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A Conversation with Miss March’s Alexis Raben
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Exotic beauty Alexis Raben was born and raised in Moscow where she nurtured a love of story. Literature was often her best friend as she became the characters and acted out each scene in her head. Her love of the art of story telling led her to New York’s School of Visual Arts where as a high school student she wrote, directed, shot, and edited her first short film. Although her primary focus was on directing, she recognized her own limitations and determined the best way to learn to direct actors was to become an actor herself. If her mounting body of work is any indication, that was a good decision.
Mike Parker – Although you have a degree from Wesleyan University in Film Studies, your first significant acting work was on the stage. Why is that?
Alexis Raben – I originally pursued directing and while Wesleyan trains you for all kinds of work in the film industry, none of the course work has to do with directing actors. When I graduated I had a lot of skills but I didn’t really know how to talk to actors, so it seemed the only way to really understand actors was to become an actor. I stepped into acting in order to become a better director. Since I lived in New York, Off-Broadway was the first opportunity that came along. It was terrifying, but it was one of those opportunities I just couldn’t turn down. I went on to get some additional training in stage acting because it seems to me to be a more pure form of acting.
Parker – You’ve studied under some pretty impressive acting coaches in both New York and LA. How important was getting formal training to your acting career?
Alexis – I’m a bit of a nerd and education was always important to me. It felt too arrogant to step onto an Off-Broadway stage without having that education and training to support me. It was important to me to be fully trained, to have given that training my time and attention. I’m not sure it had made a great deal of difference in my work, but it has become a part of me in a deeply internal way. My teachers have been especially important in nurturing my own talent and liberating what is already there, rather than trying to force me into their own preferred method, and I think that is the mark of a great teacher.
Parker – Your earlier roles all seem to have you cast as a serious dramatic actress. You kind of break that mold with your role as Katja in the comedy, Miss March.
Alexis – Yes. I think deep, dark serious roles come naturally to me, and I am perceived in the industry that way, but I’ve done a lot of comedy on stage. I almost lost touch with the effervescence that you get when you do comedy. And doing comedy certainly challenged my tendency to take myself too seriously. I’m not at a point in my career where I can dictate the kinds of roles I play. But I am at a place where I can choose how to solve the problems that come with each role. Playing Katja was a fun opportunity that I was happy to give myself over to.
Parker – Tell me about Katja. Do you have any traits in common? What did you bring to the role that made her a stronger character than she might have been?
Alexis – I guess the easiest way to describer her is she is a nympho-maniacal lesbian traveler. She has a very clear agenda and that is to be left alone with her lover. She doesn’t really pay much attention to the two protagonists. They are merely a tool to get her and her lover from point A to point B. You don’t get to know her very well in the film, so it was my job to make her a real character. What makes her funny is her unapologetic, singular focus.
Parker – Now that you’ve established yourself as an actress, do you have any desire to pursue directing?
Alexis – Not for a while. I haven’t done any where near as much acting work as I desire. If I ever return to directing I want to have much more experience acting in a lot more diverse roles. I would like to explore more complicated scripts and work with many more directors. Acting for different directors is like going to school. You really get to learn what works and doesn’t work.
Parker – I understand you are involved with the Young Storyteller Foundation in LA. What’s that all about?
Alexis – It is an amazing volunteer group that involves people, like myself, who work in the film industry. We mentor middle school students in script writing in a step-by-step program that helps to foster self-confidence in the kids. By the end of the program the student has a completed script and we bring in professional actors who perform their script in front of their classmates and family. It is a huge thing for these kids. It helps them learn to express themselves and gives them confidence that they actually have something to say and gives them a forum where they can be listened to.
The Seven Questions
1. What’s your favorite sound?
Alexis – Water running in nature.
2. What makes you happy?
Alexis – I am happy when happiness surrounds me, when I see other people being joyful.
3. What makes you angry?
Alexis – Injustice.
4. What is the secret of success?
Alexis – Loving what you do.
5. If you could have dinner with anyone in history, living or dead, who would it be?
Alexis – I can’t answer in any off-handed way. It would be too great an opportunity to waste on a flippant answer. I’d have to give that some thought.
6. What is the epitaph that is written on your tombstone?
Alexis – “She lived to the fullest.”
7. When you get to heaven, what is the first thing you want to hear God say to you?
Alexis – “You finally worked it out.”
Recent Conversations we’ve had:
The Script Frontman Danny O'Donaghue
Obsessed Producer Will Packer
Sleepless in Seattle - the Musical Producer David Shor
Broadway Star Megan Hilty
Kings Creator Michael Green
Watchmen's Apollonia Vanova
Indie Filmmaker Scoot McNairy
Glee's Naya Rivera
World Music Artist Mary-Kathryn
Author Barbara Hall
Director Michael Landon, Jr.
Actor Timothy Hutton
Entertainer/Entrepreneur John o'Hurley
Stage Actress Amanda Card-McCoy
Recording Artist Leah Renee
For more info: Alexis on IMDB
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