It was mostly solitary practice and then a practice that within the theater you would work out in rehearsal Not this solitary manipulative process or not a process where you hurt yourself. I think there's great value in method acting. My favorite actual book that's not Stanislavski's about method acting is Uta Hagen's Respect for Acting. It's still one of my favorite texts. I think she modernizes, even though it's an old book now, and enlightens that work in a really amazing way. I think there's value in that.

Speaker 1: 7:20

And then the Suzuki method of active training is primarily a voice and movement technique. However, it's kind of like Jedi mind trick in the process of doing all this very difficult vocal and physical work. The physical work is tremendously hard on the body but asks the upper body to remain free and the face to be neutral, while the lower body works very hard. So it's exhausting and it pushes you very hard physically and in that process you discover a lot about yourself. The neutral face from Suzuki is brilliant for film work because once you've done the Suzuki method for a while you find there's nothing neutral about the neutral face. It's actually you're getting to see right directly inside of the person.

Speaker 1: 8:02

For my purposes in my journey all of it has been very useful, but the one that I've returned to all the time now teach is the Suzuki method of actor training, because that work for me as an actor who is very brainy, really helps me get out of my own way.

Speaker 1: 8:17

So if I can ground myself in my body, in my breath instead of my mind when I'm actually acting it's like boxing I'll be in, I'll be in the moment, and so whatever's thrown at me, I can, I can adjust, I can swing back, I can move, I can be present moment to moment, because acting is living truthfully moment to moment within imaginary circumstances, right. And so Suzuki, to me, most closely replicates that actual experience. Because you're so physically taxed you have no choice but to be in that moment. And if you practice that over and over again, you memorize the feeling of what it's like to truly be present in a moment. So to me that work I call it my active reset button. It brings me back to myself. My breath, my authenticity, roots me in my body and gets my brain out of the way, whereas for me some of the method work is a little too heady and I find myself thinking too much about the work and trying to show that I did the work in my brain instead of embodying the work.

Speaker 2: 9:19

Gotcha.

Speaker 3: 9:19

Wow, that was a great explanation, thanks.

Speaker 2: 9:22

You reminded me from our class talking about feeling it in the body. I totally forget that. I probably may be still doing it, but it hasn't been a conscious thought. It's like, oh yeah, because as we grow as students, the same lesson will hit us differently. I say that about the circle exercise all the time.

Speaker 1: 9:45

But it's like there's so many moving parts to keep track of but you don't want to keep track of them at the same time. You know, yeah, so I just got a free lesson. Well, you just put the work and the training in consistently, right, yeah. And then the rest of it's having faith that you put the work in, that your body is ready for whatever is coming. And you do, and I do the mind work too. I go and I do. I have a whole homework notebook that I do for every character I work on. I do the research too, but the body is my key to freeing myself from the page, and that includes the script. My body and my breath is the key to freeing myself from that, to trusting that it's there. I have my students do this homework notebook. I make them do it because if you get into your professional career and you decide that this is a useless tool for you, I'm not offended.

Speaker 1: 10:22

But for this semester you'll do it what I liken it to is you know, when you dream, we wake up from dreams and we're happy. Sometimes we wake up from dreams we're crying or we're angry, and it's because your mind does not know the difference between a dream and reality. Obviously, once you wake up you're like, oh, that was a dream, but you're still emotionally affected. So to me, the homework notebook is the equivalent of dreaming and living the life of the character. So if I and I write it with my hand, I don't type it because I believe that there is something about, again, the physical connection between writing and the mind and the body. So I take myself through the dream phase in my homework notebook, then I do the physical work to let go of it and then trust that it's there because I did the work, I dreamed it it's real.

Speaker 1: 11:08

And then I'm affected by I'm affected by these imaginary memories that I wrote in the homework notebook, because they're now part of my dreaming and my real life.

Speaker 3: 11:17

So, when you step into the scene, does that help you recall and feel the emotion that you felt from the dream side? Sure, does it bring it to the surface more quickly.

