1 00:00:03,980 --> 00:00:06,290 S1: Hey, I'm Jenny Curtis. You know, at this. 2 00:00:06,290 --> 00:00:09,860 S2: Point that I directed and produced Zola alongside creator Chris 3 00:00:09,860 --> 00:00:12,649 S2: Porter and also I voiced the character of. 4 00:00:13,490 --> 00:00:15,200 S1: Be honest. She's her favorite. 5 00:00:15,740 --> 00:00:17,750 S2: Chris and I got to chat through the development of 6 00:00:17,750 --> 00:00:21,500 S2: thematic elements and overall creation of Ali. And here we're 7 00:00:21,500 --> 00:00:24,500 S2: jumping into a discussion about finding her voice and as 8 00:00:24,500 --> 00:00:27,380 S2: Chris puts it, the heart inside the programming. 9 00:00:31,790 --> 00:00:35,660 S1: But Ali was her own type of really exciting challenge 10 00:00:35,659 --> 00:00:40,370 S1: because we worked really hard to find how a computer 11 00:00:40,370 --> 00:00:41,510 S1: could be emotional. 12 00:00:41,540 --> 00:00:43,640 S3: That's right. What did you feel that you could bring 13 00:00:43,640 --> 00:00:46,849 S3: to the role that you didn't find immediately on the page? 14 00:00:46,970 --> 00:00:49,610 S3: What was unique and fulfilling for you as an actress 15 00:00:49,610 --> 00:00:50,420 S3: about this project? 16 00:00:50,540 --> 00:00:54,860 S1: The thing in a sideways way to answer this the 17 00:00:54,860 --> 00:00:58,940 S1: gift of being on the creative team of this show 18 00:00:58,940 --> 00:01:00,980 S1: and having so much time developing it is that we 19 00:01:00,980 --> 00:01:03,350 S1: had time to get to know Ali. And I didn't 20 00:01:03,350 --> 00:01:05,660 S1: have to come in and jump into a rehearsal immediately 21 00:01:05,660 --> 00:01:07,940 S1: and get one take at like, okay, that's her voice 22 00:01:07,940 --> 00:01:11,270 S1: and then let's go. There was so much time where 23 00:01:11,270 --> 00:01:14,630 S1: we had the table reads. We had the rehearsals with 24 00:01:14,630 --> 00:01:17,479 S1: the other actors as we were developing the project. I 25 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:20,840 S1: was acting opposite them when they were recording and I 26 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:23,810 S1: feel like where everybody else got a rehearsal or a 27 00:01:23,870 --> 00:01:27,980 S1: table read at most. Besides the obvious, John, who we've 28 00:01:27,980 --> 00:01:31,700 S1: already talked about coming in often, I had time with 29 00:01:31,700 --> 00:01:35,179 S1: her to find her voice, and I think that was 30 00:01:35,180 --> 00:01:38,450 S1: the most exciting and fulfilling part. And I'm going to 31 00:01:38,450 --> 00:01:40,460 S1: keep saying this word all the time and I know, 32 00:01:40,459 --> 00:01:42,500 S1: you know, I love it. But the time to play 33 00:01:42,860 --> 00:01:46,280 S1: because we wanted her to be different and it's really 34 00:01:46,280 --> 00:01:51,080 S1: hard to find what is different about a technological character. 35 00:01:51,410 --> 00:01:53,630 S3: Can you share some of the ways that Ali evolved, 36 00:01:53,630 --> 00:01:56,450 S3: both in pre-production and throughout the story, to have a 37 00:01:56,450 --> 00:01:58,040 S3: heart inside the programming? 38 00:01:58,250 --> 00:02:01,040 S1: Our first table read when we had, I think 12 39 00:02:01,040 --> 00:02:03,830 S1: actors come in and sit around a table and this 40 00:02:03,830 --> 00:02:07,790 S1: was pre-pandemic and we all read the first four episodes 41 00:02:07,790 --> 00:02:10,489 S1: of the show, and I knew I enjoyed Ali, but 42 00:02:10,490 --> 00:02:14,389 S1: we started reading and people were cracking up. 43 00:02:14,450 --> 00:02:16,010 S3: She has great comedic timing for me. 44 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:20,750 S1: She has great comedic timing. Yes. Tyler Davis, if you 45 00:02:20,750 --> 00:02:22,460 S1: go on this mission, we will get along. 46 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:25,580 S3: Can you keep it secret? 47 00:02:25,730 --> 00:02:31,340 S1: No. I think are open by anyone would. Having that 48 00:02:31,340 --> 00:02:35,810 S1: live feedback was so hugely helpful to know this is 49 00:02:35,810 --> 00:02:37,310 S1: where we can lean in and this is where we 50 00:02:37,310 --> 00:02:39,829 S1: can develop her and this is where she can have 51 00:02:39,830 --> 00:02:41,029 S1: a personality. 