Side Dishes: Kirk McGee (Chase Guidry)

How did you join the project?
I had worked with Maitely Weismann and Ashley Wren Collins on the first season of the web-sensation Mother Eve’s Secret Garden of Sensual Sisterhood and they invited me to collaborate on this film. 

What's the dish on the cast? Come on, you can tell me. 
Ashley Wren Collins has a passion for pastries. 

Pasties?!!!  
No, not pasties- PASTRIES.  

Oh. 
Other than that there was little time to get any dish on anyone because of the  zany way were filming. I only got to experience what the ensemble brought to the set. Elisa Blynn’s openness and vulnerability, Ryan McDonough’s never-ending sense of humor and great timing, April Wilkner’s playful and contagious energy, Ty Jones’s creativity, humor, and professionalism, and Jabari Gray’s wit and rock hard abs- seriously, he’s the reason I had to wear an undershirt in every scene because his torso makes mine look like a stack of cheese logs. 

Cheese logs are actually quite defined.
Oh, then I mean the opposite of cheese logs. And then there were those few actors that I entered the project already knowing. It was a great comfort to rely the comedic chemistry that Ashley Wren Collins and I have, and the hilarious subtle choices of Maitely Weismann that constantly made me laugh inside. And then there's, Uma Incrocci, who is one of the funniest people I have ever had the pleasure of working with. We have worked together over the years as actors and writers in various projects including Mother Eve and even participated in each other's weddings. It's always a treat to work on a comedy with her. 

Then what about the crew? 
The crew has been the most trusting, professional, fun-loving group of individuals I've worked with. They made coming on set delightful.  I’m not one for superlatives but our director Sean Gannet is great! He promised the cast from the beginning that this would be treated as an ensemble piece because he felt that the only way this crazy unique film process would reach its potential. And even on the toughest of days he kept his sense of respect and sense of humor. And a definite tribal shout out our make up and hair expert on the film, Jody Formica. 

I heard that sometimes, you would arrive on set and get a new scene in the make up chair. Talk about that.
Lori Fischer, the screenwriter, is an amazing talent. She has create an interesting story and engaging characters that it is very easy to relate to.  The job she has done to make sense of all the ideas passed around on a moments notice and write amazing scenes under the gun has been heroic. I assure you, it's a prop gun, and we have insurance, but still it’s a talent that cannot be ignored. 

The three years we spent in Long Island, we were shooting the radio station scene- I got on the train at midnight, a brand new scene was sent to me- and I read the new incarnation- I was thrilled! Lori had written a great new scene. Then my excitement turned to panic because I realized that I had a little over an hour to have it prepared.

That's incredible!
Please, it's doesn't make me a hero- I just had to memorize lines - there are more heroic tasks that have been done in less time- performing the Heimlich or defusing a bomb comes to mind- 

That's true, it's not that incredible. Let's talk about Chase.
I am so grateful that Maitely, Ashley, Sean and Lori cast me as Chase. I don’t know why they thought of me to play this role. I think early on, I convinced myself that they recognized my talent for being tall, so that the money they allotted to spend on apple boxes could be spent on the amazing catering.(You’re welcome.) But I also know that as an actor I was able to offer them something much more valuable to an independent film than height- my lack of scheduling conflicts. I’m just so proud to have been a part of this experience.

Seriously, what do you and Chase have in common? 
Like many of us, I have had moments of desperation, grasping so tightly on to my own dreams that I choke it within an inch of its life just like Chase. But then, I let go and let it breath, and by trusting the process and trusting there is enough room in the world for everyone's success, I naturally take steps toward fulfillment. How's that for serious?

That was a little too serious... I'm a little uncomfortable. Well, I'm excited to see the movie when it's done...
Amen, brother!

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