Creative Heartlander: Michelle Morgan

In this inspiring episode, Michelle Morgan shares how her journey on the beloved series Heartland expanded into directing and creative producing. She opens up about breaking into leadership behind the camera, the power of seeing women in those roles, and the confidence required to take creative control.

Michelle talks about balancing acting and directing, communicating clearly on set, and developing a new film with her sister based on their own family history. She also highlights her passionate advocacy for women and children, and how community and sisterhood continue to shape her path.

We dig into life in Calgary, fresh opportunities in the Canadian film scene, and the impact of mentorship as women rise together.

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
Welcome to the creative sisterhood where women take
center stage on screen and behind the scenes.
I'm Jovanna Burke, actress, filmmaker, producer and founder
of Grand Blvd. Entertainment.
And I'm Chelsea Hobbs, writer partner in Grand Blvd. and your
copilot on this wild ride through the entertainment
industry. Between the two of us, we've
spent over 50 years carving our own paths in this business, and

(00:24):
now we're handing you the blueprint.
Each week we dive into real conversations about acting,
creating your own work, buildingyour brand, and surviving this
industry with your soul intact. Whether you're an aspiring
actress and indie filmmaker or just done waiting for permission
to tell your story, this space is for you.
Because here on The Creative Sisterhood, we don't play by the

(00:46):
rules. We make our own.
Let's get into it. Hello, everybody.
This week we have a very exciting guest.
A lot of you may know her from Heartland, the record-breaking
CBC series, and she has also transitioned into an amazing

(01:10):
career as a director. So we are so excited to have her
here. There's lots that she's going to
fill you in on, but everybody welcome.
Michelle Morgan, hello, welcome.Welcome to.
The. Pod, this is such a full circle
moment for me. Getting.
To interview you, you know, it'sbeen a bit of a journey.
I haven't seen you in a while, but Michelle and I, small little

(01:30):
tidbit of information, went to elementary school together so.
Yeah, we went to and then we raninto each other at an actress
friend of ours home, Fiona Vroom.
Yeah. And reconnected.
And yeah, it's really cool. I love it.
I love I love how how full circle that is for you guys.

(01:51):
That's. Yeah.
It's really cool. We're so excited to have you on
here and learn all about your exciting career and everything
that's happened now and where you began.
Oh, so fun. Yeah.
So I guess all of our listeners want to know how did you get
started in the film industry? Like how did this all start for
you? So I was doing a bit of theater

(02:15):
in high school. It really, it started for me at
West Fan High. I was like on the improv team
and doing plays and I loved it. But like I'd never hadn't done
it at the time before then. But there was like 1 drama
teacher, I think it was Shannon Leggett.
And there was a male drama teacher to whose name I don't
recall who like just noticed I had a lot of fun in, in class,

(02:36):
in drama class. And they were like, you have to
come try out for the improv team.
You have to come be in this play.
And and I was like, oh, OK, I didn't really hadn't thought of
myself as an actor that much before that, but I kind of
quickly at the same time was like, oh, yeah, this feels.
It just felt natural to me. Like had no problem being up in

(02:56):
front of people, blah, blah, blah.
I had thought it was fun. And then a friend of my mom's
cut out of, like the North Shorenews, a little article that was
like about how Fox was having a cattle call, like an open
casting call when I was 16. Yeah.
And I remember her putting it onthe table.

(03:16):
And I had one of my best friendsat the time had just moved to
LA. Her mom had got a job there.
And so I was like, mom, like, could I go visit my friend and,
and go to this thing? And she was like, OK, so she
agreed to it. And I went and visited my friend
and she came with me. And we were like the first ones
in line or we were like #5 oh, my God.
We were like, it started at 9:00and we were there early and and

(03:38):
they had us do a cold read for the head of casting for Fox.
Whoa. It was cool.
Like for me, that's perfect. Because I'm an improviser.
So it's like totally, it was like a one page audition, you
know, had like 5 minutes in the bathroom to prep and then went
in and did it. And so that for me was like
perfect, you know, like low stakes where it's a cold read.
And, and I did well and he was like, cool, I'll find you an

(03:59):
agent in Vancouver. Because I was like, I'm from
Vancouver. He's like great.
Well, we filmed there and he hooked me up with a huge agent
in Vancouver, like the biggest, which in retrospect, it was
awful. Oh yeah.
Because I was like this little fish knew nothing about acting
in film and TV. He basically ignored me.
I booked basically nothing. Like I think I booked like a
little MOW 2 line or whatever. And he ended up and then fine,

(04:23):
but that so that was bad. But then I was like, OK, I'll do
this for a couple of years afterhigh school.
I took a year off and just auditioned, didn't book
anything. And then I was like, well, I'm
going to go to school and I wentto U of T and study theater.
So that was, that was good. Like I think it was.
It happened the way it was supposed to. 100% Oh, that's so
crazy. I can't believe that they
actually had cattle calls like that back in the day.