52 00:02:41,060 --> 00:02:43,490 S3: You had mentioned that you were directing these people and 53 00:02:43,490 --> 00:02:45,470 S3: you were reading all the lines to have the actors 54 00:02:45,470 --> 00:02:48,380 S3: respond to them. Did that experience of having to read 55 00:02:48,380 --> 00:02:51,260 S3: and perform with this while listening to the other people's performances, 56 00:02:51,260 --> 00:02:53,910 S3: did that lead you to reconsider how you were performing? 57 00:02:53,930 --> 00:02:55,820 S3: Ali Once you got to the other side of the window. 58 00:02:56,180 --> 00:02:59,450 S1: Reconsidered. No, but talking about how it took time to 59 00:02:59,450 --> 00:03:03,680 S1: develop her, I performed very much on intuition and how 60 00:03:03,680 --> 00:03:08,959 S1: things feel. So the more I got to play outside 61 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:11,900 S1: of the recording studio, the more I was able to 62 00:03:12,139 --> 00:03:15,560 S1: comfortably drop in. Once I was and I say comfortably 63 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:19,190 S1: with a big asterisk on it, because as you know, 64 00:03:19,190 --> 00:03:22,130 S1: it took a little while originally. I don't know if 65 00:03:22,130 --> 00:03:23,570 S1: you were going to go here, but originally we weren't 66 00:03:23,570 --> 00:03:26,120 S1: going to record Ali in the studio because it was 67 00:03:26,120 --> 00:03:28,520 S1: just you and I and I have a mic at 68 00:03:28,520 --> 00:03:30,590 S1: home and we knew Ali was going to have a 69 00:03:30,590 --> 00:03:32,780 S1: treatment to her, so it didn't have to sound as 70 00:03:32,780 --> 00:03:34,970 S1: clear as everybody else. We were going to try to 71 00:03:34,970 --> 00:03:37,640 S1: record her in the studio we're in now, which I 72 00:03:37,640 --> 00:03:39,830 S1: don't know if anyone can hear what just happened, but 73 00:03:39,830 --> 00:03:44,210 S1: motorcycles just went by us and that was a challenge. 74 00:03:44,210 --> 00:03:45,500 S1: And so then we were like, Well, what if we 75 00:03:45,500 --> 00:03:47,510 S1: record her in my apartment? And I had a really 76 00:03:47,510 --> 00:03:49,340 S1: nice mic in my apartment and I set it up 77 00:03:49,340 --> 00:03:51,350 S1: on top of a jewelry case next to my closet, 78 00:03:51,350 --> 00:03:53,330 S1: and I tried to make myself a little sound booth. 79 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:58,070 S1: And everything in my being is so anxious. I have 80 00:03:58,070 --> 00:04:02,210 S1: to have things be perfect. I definitely overthink. And finally, 81 00:04:02,210 --> 00:04:04,370 S1: we were like, You know what? Screw this. We're going 82 00:04:04,370 --> 00:04:05,210 S1: to go into the studio. 83 00:04:05,270 --> 00:04:07,520 S3: We talked about it with John when he was here 84 00:04:07,520 --> 00:04:09,860 S3: in a previous solar panel, that there's a certain level 85 00:04:09,860 --> 00:04:13,070 S3: of physicality that allows you to drop into that role. 86 00:04:13,070 --> 00:04:15,440 S3: And I think you had even mentioned like squeezing a 87 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:18,049 S3: part of your hand at some point. What what did 88 00:04:18,050 --> 00:04:20,450 S3: you have to do to drop into Ali? And I 89 00:04:20,450 --> 00:04:22,250 S3: know one of the things you had to do because 90 00:04:22,250 --> 00:04:24,920 S3: we heard it all, all the time. 91 00:04:25,339 --> 00:04:27,560 S1: Okay. So, yeah, the hand thing was not an alley thing. 92 00:04:27,560 --> 00:04:29,930 S1: The hand in case anybody didn't go back and listen 93 00:04:29,930 --> 00:04:33,290 S1: to last week's conversation with John. That's an emotional trigger 94 00:04:33,290 --> 00:04:35,539 S1: for me. And obviously, Ali, I'm doing it now and 95 00:04:35,540 --> 00:04:36,240 S1: I'm going to get teary. 96 00:04:36,260 --> 00:04:38,090 S3: Oh, don't do it. Don't stop it. Stop it. We're 97 00:04:38,089 --> 00:04:39,500 S3: having a fun interview. Oh. 98 00:04:40,520 --> 00:04:43,609 S1: So it's an emotional trigger for me to dig my 99 00:04:43,610 --> 00:04:47,270 S1: thumbnail into the center of my palm, which is just 100 00:04:47,339 --> 00:04:50,810 S1: an actor thing I have in my tool kit. And Ali, 101 00:04:50,870 --> 00:04:55,670 S1: I would often do this. Oh, and to warm up 102 00:04:55,670 --> 00:04:58,880 S1: my voice. And then I would go back to Ali's 103 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:03,349 S1: main line. Searching for mission control. Searching for mission control. 