I first encountered actress Candice Myers in 2007, when I was reviewing films for The Southern Appalachian International Film Festival. Candice showed up in two completely unrelated films, EYE WAS BLIND and ZERO POSTERITY, playing two completely different characters. I thoroughly enjoyed her work and have been keeping up with her since then. I have asked her to share something about her background and her current projects. Below are her responses.Jaz
What role did theater and the arts play in your childhood and upbringing?
I started to become active in the theater world when I was in junior high school. I had a really challenging English teacher, Mrs. O’Leary, who had me studying hours for her almost daily “pop” quizzes. She directed us in an excerpt performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” – my part was as the Prologue in the craftsmen’s earnest yet humorous performance of "Pyramus and Thisbe". All of our hard work paid off, because we ended up presenting our piece at the Folger Theater in Washington, D.C.
In high school I was a member of the Forensics acting team, performing pieces from William Blake and a group piece from a wonderful book “Shrapnel in the Heart”, a collection of letters left at the Vietnam Memorial. The summer between junior and senior year, we had to put together a group presentation for my A.P. English class on our choice from several books. My group chose “A Streetcar Named Desire” and we filmed scenes from the play – I was Blanche. Then in the spring I became active in our very popular musical theater program. The shows were brilliantly directed and attracted a lot of people from the local community in Bethesda, MD. That season the show was “Gypsy” and I just loved it, and couldn’t believe I had waited until my senior year to participate. Our music director had someone transpose the score so that she could add a chorus to the show, giving more students an opportunity to participate. I was in the chorus and was one of the Torreadorables. I still walk around the house singing all of those songs!
Tell us about your own evolution as an artist.
In the beginning, acting was an extracurricular activity for me. Based on my parents’ expectations, that’s how I always viewed it, all the way through college. I was going to get my college degree and enter the business world, then get a graduate degree – the whole standard track. As I entered the world of office work, it just didn’t resonate for me and I decided to pursue an acting career. I’ve been hooked ever since.
When I first starting working as a professional actress, I had this warped point of view, in which I wanted people to like the characters that I was playing. Then I worked on a film where I had the lead role and was the heroine, but when we had our screening, I saw that the audience was most interested in the villainous characters. My very next role after that, I played a villain and saw first-hand how rewarding those roles can be as well. Now, I don’t worry about if the audience will “like” me. I focus on working with quality scripts, actors, and crew, and doing the very best that I can to do justice to my characters and bring them to life truthfully – which is how I should have approached my work in the first place. In addition, I’m still growing as a person, which allows me to connect with more and more types of characters.
Tell us about the films you have been in recent years.
My most recent film project is a short film “Heart” in which I play the lead role of Samantha, a woman who turns to crime in order to save her daughter’s life. The film was part of the 2009 Staten Island Film Festival and 2009 Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival. I also have a supporting role in the dramatic love story “Indelible”, which should be finished by the end of the year.
Then there is the feature film “Hey Diddle Diddle”, in which I have a day player role. The film has been picked up by AMG-TV, which services 50 million households, and is currently airing as a 7-week, 30-minute primetime television series. “Hey Diddle Diddle” has also been nominated for a 2009 Voice Award. The Voice Awards are sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, SAMHSA, and the Writers Guild of America west, among others, to recognize entertainment programming that has given an empathetic and accurate "voice" to people with mental disorders.
If you have an interest in seeing my work firsthand, visit my website: www.candice-myers.com.
What are your upcoming projects?
I have a day player role in the psychological thriller “Dark Twisted Karma” which shoots in November.
I am also in talks to play the lead female role in an original production by Ray Aranha of Prometheus’ Fire. Ray played Bono in the original Broadway production of August Wilson's “Fences”.
I started to become active in the theater world when I was in junior high school. I had a really challenging English teacher, Mrs. O’Leary, who had me studying hours for her almost daily “pop” quizzes. She directed us in an excerpt performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” – my part was as the Prologue in the craftsmen’s earnest yet humorous performance of "Pyramus and Thisbe". All of our hard work paid off, because we ended up presenting our piece at the Folger Theater in Washington, D.C.
In high school I was a member of the Forensics acting team, performing pieces from William Blake and a group piece from a wonderful book “Shrapnel in the Heart”, a collection of letters left at the Vietnam Memorial. The summer between junior and senior year, we had to put together a group presentation for my A.P. English class on our choice from several books. My group chose “A Streetcar Named Desire” and we filmed scenes from the play – I was Blanche. Then in the spring I became active in our very popular musical theater program. The shows were brilliantly directed and attracted a lot of people from the local community in Bethesda, MD. That season the show was “Gypsy” and I just loved it, and couldn’t believe I had waited until my senior year to participate. Our music director had someone transpose the score so that she could add a chorus to the show, giving more students an opportunity to participate. I was in the chorus and was one of the Torreadorables. I still walk around the house singing all of those songs!
Tell us about your own evolution as an artist.
In the beginning, acting was an extracurricular activity for me. Based on my parents’ expectations, that’s how I always viewed it, all the way through college. I was going to get my college degree and enter the business world, then get a graduate degree – the whole standard track. As I entered the world of office work, it just didn’t resonate for me and I decided to pursue an acting career. I’ve been hooked ever since.
When I first starting working as a professional actress, I had this warped point of view, in which I wanted people to like the characters that I was playing. Then I worked on a film where I had the lead role and was the heroine, but when we had our screening, I saw that the audience was most interested in the villainous characters. My very next role after that, I played a villain and saw first-hand how rewarding those roles can be as well. Now, I don’t worry about if the audience will “like” me. I focus on working with quality scripts, actors, and crew, and doing the very best that I can to do justice to my characters and bring them to life truthfully – which is how I should have approached my work in the first place. In addition, I’m still growing as a person, which allows me to connect with more and more types of characters.
Tell us about the films you have been in recent years.
My most recent film project is a short film “Heart” in which I play the lead role of Samantha, a woman who turns to crime in order to save her daughter’s life. The film was part of the 2009 Staten Island Film Festival and 2009 Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival. I also have a supporting role in the dramatic love story “Indelible”, which should be finished by the end of the year.
Then there is the feature film “Hey Diddle Diddle”, in which I have a day player role. The film has been picked up by AMG-TV, which services 50 million households, and is currently airing as a 7-week, 30-minute primetime television series. “Hey Diddle Diddle” has also been nominated for a 2009 Voice Award. The Voice Awards are sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, SAMHSA, and the Writers Guild of America west, among others, to recognize entertainment programming that has given an empathetic and accurate "voice" to people with mental disorders.
If you have an interest in seeing my work firsthand, visit my website: www.candice-myers.com.
What are your upcoming projects?
I have a day player role in the psychological thriller “Dark Twisted Karma” which shoots in November.
I am also in talks to play the lead female role in an original production by Ray Aranha of Prometheus’ Fire. Ray played Bono in the original Broadway production of August Wilson's “Fences”.
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