(04:44):
You know what? I actually I did one of those.
When I did, you did. 8 years oldfor like the same kind of thing.
When my dad took me to the mall and it was like 400 kids showed
up and I blinked A blush, it waslike.
So. Crazy.
Yeah, it was for an improv show and it was like same kind of
thing. It was very bizarre, but it was
improv, which like, they never do that in Vancouver now.

(05:05):
No. I feel like in the 90s, those
things, yeah. I mean, these days they have
those like weird other cattle calls that are totally fake,
which are scary. Yeah, I mean, pay away.
And now I would never like if mykid was like, hey, I heard
there's like an open casting call.
I'd be like, yeah, right. No, no, like at the time it was,

(05:26):
it was legitimate. Yeah, what a different time.
That's amazing. Go ahead and going forward,
yeah, I'm so curious because as an actor obviously on Heartland,
which has been so successful andsuch and favorite, how was
directing something that you gotinto like?
So let me back it up. Like, is it ever something that

(05:47):
you wanted to do, aspired to do?Was it on your bucket list or
was it something that just fell in your mouth I guess?
It was like, well, honestly, when I started directing, I
never considered it or sorry acting, sorry, because these
rotating directors would come inand they were all people with

(06:08):
tons of experience. They were for the most part,
middle-aged. They were, for the most part
men. We would have a couple women and
I just like, didn't see myself. I wasn't like, you know, I was
like, that's not me. And these guys were very
professional and, like knew exactly what they were doing and
all had tons of experience. Yeah.
So I never, I remember at one point around Season 5, OK, I was

(06:32):
like, yeah, maybe I should thinkabout directing.
And I was playing with the idea,but I was really scared.
Like I was like, like. Yeah, that's I don't.
Know if I could do it. I don't know.
Everyone on this crew knows me as a young kid, as a kind of a
punk young 20 year old to go outdrinking with.
All the cast knows me as just like fun time Michelle are they

(06:57):
going to take me seriously as a director anyway?
So I didn't really consider it. And then starting around later,
years later, I think season 6 or7, we started having these
directors that I could see myself reflected in Megan
Follows was the 1st and then Kristen Lehman.
So these were actresses turned director.

(07:18):
They were someone who spoke my language.
They, they understood actors. I just like, saw myself
reflected in them. And that was when I seriously
was like, you know what? Maybe I could do this?
That just gave me an emotional reaction because there's
something so powerful about whatyou just said, like seeing
yourself reflected in women who are stepping into a stage that

(07:39):
is typically older men, you know, and, and being like, oh,
they came from where I came from.
They're doing it. They're commanding a crew and in
a position and making decisions in power.
And I don't know, there's just something about that, like just
thinking about you standing on set as an actor and seeing that
and feeling like you can do it because you saw that she's so

(08:00):
powerful. It is and I love, you know, I
mean, we, it's funny because like we hear these terms like
how do we overcome the patriarchy and like patriarchy?
But like that for me is like a really concrete example.
Film was designed by men and even the way it's run now is
very patriarchal. It's not designed for people who

(08:21):
care about seeing their kids. It's not designed for people who
might have like a day where theyneed a bit more softness and
rest. It's not designed for people who
really care. I don't know.
It's very patriarchal and hard. I find the way film is designed
and these women not only look like me and came from a similar
background, they were doing it differently.
They as I was always scared thatbeing so sensitive, being

(08:45):
intuitive. Yeah.
Feeling energy in the room wouldbe a weakness because as a
director, you do have to have a thick skin.
You do have to, like, stay professional no matter what.
So I was like, I, I'm too sensitive.
But I saw them bringing their sensitivity.
They were still, you know, command, be lead, be tough,
blah, blah, blah. But they were using their

(09:05):
sensitivity as well as a tool. And I was like, oh, OK, this is
another way of doing it. Yeah.
And you're speaking to artists at the end of the day, like you
write, like you're speaking to sensitive people.
You're you're working with sensitive people.
So yeah, you should be able to communicate with them in that
way. But that's really valid.
And not that men can't do it, ofcourse, we've all worked with

(09:26):
male directors who are very intuitive and empathetic.
And of course, but they were doing it in a way that really
resonated with me. And I was like, oh, maybe the
way I was seeing it before, I didn't resonate with because it
was just not me and it was builtby a patriarchy.
Totally. Yeah, that's so empowering.
So like, how did you end up taking on your first episode?