Speaker 1: 11:29

doing it that way, yeah, and also I try not to think about it too much, I try to just breathe. Yeah, it does bring it to surface because you did the work. It's there, it exists. I like to say, when I stand in front of people, I don't try to convince them that I'm Anne Mahoney, because I'm Anne Mahoney by virtue of having been Anne Mahoney for 47 years. The foundation I stand on is my history and my life and the things that I've done. Those exist and they can't go away right. So for me, the homework notebook for my characters is the foundation on which I stand to say I am this person and I am by virtue of what I know, just like I know who I am because of living this life. Wow.

Speaker 2: 12:07

You don't have to try to convince them you're you because you're you. It sounds so simple. But TJ just said wow and I didn't have the word. That word wouldn't even come out. I'm just like whoa, it's amazing. It sounds so simple. I feel almost silly to express that, but it's not. It's, oh, that's amazing. It sounds so simple. It sounds, I feel almost silly to express that, but it's, it's not.

Speaker 1: 12:27

It's oh, that's amazing it's simple, but it's not. It's just like anything else that you do. You know, you're a ballerina, right? A ballerina wouldn't dream of walking on stage to be the sugar plum fairy and the nutcracker without going to the bar every day, right? A musician, a serious musician, would not dream of just gigging and not playing scales and arpeggios. What does the actor have? What does the actor have as their bar, as their scales and arpeggios? What does the actor have as their scrimmage game? What do we have in order to be sure that we're primed and ready for the work that's coming? And to me, that's the Suzuki method of actor training. That work is the prime Suzuki method of actor training. That work is the prime right.

Speaker 1: 13:08

So, for instance, like and it's the key to unlock authenticity, to unlock the script, right, my son plays cello and I was listening to his teacher, kent Jensen. He's actually a cellist in the LPO. He was giving a talk and he was talking about the musician's practice, which is scales and arpeggios and all the different keys major, minor all the modes right? Ultimately, you're practicing music, but you're also practicing scales and arpeggios. And he gave this example and it just blew my mind and I was like, oh my gosh, it's just like Suzuki.

Speaker 1: 13:33

He said all of music is made up of scales and arpeggios. And the way to open the music up for yourself is to be able to look at a sheet of music and you're not looking at individual notes anymore. You're like that's a minor scale, that's a major scale, that's an arpeggio. Your practice, you're priming yourself as the musician, as the actor, opens the music up for you, the script. So it's finding that practice that keeps you open to the works. You're not afraid. You may not get the role, you might not be right for it, but you're not turning in an audition that you're like I don't feel great about that, you're turning great work.

Speaker 2: 14:08

You're not playing a sour note, You're not flat or sharp. You're playing and you're grooving and you're hitting. That Doesn't matter if you get a knot. You play the song at that moment and that's all you can do.

Speaker 1: 14:17

Yep, I told you I love talking about this stuff. I mean, you think I teach? All the time, but I just.

Speaker 2: 14:25

It's why I'm in this work is because it's endlessly fascinating to me, indeed, and that's why we do this podcast.

Speaker 1: 14:29

Cheers.

Speaker 3: 14:31

Cheers. Have you ever had an audition or role that was challenging for your own personal moral beliefs? I had one recently. That was. It was a challenge for me, just honestly, from my beliefs, and I'm wondering, with the preparation, do you have an approach to overcome something like that?

Speaker 1: 14:53

Yeah, I will say, because of my look and my type, I don't get a lot of mean people, dark people, people with. I don't. I did on stage. I did more of that on stage.

Speaker 1: 15:05

What I will say is this it's like you can't judge the character and you can say that about like you're playing a Nazi. Okay, you can't judge the character, the actor yourself. You may hate everything that that stands for, and I do Right, but my job is the actor. To tell the story in a way that gives honor to the horrific stuff that people experience because of this. These people that I do not like is to tell that story with integrity, and in order to do that, I have to understand why. So I have to stay out of judgment of the character and stay in the place of why are they this way? And that's uncomfortable because, of course, we all want to think that it's as simple as well. They're a monster, right, and they are. Let's say they are.