104 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:07,100 S1: And she would immediately drop into my chest and immediately, like, 105 00:05:07,100 --> 00:05:09,440 S1: come right here in the sort of front of my 106 00:05:09,529 --> 00:05:10,640 S1: soft palate. 107 00:05:12,440 --> 00:05:14,660 S3: She's gesturing kind of to like the top of her 108 00:05:14,660 --> 00:05:16,500 S3: mouth and nasal sinus region. 109 00:05:16,700 --> 00:05:17,900 S1: But nobody really. 110 00:05:18,110 --> 00:05:18,620 S3: Kind of on. 111 00:05:18,620 --> 00:05:19,580 S1: Their mouth in that. 112 00:05:19,580 --> 00:05:21,310 S3: Way. Usually not. It's a soft palate. 113 00:05:22,490 --> 00:05:23,960 S1: And that's how I would find out. 114 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:28,370 S3: Now, in its creation, I always knew that the ship 115 00:05:28,370 --> 00:05:31,730 S3: was going to be a major character. And the story 116 00:05:31,730 --> 00:05:35,779 S3: is about dealing with trauma, both physical and mental. And honestly, 117 00:05:35,779 --> 00:05:37,760 S3: I could think of no better metaphor than have a 118 00:05:37,760 --> 00:05:40,730 S3: ship with a hole literally ripped through it. How much 119 00:05:40,940 --> 00:05:44,450 S3: of your humanness did you have to remove and how 120 00:05:44,450 --> 00:05:46,789 S3: much did you have to put in to thread that needle? 121 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:52,970 S1: That wasn't an active choice, whatever it was. I tried 122 00:05:52,970 --> 00:05:56,630 S1: really hard to remove all humanness. You know this. I 123 00:05:56,630 --> 00:05:59,750 S1: would get really, really mad that I would have to breathe. 124 00:06:00,589 --> 00:06:05,419 S1: It bothered me. Ali doesn't breathe, and I was pissed 125 00:06:05,420 --> 00:06:06,770 S1: that I couldn't make it all the way through the 126 00:06:06,770 --> 00:06:10,099 S1: temperature readings without taking a breath. Which, you know, the 127 00:06:10,100 --> 00:06:12,620 S1: magic of editing. Just stop and breathe. The crazy lady, 128 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:15,740 S1: the humanness. And Ali, I mean, there were a couple 129 00:06:15,740 --> 00:06:18,529 S1: of days, though, like when I would direct obviously we've 130 00:06:18,529 --> 00:06:20,210 S1: talked about this. I'm on the other side of the glass. 131 00:06:20,210 --> 00:06:24,780 S1: I'm reading across the actors and performing with them and blah, blah, blah. 132 00:06:24,860 --> 00:06:26,660 S1: And when I would go into the booth, we would 133 00:06:26,660 --> 00:06:29,150 S1: do one line at a time, because Ali doesn't really 134 00:06:29,150 --> 00:06:32,600 S1: need to react to people because she has her cadence. 135 00:06:33,140 --> 00:06:35,419 S1: But there would be some lines where you would be like, 136 00:06:35,420 --> 00:06:37,460 S1: where are we going to find the emotion here? And 137 00:06:37,460 --> 00:06:39,800 S1: then you would feed me a line and I would react. 138 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:42,860 S1: And it it was helpful in that those moments where 139 00:06:42,860 --> 00:06:45,860 S1: we needed to find her humanity. Then you became the 140 00:06:45,860 --> 00:06:48,020 S1: reader on the other side where I was actually acting 141 00:06:48,020 --> 00:06:51,349 S1: with someone rather than just checking off the lines as 142 00:06:51,350 --> 00:06:54,290 S1: we go. Right. God, that was fun. Let's do this again. 143 00:06:55,100 --> 00:06:55,630 S3: From the start. 144 00:06:58,040 --> 00:06:58,670 S1: And there's some. 145 00:06:58,670 --> 00:07:01,820 S2: Background on the eighth on language interface. I could talk 146 00:07:01,820 --> 00:07:04,609 S2: about Ali all day and in fact, you can hear 147 00:07:04,610 --> 00:07:07,370 S2: more of our discussion about her on the solar panel 148 00:07:07,370 --> 00:07:10,100 S2: available on our Apple Podcasts premium channel. 149 00:07:10,850 --> 00:07:11,270 S1: Thanks for. 150 00:07:11,270 --> 00:07:14,990 S2: Listening. And till next time searching for mission control.