(09:50):
How did that happen? You know, I approached the
producers. They were really hesitant.
And I think part of it was we have a big ensemble cast and
maybe they were like, oh, OK, ifMichelle does this and they're
all going to want to do it kind of thing, I don't know.
Yeah. But they were like, well, you
know, you and, and rightly so, they're like, you need to get
some more experience. And so I went and I did 2

(10:12):
shorts, wrote, directed, produced a couple shorts, worked
on a web series. And then finally they were like,
OK, we'll give you 1 episode kind of as a test, like a trial.
And that went really well. And then so since then I've
always done a block like 2 episodes every season.
Wow, that's so cool. But it took years, you know, it

(10:33):
was like, OK, I want to do it then, OK, now I'm going to do my
short and blah, blah, blah. Oh, and I shadowed.
I had to shadow a ton, which is good.
Like that's good experience. Absolutely, yeah, yeah, you
absolutely need to do that. So I think like our I have a
question about how you've like grown up on the show, right?
Yeah, yeah. And now, like, obviously it
shaped your perspective like as a performer, right?

(10:56):
Probably as a director. And now you're a creative
producer on this latest season of Heartland, which is so cool
and so exciting. How has that shaped you?
Now you know like to to to creative produce on such a?
Yeah. Big show that's been around for
so long and how do you get your voice in there?
Totally. It's a good question.

(11:17):
When you're on a show for so long, like you would imagine,
you want to always make sure you're you're not getting bored
and you're not, you're like you're keeping things fresh.
So getting into directing for mewas like a big challenge and it
totally changed and shifted how I existed on the show.
And so now I've been directing on the show for this was my

(11:38):
sixth season time for a new challenge.
And and as I as a director, you're so involved in prep,
Obviously you're prepping your episodes.
So it was interesting for me to learn so much about that and,
and realizing that I, I want to be involved with prep, not just
for my block, but throughout theseason.
And of course, like when I'm acting, I can't go to all the
meetings, but you go to the onesyou can, you come in remotely

(12:02):
and, and I'm at the phase of my career where I'm really more
about producing my own things. So as much as I can learn about
that and be involved in that really.
So I'm a creative producer, which means like I can talk to
departments of, you know, give people suggestions.
I can also like, help talk to new directors on the show if
they need any guidance, like if they can always, you know, like,

(12:25):
especially when we're on set, wechat a lot like new directors on
the show. And yeah, it's great.
It's just like a new challenge. It's keeping it fresh for me.
Yeah, that's a really real thing, like the the fatigue you
can get when you're on a series for a while and you want to keep
that alive. You want to be excited to go to
work every day and not get into that tired rhythm.

(12:46):
Yeah, yeah, you can so easily. Fall into so that's a great way
to do it. And so I mean the side, the side
of the acting side versus the, you know, like the creative
directing, producing side. How is that different for you?
Like what? Yeah.

(13:07):
I mean, it's so it's so different in a lot of ways.
And I still think acting is the hardest thing that I do.
Really. Yeah.
I mean, logistically, technically directing is is is
hard and takes way more prep, But you know, you can't like

(13:27):
roll out of bed and like show uphalf ass like you can't like,
not that you can half ass as a director, but like you can you
can show up like really ill and just be like, OK, guys, like I'm
just going to get during the dayand as a total actor, nothing.
You can't hide anything. You It's all there.

(13:47):
It is all. There, it's all there and you
can't hide anything. You can't half ass anything.
So I still find acting the most challenging thing I do.
And I, I had another actor director give me really
interesting advice. Actually, Chris Potter, who's an
actor on the show as well. He has always directed on the
show. He's directed on the show since
like season 2, I think. And he said when you're

(14:08):
directing, the energy is, is up here.
I'd like kind of a high vibrating energy up in your head
because you're always problem solving and thinking about every
little thing and all the different departments and all
the one step ahead and then, OK,we're going to do this and then
we can move and jump over there and blah, blah.
So it's really up here and he's like, but then when you're
acting, you have to ground your energy and you have to like kind

(14:29):
of like you have to like you can't be all up in your head.
You have to like ground. So so I.
Need to be more instinctual. Yeah, yeah.
So I do try because I'm always in the episodes I direct.
So it's tough because I'm directing myself and I'm like
switching hats. And sometimes it's I'm more
successful than others. Like if it's a really