Speaker 1: 15:50

But that's not for me, as the actor, to judge. It's for me to go. Why are they this way? How did they get this way? Who are their parents? How were they brought up? What were the experiences that added up to them being this person that they are, and then to stay out of judgment. I mean, if you want to take it on a lighter end of stuff Like, let's say, you get a character that's not too bright and you're a bright person your initial instinct may be to judge that character like she's dumb. It's like, well then you're not going to be good in that role because what's funny about that character or interesting about that character is their point of view, not that they're dumb. So it's stepping out of judgment a lot, with characters stepping away from judgment and just always finding the why, why are they this way? Why do they think this way? Why do they not get that joke Right?

Speaker 3: 16:35

Oh wow, that makes sense.

Speaker 1: 16:36

And then you're going to actually be funnier and you're going to be more compelling to watch and stuff that's more dramatic, because we're going to believe you, we're not going to see the actor kind of standing to the side as a critic going like, does everybody understand that I hate this guy, right? Kind of standing to the side as a critic going like does everybody understand? That I hate this guy, right, yeah, yeah, but it is difficult.

Speaker 2: 16:52

Yeah, that makes sense, one of our favorite questions to all of our guests is how did you get started? What was your inspiration? Whether it was high school, you know people like me, it was later in life, but can you find the moment where you went? I want to be an actor and or this is for me.

Speaker 1: 17:08

Um, I mean, the first time I was on stage I was four and I was in the Nutcracker. I was a dancer first. Yeah, I mean, I guess I would say I was 10 years old and my dad was teaching at Loyola, which is where I teach now, and my dad was the coordinator of jazz studies at Loyola for about 36 years and they were doing Fiddler on the Roof. The professor who was directing the show asked my dad. She said don't you have kids? He's like yeah, I have three. And she's like don't they sing and dance? And my dad was like the older two do the younger one's not really into that. She was like well, could they be in Fiddler on the Roof? We need some kids. I was like. My dad was like well, bring him in.

Speaker 1: 17:46

So that was the first play I ever did and I just remember that I thought that those college kids were so amazing. Like I was like they're studying this, they do this, and backstage to me was like the most exciting, remarkable place ever. Yeah, so that was my first play, I guess. As far as like it becoming like, oh, I'm going to do this, I have to attribute that to Morris Block, who was my speech and debate teacher. Theater teacher at Riverdale High School in Jefferson Parish. We were one of the few public schools that had a speech and debate team, and Mr Block was unbelievably amazing. He had no children of his own and so we were his kids. He gave all of his everything to us and he let us do ridiculous plays.

Speaker 1: 18:28

We had no business doing, just stuff that like was way beyond our age range, way beyond our abilities, and he was like, yeah, whatever. So I was like doing like Death and the Maiden when I was like 16.

Speaker 1: 18:41

You know, I was doing the search for signs of intelligent life in the universe the Lily Tomlin play. I did that for my comedy thing and so I read a lot of plays because I was doing speech and debate. So that's when I kind of fell in love with it. And I remember telling my dad I said I think I want to study. But I had no formal actor training in terms of I did speech and debate in theater in high school. I didn't go to NOCA. At that time you had to be in Orleans, parish, to go to NOCA. But then I was like I'm going to do this, like I'm going to go, I want to study this, I want to understand this.

Speaker 1: 19:10

On a deeper level and I remember telling my dad that I was going to, I wanted to study theater in college and he said well, another starving artist joins the family, right? And I think I choose it all the time now because it's not. I tell my students this and I know cause I was a student once too, and I just remember, like rolling my eyes sometimes when professors would say stuff like this but I'm like the day will come when you will wish you could just be in the play. Can I just be in the play? Can I just go to class? Can I just lay on the floor and breathe? Can I go to class for free? Not for free, college is free but still like the day will come when every piece of what you love to do is going to have to be an invitation or an audition, or a Herculean effort on your part, between jobs and kids and life, to do the thing that you love the most.

Speaker 3: 19:58

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1: 19:59

So I think I have to choose it over and over again even now, because sometimes I'm like, probably once a week I'm like fuck this, fuck this, you know. And then you get the audition. You're like ooh right. You're like damn, it still has me, right, yeah?

