It's been so incredible to see how Sarah Wars
has resonated the Squaresville audience. Obviously, it's an episode
close to my heart--and that's not just because I play Sarah. (Although
I'm sure that doesn't hurt!)
If you haven't seen the episode yet, here it is:
If you haven't seen the episode yet, here it is:
When Matt began writing this episode, he lovingly referred to it as his "Spaceman Spiff" episode. If you read Calvin and Hobbes
you know what that means. Basically, in the comic, Calvin had an
alter-ego who is a space explorer. Calvin would daydream about
circumstances in his life and then confront them as Spaceman Spiff.
Spaceman
Spiff is a fun device because wouldn't we all like to imagine an alter
ego who can combat our current problems? And with such gusto! I wonder
what Sarah's Spaceman Spiff episode would look like?
Now
back to Squaresville... The thing I love about playing Sarah is
actually the biggest challenge: She's lost. She's full of potential and
was once very much like Zelda, but now Sarah has fallen off course and
doesn't know how to get back on. We've all felt this way, one time or
another. I know I've felt it many times. I remember the rough summer
after graduating from college where most mornings I would wake up and
wonder, "now what?" From the beginning of the show, this was at the
core of the character. Someone crippled by their own potential. It was
something that Matt and I understood, and in many ways Sarah represents
what could happen to Zelda. All that being said, I don't think that
Sarah is a hopeless character. Her relationship with Zelda actually
saves her in many ways--she reminds Sarah of all the possibilities while
also allowing Sarah to mentor her.
Now to answer a few great questions that you guys had:
- How do you identify with Sarah, what advice you have for people who do? I definitely identify with Sarah. It's easy to feel overwhelmed and disappointed. Often times, because of the nature of an artist's career, I feel discouraged. If auditioning is slow or if a project doesn't go, I can feel very lost. The advice I would give to Sarah is to find a little time every day to do what you love (whether it's "productive" or "money making" or not). Make time for the things that fulfill you. It doesn't matter whether it's your main job, but what matters is that you don't give up on art and don't give up on yourself. You define your success. And if you're enjoying what you do, I think you're pretty darn successful.
- Can you talk about Sarah’s custom design for the space part? Like your hair had like doggy bones? Haha. I love the costume design for Sarah! Believe it or not, Mary Kate and I are wearing the same outfits. The only difference is that I had an awesome Lizard-like cape and netting, plus lots of space dirt. Oh, and the hair. Basically, we wanted Agent Z to the be the sleek graduate of the Space Academy, whereas Agent S had been out for awhile. Time had been tough on Agent S and she let herself go. I like to think that those bones are from some of the space dining that Sarah had to do in order to survive.
- You went to USC, which is an awesome school. Do you really think success is not tied to what school you go to? Sometimes I do think your good/privileged circumstances do influence your success, don’t get me wrong it is not a bad thing, just want to know your perspective on it. This is a great question and I'm no expert. I will say this, though... When I was in high school, I remember really believing that if I went on a certain track that I would be guaranteed success. You're sort of led to believe that an Ivy league education is a promise of success. And as I've gotten older, I do see that people succeed who don't go to those schools or come from wealthy families. And, likewise, people fail even after they go to the "best" school or have the most privileged upbringing. I think those factors definitely help, but I also think that the individual can help overcome their circumstances.
- What's the difference between space dirt and real dirt? Space dirt is from Space. Duh.
And a few fun facts:
- In one version of the script, they were called "Capp-o-cinni's" instead of "Frapp-o-ccini's". Also, I think "Capp-o-Frappi's" was a possibility that was also thrown around. Which term do you like best?
- Matt does believe that Frappucino's and Ice Blended Mocha's (my fave!) are milkshakes for breakfast. That doesn't mean I don't still like them...
- I was in a Progressive commercial with Victoria Kelleher, the woman who plays the outraged customer in the coffee shop.
- This episode was shot in a day and a half. One day for all the space stuff and the living room fight. And a half day for the coffee shop and scene on the sidewalk.
- The Waring living room is really the living room of my best friend (since 6th grade!)
- The video that is playing on the TV (before Zelda hands Sarah the brochure) is from a series of parody sketches that Matt wrote and directed for a fake job site called "MyJobESearchOnlinester.com". Here's one that I did.