(14:49):
challenging episode and I'm in it a lot, it's really hard.
Like it's really hard. I don't love it.
Johann and I did that for the first time.
Like how did you guys? Directed episodes last week of a
new show that we're doing, and it was really hard because we
were in all the scenes. Yeah.
You know, you can't you can pay attention at the beginning when
you're prepping the scene, have like a stand in and kind of like

(15:10):
make sure things are working. But then when once you're in it,
you're in it in a different house.
Exactly. And you just can't think about
all those things in those moments, right.
So you're really relying on, youknow, an AD or ADP to like if
you know. Like how was that?
And honestly, that can bite you in the butt because like I
remember the first episode I did, it worked out really well.

(15:32):
But we were doing this, the big finale scene and it was at night
and it was like skating. I was on skates and we had, I
forget if we had an extra camerathat day, but obviously we I
think we did, I think we had three anyway.
And I kind of was relying on my AD and on my B Cam operator to

(15:53):
like get these shots that they just didn't get.
And and of course we're running out of time and all these
things, right? It can really because you're AD,
your first AD. I mean, maybe I've just never
found like my dream first AD, but their job is not to direct
the show. No, not at.
All their job is to help you, you know, help you, they're

(16:14):
assisting you and they're they're making sure everything's
safe with the crew and they're assisting the flow of work.
But their job is not to be like,I think you really are going to
want this shot. Not, you know, like sometimes
they'll pitch, pitch that. Like do you rely on the producer
to give you anything or like. You know, when you're not, I
feel like it's your DP that should help with that too.
Like that's what I've heard. I've heard that your DP can

(16:35):
really help you make sure. That you're, I mean, honestly,
it depends on your relationshipson set.
But yeah, your DP, if you have agreat producer, like I think
even then I did have a producer,a director producer who was on
set with me that day. And I think that they just
didn't because the thing as a director is like, you know, the
shots you want to need and you kind of edit it in your head
totally. And you can't expect anyone else

(16:56):
to do that, right? So unless you kind of have to be
a really good communicator when you're acting because you have
to be like, these are the shots I need.
Yes, this like point like the storyboards.
Need to be so. Clear.
Yeah. Or out of you know.
And or showing them like with your Artemis on your phone like
this, I need this. And then and then like you have

(17:17):
to really communicate and you can't expect them to.
I don't. Mind read, Yeah?
That I had communicated but theydidn't understand the value of
that shot. So they were looking at other.
Yeah, it's just like it's, it's challenging, especially in TV
because like it's one thing if you're a high caliber Hollywood
actor doing like a multi $1,000,000 film, you guys are

(17:38):
going to take all day to do thatscene.
And even if you're acting in thescene, you're going to be
watching playback. And when you're in television,
there's almost never time to watch playback.
Or if you're doing something lowbudget, there's almost never
time to watch. You're always racing against the
clock. Always.
Racing. So that that's the problem, like
if you there's no luxury time. Time.
Great. You'll get it.

(17:59):
Yeah. Totally.
So yeah, go ahead, Joe. No, go.
Go, you go. I want to know what you're.
Going to I'm glad you guys do that.
That's really cool and I commendyou guys.
Like actors need to, we need to take ownership of our careers
and we need to get behind the camera and we like totally.

(18:19):
It's great. Like I love acting.
It's the hardest thing I do. But waiting around for someone
to give you a job, it's just nota powerful position to be in,
you know? And you lose your spark, You
lose. Like, we love creating.
And of course, the biggest thingis, is getting it made.
And so we're just right now trying to take our power back by

(18:41):
being like, OK, what can we make?
Like what do we have in our control?
Yeah. That was going to be my next
question to you is like you are doing things outside of
Heartland now and what does thatlook like for you like the
rejections, the trying to get itmade, the creating like can you
share a little bit of? Yeah, I mean, I definitely went
through quite a long phase whereI wasn't motivated to create

(19:04):
outside of the show because I tried to produce this movie and
then hit such a wall with it andwas stuck in development and it
didn't go where I wanted it to go and then to pick up and try
it again. I was just not motivated for
quite a while. But then I don't know what it is
like. I think maybe it has to do with

(19:24):
being in my 40s that I feel a little calmer and like I can
approach things like a bit with a bit more patience and
strategy. But my sister and I have had
this feature we've been working on for years.
Like synchronously. I was nominated for a CSA this
year which was awesome. Amazing.
Congratulations. Thank you.