Speaker 2: 20:13

because you're like, oh god, I gotta get an audition, I gotta get an agent, I gotta get this, I gotta get that. What am I doing? Oh, here it is. Yes, there's a chance to play. And you do the audition, you send it in and, and folks, now I can say I have an agent. She sends it back well, try this different. Yeah, and you get all geared up and radio silence.

Speaker 1: 20:31

Nothing.

Speaker 2: 20:31

You know it's turned in. You don't know if you booked it. It's about to be time for them to start filming Another one. Yeah.

Speaker 1: 20:38

And it comes out and you're like so who got that role Right?

Speaker 3: 20:42

Right.

Speaker 1: 20:43

And you go and you yeah, they're really good, they were really good.

Speaker 3: 20:47

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 20:50

We all auditioned for something that I was filming in Mississippi. Some of us did for the same thing and you know.

Speaker 1: 20:55

I think I auditioned for the same thing you're talking about. Actually funny, yes.

Speaker 3: 20:59

I did as well.

Speaker 2: 21:02

And I auditioned for the same role because it was male or female and TJ and I did one for another guy. I don't think you would have gotten that one, anne, because you needed a beard. Maybe it wasn't in the description. You can do it, I know I have gumption, I can grow a beard, your hair looks lovely. I didn't get a chance to say today, maybe you could just turn it. You know, there you go.

Speaker 3: 21:19

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 21:20

It's better than mine. But I have another friend. He did multiple. Heard anything? No, I haven't. And you know that's something and it's almost set it and forget it, like the old Ron Papillo thing. That's right, do it and forget it. And he's like, yeah, but I'm looking, I want to see who did it. And I was like you got to let it go. It's nice to know. And he's working himself up and I do it too and it's easy to say calm down, know what I mean? Yeah, it's a roller coaster, it's a wonderful roller coaster, it's a terrible roller coaster. It's up and it's down and it's worth every minute. Most days it is.

Speaker 1: 21:55

It's like the greatest love of your life and the most abusive relationship you've ever been in All at the same time.

Speaker 3: 22:03

I used to look at it auditions, as you know, worried about it and thinking about it. Auditions, as you know, worried about it and thinking about it. And when it finally clicked to me James DeMont says that over and over, the audition is the job and it just took a minute for that light bulb to go off. Wait, I'm getting to act. It may only be in front of two or three people, but I'm getting to showcase what I love to do. It doesn't matter if it's two or three or thousands.

Speaker 3: 22:31

And then once I let that switch flip for me and audition started becoming fun I don't know just the whole outlook on it changed. It didn't feel I don't want to say difficult anymore, but it didn't feel like a task. The process to me, the preparation, is fun. I enjoy researching the roles and developing the character and the things that you were talking about earlier. What's the character's backstory, you know, figuring all those things out and marking up the side. And once I stopped looking at it as a task and as that's the actual job, then it I don't know, the fun really started happening and I started getting comments like you seem more relaxed now than before because I'm settling into it and realizing that that is the job, that's the fun part, and now I mean I love it. I love getting auditions. That was when it changed for me.

Speaker 1: 23:19

Right, well, and I'll just say this, like I mean I don't pretend to know anybody's journey except my own, I still go round for round with that. I'll get in a phase where I'm just like, oh, here's the trippy thing. Sometimes the oh man is the shit that I book. I'm like, damn it, you know, just I want to work, but I haven't booked so many things in a row, and, just you know, losing faith in myself and my work. And that still happens. I still go round and round. And then I'll have this, you know, this beautiful spring of like, oh right, right. And I'll tell you, teaching is a big part of how it keeps me in that place of wonder and happiness about what I get to do for part of my living. Right, teaching does that? Because I have these eager students who are just so excited, for the most part, to just be doing it Right, and it reminds me oh right, I love this.

Speaker 2: 24:06

I just had an audition. She loves me. Sometimes I can make her laugh. Mostly I make her eyes roll. She has the full brunt of me daily. So she was my reader and I did. It was kind of comedic and I almost didn't finish when she started laughing. That's how I knew it was a good idea. I was like, oh, so that was my take one. I was like here.

