Today we’d like to introduce you to Lauren Elizabeth Harris & Katie Royer.
Hi Lauren Elizabeth & Katie, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Katie: Until I worked in the death industry, I didn’t know there was a “busy season.” It’s right after Christmas, in January and February, after everyone has hung on, intentionally or not, to see their families. Then there’s a lull until the spring.
I was a funeral arranger in Los Angeles for seven years, kind of by accident. I answered a Craigslist ad (I talk about this more in an essay for HuffPost) and found that I liked driving around delivering ashes, and witnessing parts of life that most people don’t see. I liked the fact that it was flexible for auditions, that it paid cash, and that every day was a different story.
When I wrote Cremation: The Play, I didn’t intend to write a story about the funeral industry. It has provided an easy talking point, but what I was interested in was the intimacy between two people who have been thrown together and become important to each other, but something about it just isn’t quite right. How do you decide to talk and connect when your option for flirting is over a body?
I did a couple of table reads, the cast and I couldn’t stop laughing, and so we decided to make a film. We filmed the play in a way intended to keep what worked about the simplicity of the theatrical version while capturing the intimacy of the characters, subtlety of the comedy, and the filmic nature that was naturally present in the performances.
The reason the play isn’t hiding in a folder on my desktop is because of my collaboration with Lauren. We produced a short together, and it was her motivation that got the film made. It was filming sixty-five pages in two days that gave me the confidence as a filmmaker to direct my next projects.
My upcoming projects include a platonic romantic comedy filming in Oxford, written by Nick Kovari which I’ll be directing. I’ll also be directing my first feature that I wrote, a horror story set in the winter of rural Illinois near where I grew up. I am grateful for my time in the funeral industry, and I am excited to move onto British accents and unexpected guests in the snow. And, as a badass actress and producer, I am excited to have Lauren with me.
Lauren: I grew up in the Philadelphia area and attended the University of Southern California where I double majored in Acting and Spanish. I’ve had a lifelong interest in pursuing a career in the entertainment industry, which is how I crossed paths with Katie. I received a scholarship to study at The Berridge Conservatory in Normandy, France at the age of 16, which is where Katie and I met. I couldn’t get enough and went back when I was 17 and 18 as well. I remained in contact with many of the other actors there, including one of the faculty members, Greg Ainsworth, who is featured in all of our renditions of Cremation. Post- USC, I had the opportunity to act/produce/write/direct many of my own projects, and when Katie asked me to be part of her table read, I was really taken by this story. I will be attending Columbia’s MFA Producing Program in the fall, so it seemed like the perfect time to get more experience in producing, and I am so glad that Katie and I came back into each other’s lives to work on this together.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Katie: I think one of the biggest challenges starting out was coming from a world where filmmaking wasn’t considered a career option. There wasn’t a film class in my high school. My parents sent me to a summer program in Chicago where I remember playing a lot of Tron, but not a lot of learning about film. I remember the first time I met someone who had seen the same movies as me, it felt like my entire unseen inner life (of watching Fight Club and V for Vendetta) all of a sudden was worth it. It was a valid tool for connection, not just something I did instead of studying for math. I struggled to feel connected to a lot of things and didn’t know that what I was missing was a community.
I found that community in the countryside of Normandy France, when I spent my first summer as a student with Berridge Programs, as Lauren mentioned. I had never been around so many like-minded people, who took art seriously and also had fun. That summer changed my life and opened my eyes to all the different ways it was possible to be an artist. I totally owe my life to the experience.
Lauren: Where should I begin? There is no textbook to pursue a career in acting/producing, no one to hold your hand and show you the proper path to success. This career is totally dependent on self-motivation, which I think is a daily challenge. On my podcast, Damsels in the DMs, we talk about how success looks different for each person, and I think that’s something you have to accept in this career. For me, success looks like telling authentic stories that work to make some sort of social impact. Working with Katie allows me to do just that, and I’m grateful to be trudging through this journey with her!
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Katie: I remember learning what a video camera was, learning that you could put a blank VHS tape into the camera and take it out with your own movie on it. I called my movies “close-ups” because I thought putting things as close to the camera as possible was hilarious. I spent a lot of time filming myself, and my dolls, basically making Inside with a six-year-old intellect and budget. My mom said to me one day, “you spend so much time filming your friends and making things that you enjoy, what if you planned out what you wanted to film so everyone else could enjoy it too?” I remember thinking, “that sounds like the dumbest idea ever, thanks mom.” I’ve since learned to find a lot of joy in the planning of things. But I also still love turning the camera on just to see what happens. And it’s still important to me to have the making of the movie be as enjoyable an experience as watching it. And I still love a good close-up.
Lauren: I remember playing Strega Nona in my kindergarten play feeling incredible with the title role (along with the 3 other kindergarteners who were also cast as Strega Nona). When the other kindergarteners would forget their lines, I would whisper them to them off stage, a little too audibly so the audience could hear. I think this experience really has dictated a lot about my life: the show must go on.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/cremationthefilm
- Instagram: @laurenelizabetharris
- Facebook: IG: @_katie_royer_
