By Joy Tanner
Tell us about your award-winning role in Five Days at Memorial and what inspired you about playing Angela McManus.
You know when you have a feeling about something and you feel it deep in the mushiest part of your guts that it’s gonna be something really special? That’s how I felt about Five Days at Memorial. I knew as soon as I read the audition sides. It was just one scene about the moment a daughter says goodbye to her mother, for the last time. It was one of the most powerful and galvanizing scenes I have ever experienced as an actor and was the scene that was eventually submitted for the ACTRA Awards. Adapted from Pulitzer Prize-winning author, Sheri Fink, Five Days at Memorial was a dream show. From the very beginning to the bitter-sweet end, it was richly fulfilling work. I am so proud of how we all came together and what we did in the creation of it.
I was inspired by so many things about Angela McManus; her deep and profound faith, the lovingly tender yet fiercely strong relationship with and the lengths to which she went for her mother. They had an incredible bond. Angela had given up her job to care for her mother full time, so there is something about the humanity of Angela I found remarkable. It was a rich well to draw upon. Everything she did was in service to her mom and her well-being. She was giving back and mothering her mother. And in playing Angela, this is part of what I imagined and lived – what it means to care for the one who birthed you.
Portraying a real-life person, someone who lives and is alive now, who has gone through this extraordinary situation, Hurricane Katrina, there was something very, very humbling about all of it. The stakes were high for me as this was a traumatic and life-changing time for the McManus family. I just wanted to make Angela and her family proud. I didn’t want her to be like, “Who is this gal playing me??? I’m nothing like that!”
The Outstanding Performance award nominees and winners are decided by a jury comprised of ACTRA Toronto members. How does it feel to be honoured by a jury of your peers?
Words cannot even begin to express what this means to me. I literally go into an ecstatic full-body, deeply somatic yummy feeling at the thought of it. To be honoured by a jury of my peers… that is the absolute best because – we know! We know what goes into what we do all too well and we get it. I was an ACTRA award juror (in 2018 and 2019) so winning this award has been a divinely full-circle moment for me. I know what goes into the decision making, and the time and effort spent by my peers, considering and awarding me this bronzed beauty. It is so deeply rewarding and special. I remember it being such a tough process because the talent is so high.
As actors, we put our heart and souls into our work. To be recognized for that, to be told, “I see you and I applaud you for your efforts,” I am beyond stoked. I’ve given my statue the name BeBe and she greets me every day with her extended arm and knowing smile. She’s like, “Yaassss Queen – go on witchya badass self!”
What does it mean to you to be an ACTRA member?
Being an ACTRA member fills me with such pride. It means being looked out for and having a kickass group of artists from all walks of life, who have my back. It means I can count on things being safe and appropriate on set. And if they are not, I’ve got resources and reinforcements to address and rectify it. I’ve had the privilege of working abroad in Europe; our ACTRA standards are incomparable – worldwide. I can say we are tops! And I am hella thankful for what ACTRA does in supporting, representing and fighting for its members rights and our livelihood. Being an ACTRA member to me means I can do my work with peace of mind.
What is the most significant role you have ever had and how has it impacted your life or career?
Playing Dr. Tracy Pollard in Star Trek: Discovery has been a very significant role because of the sheer size and scope of it all. It’s a huge freakin’ franchise that belongs to a whole world of people… and there are no fans like Trekkies! Seriously, they are no joke and they take all things Star Trek very seriously. I have never received so much love from a role. I get mail and pictures; someone even made a figurine of me. I’m like “Dang people! That’s love!” And to hear how Dr. Pollard has affected their lives. One woman wrote to me that her oncologist is a black woman and after seeing me in Star Trek: Discovery, it gave her hope that she will beat her cancer. I am so blown away by this and deeply touched. I can give someone hope by being a space doctor while rockin’ a tight white onesie on the coolest ship around!
Can you share anything about any upcoming projects?
There are a few projects that will hopefully be airing later on this year and in 2024. The short film, The Pros & Cons of Killing Yourself, written and directed by Ravi Steve. If you ever get the chance to work with Ravi Steve and Colin Glazer at Number’d Company Pictures, do it! The film has been submitted to festivals and we’ll be sure to let y’all know once it’s playing. In the meantime, here’s a link to the trailer.
I’m currently in the process of dusting off the one-woman show, Addicted, for which I won a Dora Award in 2018, and getting it ready to tour in 2024. It will be playing in sunny Costa Rica February of 2024 and then at The Neptune Theatre in Halifax from March 12-24. Here’s a link for more info on the Halifax run.
Thank you so much for this opportunity to share a bit of myself with you. I have deep love for you – our incredible ACTRA community – and look forward to creating more magic with you on set!
Joy Tanner is the Editor of Performers Magazine. She has voiced Candy Kong in Donkey Kong.