Speaker 2: 24:27

Yep, that's it thing, like TJ was saying, once you start loving the audition, struggling for class and I have a heavy work schedule, normal job and then trying to do so many things, and then you get your scene for the next week's class and trying to memorize it, oh and I'd struggle, I can't do this. It's heaven, baby. And finally I just went to the negative voice in my head and said, shut the fuck up, I can do this and I would see myself get better and better every week. And now it's like, oh, I can't do this. No, I can do it. And then, just a little bit, you get that little bit of joy. I memorize and that joy locks everything. You know, same thing. It's finding the joy and it will make everything so much better and has for me.

Speaker 1: 25:04

Yep, I got to do an audition this morning, like before I did this with you guys, and it was a really creative audition. Auditions I love when I get those. I almost couldn't, I couldn't wait to get to it. That's not always the case. Sometimes you're, I get an audition and I feel like I don't feel right for it. I'll be honest, like sometimes I'll get an audition and I'll be like oh, I don't feel like I'm right for this and it feels like kind of an uphill battle and the trippy thing is is I'll book those two or not book them? There's no real like.

Speaker 2: 25:30

It's no real like it's not set in stone.

Speaker 1: 25:32

No, there's no nothing clear path, right. But what that one this morning, I just was like I just I got up and I just couldn't wait to get to it, right, and I was like, oh, I get to do this thing again. This is exciting yeah.

Speaker 3: 25:44

Cool, cool, cool. Do you have a role? Either film, television or theater, that's just your favorite. That stands out above all the others that you've. That you've done.

Speaker 1: 25:53

I think in film and television it would be Gladys Presley in Sun Records. That would be far and above anything else.

Speaker 1: 26:00

I think it's because I got to do so much, so many different scenes with her and I got to do all of this amazing research and part of that included like very little actual recordings of her voice and trying to piece together her accent and do that authentically and just. I love the story of Elvis. I love the story of Gladys Presley, so I think that would be way up there. Also, I got to work with Roland Joffe. He directed all the episodes and he's incredible, so that was great.

Speaker 1: 26:26

And in theater I would say I played Hamlet in Hamlet when I was in grad school. This is a million years ago and I still keep bringing it up because I think that I don't know if I was necessarily good, but I learned so much. That role is so gigantic. And when you get cast as Hamlet you're kind of screwed from the beginning because everybody already has their favorite Hamlet and everybody has how they think Hamlet should be done in their head. So you're kind of screwed. And because I was screwed, I just felt such freedom in doing it because I was like well, people probably going to hate it anyway. I lost my voice doing that show. Like a week and a half before we opened it. I had to completely redo my character to figure out how to be healthy in my voice, which has been a part of my journey as a teacher. Now, when I teach, I really focus on vocal and body health.

Speaker 1: 27:10

So yeah, I'd say this too would be my top from theater and from film and television.

Speaker 2: 27:14

I got you. Thank you for sharing that, Not just me saying thank you. It's time to be polite. So we have alluded to opportunities that have arisen from TJ and I starting this podcast and I know you know which story involving us in here. I'm really. Please tell that story.

Speaker 1: 27:31

Yeah, so I wrote an original play with one of my dearest friends in the world called God, help them If we Wake Up, and I started working on it in the fall of 2022. I have to. We're in 2024 now, so I have to get my mirror straight.

Speaker 1: 27:44

Anyway we spent about a year workshopping it, rewriting it with a bunch of different people and then it ended up being the show that we did at Loyola this fall, the first production of it, the world premiere of it, and we had got some grants and it's a very big show it's like 30 people. So if you don't know anything about theater, it's very expensive to produce theater with more than a cast of like two or three. So I was trying to cast all these pieces that I had written in the show that were video segments and there's a segment in the show. The show is kind of about women being fed up with the patriarchy and politics and all that jazz. And there's these two podcasters in the show that are typical bros talking about hoes and they're you know.

