The CAST!

 

The cast page is supposed to be where you learn about the professional credits of actors. And I don’t know any actors who like to write them, because the bio’s always come out too clever by half or pithy or wearisome. So, I’ve decided to write how I know the actors and, or what I know about them. I’ve included links to their web presence where appropriate.

 

Amanda Melby plays Beth Shipman. I met Amanda when I was looking for an actor’s workout studio. Like all actors I needed a place to hone forgotten skills; a safe place to fail. And, luckily, because I fail a lot, I found Amanda and Verve Studio. (And working out at Verve plays an important role here as it helped populate the women on this podcast.)  She has two kids, two dogs, a husband, plays the cello, has a house, bit of a foody, and is a movie producer. You know about Swans, all silky and smooth gliding across the water so that you don’t know underneath the water they’re really working. That’s Amanda. And she teaches you to work, she doesn’t hand out kudo’s, which is the kindest thing an acting coach will do for you. I thought if I’m going to play this wacky preacher I’m going to need a ‘straight (wo)man’. Let me think, who do I know who has held me accountable for myself? Who can understand the humor and just gently glide a hand over it to make it laugh out loud? So, I emailed Amanda the pilot script and said, “choose a character you want to play”.

 

Andrea Taylor (nee Thompson) plays Tilly Cox. I met Andrea at Verve. She was shy and unsure of herself. But despite her trepidation and fear she got up every week and did her scene as best as she could. Then week after week she got better and better. It was like watching a doe discovering the world around her. Then her talent blossomed. When I first started writing Arc of Joan Andrea was my first choice to play Tilly. There is an innocence to her voice that was perfect; she could have played Beth but I really wanted her for Tilly. Because I could write to that voice and not have to write for that voice. (writers will know what I mean here) And I also knew that Andrea is reliable, if she said yes, she would be there, prepared, and ready to go. I know that Andrea has an office job where she does office things and wears office clothes. She has a generous and brave husband named Zach who rode in on his stallion and saved the show when an actor dropped out at the last minute. I know that Andrea has 4 cats and grows broccoli.

 

Shelly Boucher plays Nina Jackson. Shelly is one of the busiest people you’ll ever meet. She has 3 kids, runs a business, and acts. I met Shelly twice. Follow me here, I first saw Shelly in a weight loss commercial, which was odd because the second time was in a class at Verve and she was doing a monologue about the death of a child and she was a complete wreck. And this second meeting I kept thinking, how do I know her? Have I met her before? Her monologue was so convincing I kept my head down all night thinking do I know anyone who’s lost a child like this? But a couple of nights later I saw the commercial again and the lightbulb went off. Ah ha! She doesn’t have a weight loss problem, she is a just a convincing actor! She fooled me twice! So with Shelly playing Nina I knew I could write anything and she’d pull it off. So I called her and said, do you have time? And she said, I’ll make time and bless her heart, she did. You know the old saying, “If you want to get something done ask a busy person”? That’s Shelly.

 

I play Pastor Joan Moore. I first met me in 2020. I was road weary from going back and forth to L.A. for the past year taking classes, doing stand-up, auditioning. I had decided to take time off for the holiday’s of 2019 and, it’s kinda quaint now, my wife and I decided to empty the kitchen cabinets. You know, eat the cans of corn and garbanzo beans stuffed in the back, chip off the ice from that bag of frozen peas and eat them, so we gave it all a good clean out. And just when I was revving up to head back to L.A. the pandemic hit. So I asked me, what can I do now? And me, wise person she is, said write something for me. If no one is going to be casting anything for a while, it seemed, I should hire me to act. Yes! And I’ll bet I can get a good deal on me to write it too. I mean it’s not like me’s going anywhere, I can’t escape me. And the one thing I know about me is that having people around me will help hold me accountable to this thing. So in 2020 I became the new me. Writer, producer, director, actor, and podcast editor. Homebound but still productive. It’s been a weird turnaround from going to Hollywood every week, driving past the shiny studio’s, hanging out in dingy backrooms and talking into unsanitary microphones. (Ew)

 

Chris Redish plays Reverend Doctor Alan Peabody. To be honest I only knew Chris by reputation, which is stellar. I know that he’s British-American, he teaches improv, and I know he’s been an absolute delight to work with. It’s difficult to remotely direct someone that you’ve never acted with before, but Chris made it really easy. He did test recordings for me, and I’d give feedback and then he’d send me back perfect takes. Honestly it was awesome. He even stepped in for a character that was way out of his wheelhouse and it was so funny that I almost brought the character back for the finale show. There is nothing more delightful than to write something you think is one way and then have someone perform it a different way which turns out to be better than what you wrote.

 

Kelly Nicole plays Muriel. I first met Kelly in a roadhouse outside of Yuma. She was covered in flies and pointing at me yelling about UFO’s.  Finally, I figured out she wanted to use my phone, it was hard to understand her because she doesn’t have any teeth, but there was no way I was letting her use my phone. I mean, yeah, she could be an E.T., what with her wrinkly skin and oddly disproportionate limbs but still.  I can say this because Kelly is one of the most talented young actresses I know. She’s got a genuine bubbly personality and generous spirit so of course I had to come up with a self-centered semi-evil character for her to play. Kelly is what we’d call a ‘ringer’. Her take on Muriel was so spot on it was startling. When we talked about the character, Muriel, she just said, ‘oh I know this character’ and she was off to the races with it adding dimension and depth. I know Kelly is close with her family, she has a dog she adores, and grows candy canes.

 

Drew Morgan plays Y.M. (Justin McDuffin). Drew is a stand-up comedian. He was also a public defender and went to the same law school as my wife. And he’s also from one county over from where my family’s from in Tennessee; which makes us…unrelated. (we’re not all kissing cousins from that area. Thank you very much!)  I know that Drew has a wife and stepped in sans effort for the role which at some point in his life he was bound to play. So I’m glad I could knock that one out for him.