Bitten by a werewolf, a young woman seeks revenge against those who left her for dead in the woods in director Patrick Rea’s I Am Lisa, now showing in virtual theaters (click here for session details). We caught up with star Kristen Vaganos to talk about her beginnings, all things lycanthrope, and the film she’s producing with ‘80s icons Tami Stronach and Christopher Lloyd!
You must be exhausted, after wearing so many hats? Writer! Producer! Editor!
I just wrapped a feature film called Bobcat Moretti, starring Vivica A Fox, Taryn Manning, Matt Peters, Sally Kirkland and more, which I produced, ADed, and have a role in and yes that was definitely exhausting. People have been asking how I handle the responsibility of leading a film as an actor but I’d take that on any day over the responsibility of being a producer haha. I loved it and it was really exciting to have that creative control and felt good to make sure everyone always felt safe and accommodated on our set but it’s definitely a lot of work and takes a lot of brain power, you’re right.
And how many of those hats did you get to wear on I AM LISA?
On I Am Lisa, I am just an actress but on any potential sequel, that may change…!
How did you get involved in this one?
The writer Eric Winkler actually found me and my work online and sent me an early draft of the script in 2018 which I gave him a bunch of notes on but politely declined at the time. Then in 2019 after taking many of those and other notes, he reached back out saying that he’d really always imagined me as Lisa and asked that I reread it. At this time it was in a much better place and after speaking about the tone and vision with our director Patrick Rea, I signed on!
Was there anything in the movie that you found difficult to film?
Honestly this was such a fun movie to shoot, the cast and crew were so lovely and collaborative. It’s always tough filming lower budget indie movies because the schedule is so tight so other than chasing sunlight at times or combatting how hot it was in July in Kansas City, it wasn’t a difficult shoot! Not being able to snack while wearing the fangs was my only potential difficulty (laughs).
And did they utilise a lot of practical effects here?
We did have a lot of practical effects and Jake Jackson, our SFX Makeup Artist and Producer knocked it out of the park with all of the makeup and death rigs. On the Blu-Ray disc there is actually going to be a Bonus Feature including interviews about all of the effects, so keep an eye out for that!
Did you get a little bruised and battered during filming?
I actually didn’t everything was executed very safely with rehearsal and trust!
There’s some very emotional-grueling stuff in here – what did you find harder, the physical or the mental exhaustion from playing the part?
I didn’t find it exhausting but going to those places emotionally definitely takes more of a tole than the physical. Luckily our production schedule allowed me to get into the zone when needed and just stay there until the scene was wrapped.
In addition to yourself, there’s a beautiful ensemble here. Can you speak about your co-stars…?
My costars are all so lovely! The nicest people even though they don’t all seem that way on screen haha. I was lucky to have wonderful relationships collaborative with all of them so there was always trust and comfort behind our scenes. We came together to tweak scenes before shooting them always making sure each beat made sense to both of us and rehearsing any physicality. Everyone was very committed and specifically Manon Halliburton even said “just actually slap me” in one scene, she’s awesome! After we finished the intense scene in the police station (no spoilers) I even hugged Sarah McGuire, who I know it was a hard one for, just to reiterate that we’re all good, it’s all make believe. Many of them already knew each other and had worked together previously which always helps, I was the only non-local cast member.
When and how did your work as a producer come to be? In a nutshell: what did that entail?
I started producing out of necessity at first, I just wanted to make things and found it easier to just do things myself rather than rely on anyone else. I’ve been on so many sets now as talent where I have to stop myself from speaking outside of my department that I’ve craved having little more creative authority by being on the production team. I hope to Executive Produce the films I want to make as a longterm goal but I got started at a Production Company called Different Duck Films, which lead to my first major producer credit on Bobcat Moretti.
I assume there are a lot of benefits getting to do these projects – like “Man and Witch” (starring Tami Stronach and Christopher Lloyd) and “Bobcat Moretti” – without studio involvement?
My heart is totally in indie film! I find that collaborative environment where everyone comes together and allows for magic to happen on set rather than in a board meeting is where the creatives at work are truly in power, so yes!