Speaker 1: 28:29

But they have a political agenda and the lead character in the show has seemingly disappeared. I mean, they think she's dead. And now there's this big feminist wave of rage happening throughout the nation because this woman has disappeared. Everybody's talking about it and these two podcast guys jump on that train and you know they talk about, oh she's. They say she's. You know she's dead. We think she is and it's. And I was like I need these two bros to do this podcast video segment. And I was, and you had just started doing this podcast and I was like, oh my god, that's perfect. So let me reach out to brian yeah, and I share everything.

Speaker 2: 29:05

I'm like, yeah, hey, and I'm doing this hand, I'm doing this and I'm doing a podcast, and you went. I was like, oh my god, it's perfect.

Speaker 1: 29:13

because I thinking I was going to have to get like two like 19-year-old boys from Loyola in their dorm room and I was like it's not the right vibe. Right, it's like it needs to be. It's a specific vibe, but I was explaining, you know, in the production meeting, I was like these two guys are so nice and so lovely and so not like these two characters. Not like these two characters, but they're both actors and they're the right demographic, they're the right age bracket and like. So I reached out to Brian.

Speaker 1: 29:37

I was like do you want to be in my play?

Speaker 2: 29:41

You're like, call me crazy if you want, but I got this idea.

Speaker 1: 29:44

But like it's these two podcasters, weird.

Speaker 2: 29:47

Yeah, synchronicity, let's do it.

Speaker 1: 29:49

Maybe you and TJ could do it, and it was great.

Speaker 2: 29:52

Then we read the script.

Speaker 1: 29:53

Yeah, you read the script and you were like, ooh. I was like, yeah, yeah, but just channel your best bro.

Speaker 2: 29:59

Great script, but you're like. You know I'm a podcast. I'm playing a podcast. He's an asshole. I'm not most of the days. At least not that type. It's not that kind. You always have to kind of have that one thought of are people going to see me like this, and then you go, I don't care yeah it doesn't matter. It was a lot of fun to do that.

Speaker 1: 30:15

It was and I was telling them before the podcast started. I went to every show, went to every performance because I like to just see how it changes. And every night that segment would come on with you two doing the podcast and everybody in the audience would go oh, like they, just so it was right on.

Speaker 3: 30:31

Yeah, yeah, that was the right reaction.

Speaker 1: 30:33

Cause. That's what you want.

Speaker 3: 30:34

Yeah, that's the reaction you want the audience to go.

Speaker 1: 30:36

Oh, these guys, I know these guys, Right, oh these misogynistic jerks yeah. So well done.

Speaker 3: 30:43

Yep.

Speaker 1: 30:44

We did it.

Speaker 3: 30:46

That was fun to prepare and to do. We shot it after my improv class in New Orleans at Anubis. Brian would come over there and we would clear the room and set it up in there. And it was fun prepping for that. I'm like OK, so we got to play jerks, we got to, I get it. Ok, I get it, we got it. Yeah, and when he told me that you asked us about doing that, I was just completely floored and so flattered and it just felt really great to be a part of that show.

Speaker 1: 31:18

I was thankful to have you. I had a bunch of really great local folks that were in the video segments on the show. It was great to just know that I could get the direction, pass it off and that it would get done well, because I had a lot on my plate trying to get that show off the ground.

Speaker 2: 31:28

And it's something we use iPhones to record it, which is always amazing to me. Growing up, you know I always wanted to be in films and stuff. Now that I look back on it. But access to the equipment and to editing software and come on, forget about microphones and love man never would have thought of that as a kid. Thank you again for the opportunity. It was a lot of fun, oh it was awesome. So, anne, I know you've talked about this hundreds, not thousands, of times let's talk about the slap.

Speaker 3: 31:51

The slap.

Speaker 2: 31:52

Okay, how to get that, how to come about?

Speaker 1: 32:00

anything you want to share with it, the floor is yours. Okay, so I rarely get to share the entirety of this story of the slap, which is interesting because it's way more interesting than just the fact that it happened In season seven, I think, earlier, an earlier episode. Neekan has this line he says nice job putting the fat girl in charge of the pantry. And I was already on set. I was getting ready to shoot that episode and Scott Gimple, who was the showrunner at the time, called me. And usually the call from Scott Gimple is not the one you want to get right Because you're like oh, I'm going to be killed, I'm dead. He would personally call people, he would call you.

Speaker 2: 32:31

Let me pause you, just in case.

Speaker 1: 32:34

It's from the.

Speaker 2: 32:34

Walking Dead series on.

Speaker 1: 32:35

AMC. Oh sorry, it's okay, it's just we both got excited.

Speaker 2: 32:39

Of course we know what we're talking about, but in case someone's listening or in the future they hear this Walking Dead on AMC Anne was part of that Please continue.

Speaker 1: 32:45

Yes, so this is my third season on the show I'm talking about. This is season seven. And so Scott called Scott, gimple called me and I was like oh God. And I picked up the phone I was like hello, he's like hey, I just wanted to tell you, like you know, negan is an asshole and so he says asshole things and none of us think of you as like the fat girl in the pantry. He's just a dick. And I meant to call you before you ever got the script and I said, having read the comic books, well, you can make it up to me if you let me do the scene where she slaps Negan. And he said well, I mean, it's like early on in the shooting of season seven, he goes. Well, you know, I don't know if we're going to have time for that necessarily, I can't really promise, and I was like I know, I know how it goes.

Speaker 1: 33:29

I know we can't promise, but be really cool, tacos. I know we can't promise, but be really cool. And I remember getting this script for that episode. I remember exactly where it was. I was at my parents' house, my kids were swimming in the pool and I get the script and I was like okay. And so I didn't know what was going to be in it.

Speaker 1: 33:45

You never know, we never know. We barely I knew I was going to shoot it like within days, and I just get the script and I'm like reading it, I'm like, I'm really like, honestly, I was just looking for my name. I'm like what do we do? And the slap scene was in there and I like I literally I cheered, I cheered. My family was like what, what is it? I'm like I was like I can't tell you and they're like you can't. I was like I tell you. I was like but it's really good, it's so good. So then of course, I get to go do it and, um, I think it was it Rosemary Rodriguez was directing that episode. And so we get to the slap part and she's like you know, we'll do, we'll do a bunch of uh, we'll do a bunch of just practice, just go through the lines and then the slap and we'll just mime it, mimeime it, you know.

Speaker 2: 34:32

And I was like great.

Speaker 1: 34:33

And Jeffrey Dean was like, I was like, so what?

Speaker 2: 34:35

do you want to do, you want to do like a?

Speaker 1: 34:36

snap situation right. You want to clap? I hit, I slap you and hit my hand. What do you want? He's like just just slap me. I was like oh, we don't, you don't want to do that, you don't want to and I have stage combat experience right. I did my own punching and charming the hearts of men, like you know, not stunt stunts, but I can do that limited kind of stuff.

Speaker 2: 34:57

Right right.

Speaker 1: 34:58

He's like just slap me. And Rosemary's like well, we're still like going to test this out, we're still going to go through the scene. Just make sure we have all the shots right so that when we do the slapping it lands right, so to speak. We're supposedly still doing like the mocking up, mock up of it, but Rosemary has told me and the camera crew that we're going to do it for real this time, but she doesn't tell Jeffrey Dean. So she's like I want you to really hit him this time. I was like OK, so the take that. You see, I only did it once. That was it, that was the slap. I hit him once and that when he brings his face back and he shakes his head, I literally was like I don't know if I can get my next line out.

Speaker 2: 35:37

So what you see on this show is very real.

Speaker 1: 35:38

We finished the tape they cut and all of the video village, all the crew were like, oh, they all. They came out. Jesus, I was like I told you I was like Mahoney Jesus, I was like I told you, I was like I. So the director was like I think we got it, I think we got it, I think we do too. So, yeah, but he was darling, just a darling, wonderful person to work with. It was just great. That whole show was just a great, fun, wonderful experience. And the next time I got a call from Scott Gimple it was the call.

Speaker 1: 36:14

I just remember seeing his name on my phone and I just looked at my partner at the time and I went.

Speaker 2: 36:21

I'm dead.

Speaker 1: 36:21

Hello, I'm dead.

Speaker 3: 36:24

I'm dead there it is. What classes do you teach at Loyola?

Speaker 1: 36:28

I teach voice and movement one, which centers around viewpoints, which is another voice and movement technique that I've studied.

Speaker 1: 36:31

I teach voice and movement two, which centers around viewpoints, which is another voice and movement technique that I've studied. I teach Voice and Movement 2, which centers around the Suzuki method of actor training. That's actually what I got my master's in. I teach acting for camera also, and then I also have a partnership with the film department there where I train our theater actors to audition for all of the filmmakers' short films at Loyola and I conduct a live, real kind of SAG-AFTRA type audition process with the filmmakers in the room so that my students get that experience and those filmmakers can then cast from the theater department. And it works out great because the filmmakers aren't scrambling for actors. And it works out great for my students because if they end up doing these short films they have a demo reel when they walk out of college. That's another thing it takes. It's the reason I mentioned it like it's a class is because it's a tremendous effort. It's usually 13 to 15 films that I help cast.

Speaker 3: 37:22

Oh, wow.

Speaker 1: 37:23

And so I actually submit the actors that I know to the filmmakers so they can choose who they want to see headshot and resume, like the whole actual process. But for 15 films at a time it's pretty involved.

Speaker 3: 37:36

Is this undergraduate level? Are there any graduate level courses?

Speaker 1: 37:40

No, it's a totally undergraduate process. I actually that's something I wish. I guess if there was another thing I could do with my life, I would love to design a master's in MFA in acting here in New Orleans. That is, both for a combination of both a theater and a film track. I would love to do that but you know I'd have to have a college want to do that and so far nobody wants to do that. So, like a two, I wouldn't do a three-year. I did a three-year MFA and it was great. My experience was great. I don't think that would fly here. I think a two-year MFA would be great here and then really connecting those actors into the industry and the studios we have here. I think it's a great place to have a master's in MFA. I think UNO still has one. I might be wrong. I'm not sure if they still have an active MFA program, but I'd love to helm an MFA in acting program somewhere. Just put it out there.

Speaker 3: 38:27

Yeah, that would be awesome. I've been looking at different programs. My schooling is not has not been in performing arts at all. I've looked at different options. I miss being in school and I'm always trying to find ways to improve. And you know, add to the tool belt.

Speaker 1: 38:42

I miss being in school. I think a really good MFA program here. You know, I don't think you necessarily should have to have a BA in theater to go to a master's program. I think if you have life experience and on-camera experience and other class experience, I think that maybe that would be the program I designed. You know, I wouldn't want people coming into an MFA program who've never done acting in their lives. It doesn't make sense. But there's got to be an equivalent of life experience, you know, or someone who's really serious, who wants to get really in-depth in their studies, right.

Speaker 3: 39:09

Sure, indeed, I think we're coming up on the time there. Anne Mahoney, yay, yay, it was such a pleasure to sit down and talk to you, thank you. It was such a pleasure to be a part of the play that you wrote, and getting your insights on this stuff has been incredibly invaluable to us, so thank you so much for joining us today.

Speaker 1: 39:29

Thank you. Thank you for giving me a place to talk about. You know what I love. I always, always, love to talk about the work. Work is amazing.

Speaker 3: 39:37

Yeah, thank you For sure. Do you have anything that you want to plug?

Speaker 1: 39:41

Oh gosh, unfortunately no, it's been a little. I mean I have something but I can't plug it because it's not known yet.

Speaker 2: 39:48

Yeah, Understood, or social media so people could follow and you know be ready.

Speaker 1: 39:53

Yeah, I mean, ok, I will just caveat, I despise social media, but it's a necessary evil, Right? So all of my handles are Annie Moho, a-n-n-i-e-m-o-h-o on all of the things. That's where you can find my social media stuff. And if you are a producer out there looking to produce some really cool writing, I've got some amazing television pilots as well as a film. So you know I'll plug that.

Speaker 2: 40:16

Sweet, we'll push that. Yeah, for sure, for sure.

Speaker 1: 40:19

Thanks guys, I appreciate you doing this. It's a really good, really good stuff.

Speaker 2: 40:23

Thank you, teach. Yeah, of course, thank you.