(19:45):
Thank you so much. I didn't win but I was nominated
and when I was there I met the producer who produced the the
winning feature film of the year.
It's called Village Keeper, a beautiful film, you should check
it out. His name is Enrique Benny KED
and we met at a party like afterand I sent him the script.
Because we were at the phase where we're like, we need a
really good producer and he's like, I've been looking for my

(20:07):
next project and this is it. So he's taking us on and, and
he's just like a young, smart, business minded guy.
And we needed someone with that brain, with that kind of mind.
And he's really put like so muchfire behind the project.
And we're just like being way more strategic and just business
minded about it. And we needed that.

(20:28):
So I feel really good about it. And then I have a couple other
things that I'm still in like the writing phase and I'm slowly
starting to care, but it's I'm getting something out of it now.
Like I feel exhilarated and excited when I'm working on
these projects. But I went through a long phase
where I wasn't and where I just felt too hard out there.

(20:49):
It's really. Hard out there.
The rejections do shut you down a little bit as a creative
person, you know, And so it's like, how do I pick up the
pieces and just like, try to push ahead when it's it feels
like you're walking through mud a little bit.
Yeah. But that's exciting that you you
have that moving ahead. Yeah.
How's that collaboration with your sister?
Like, what's that like? And what is a good story?
Can you talk about it a little bit?

(21:09):
Yeah, sure, sure. I mean, honestly, Wendy and I
are both at a similar place in our careers.
She's a director. She's a long time director.
So talented. That's so cool.
And I think that about your sister.
Yeah, she's so she won for her first feature.
She won DGC Best director award.I was called Sugar Daddy.
Yeah, she's amazing. And she's like award-winning.

(21:31):
Just check out Wendy morgan.net.I'll send you the link for her.
Like she's done her music videoslike Halle Bailey, Alicia Keys,
Janelle Monáe, like her music videos are uncredible and
commercials. Like she's just so talented.
But we're both at a point in ourlives that we're very mature.
I mean, of course, I'm sure we'll get in an argument at some

(21:52):
point about the film, but I've been to this point to be like
honest with each other, mature. Like she's taking too long right
now on some script revisions. And you know, I can be like,
Wendy, look, I love you, but youneed to meet this deadline.
This is really important. There are people waiting.
So what can I do to help you create some space in your life

(22:13):
to work on the script? But, you know, you need to do
this. She's like, I know, I know,
blah, blah, blah. Or there was some things about
the credits and how we're being credited that we had this back
and forth about in a conversation about.
And it was kind of a challengingconversation, but that's life
and that's business. And what?
So I think we're both being quite mature about it, which is
really nice. And it's good to have Enrique as
part of it too, because he's, you know, he's not part of our

(22:35):
family. Yeah.
So the film, I can just briefly tell you, is actually sort of
based on true events, like we'reour family's from Chile and our
parents moved from Canada, from Chile, excuse me, from, from
Chile to Canada in the 70s, but we so the, the two main
character is there's a woman, they're both part of the same
family. There's a woman who lives in

(22:56):
Toronto, she's an artist. Her marriage is falling apart.
Her husband has substance abuse issues.
And there's a young woman in Chile who's a bit younger, who
is the daughter of the family's maid.
And they're both connected because they were both abused as
children by the patriarch, by the grandfather.
And he's still kind of the patriarch.
This is like a very wealthy family.
They have a lot to lose. They're kind of high society

(23:17):
Chile. And it's about these two women
coming together. And they both end up actually
getting pregnant by the same man, by Josephine's husband.
They both get pregnant by him and it kind of like draws them
together and they start mirroring each other and kind of
feeling the same feelings and and wanting the same things and
their their babies are basicallycontrolling them in a way and
they're pregnant with twins. So it's, it's actually a

(23:39):
thriller and cool and it's I. Was going to say yeah, it's a.
Thriller, but it ends up and it's like kind of sexy and like
fun and it's shot in Chile and Toronto and then the what was I
going to say? But like, what ties them
together is that abuse at Victor's hands.
And like, that kind of secrets of the family, how they try to

(24:01):
hide them. And yeah, that's about the
family. So are you, are you looking to
act in this as well or is this going to be your departure from
doing it all? I don't think I could walk away
from this without being in it because I love acting, but I, I
won't play a lead like certainly.
And I was, I was just thinking the other day because like,

(24:21):
we're not at that phase yet where we're thinking about that.
But I was just thinking the other day like, oh, maybe I
could play this part. Like, I was like, Josephine is
a, is an artist and she creates these like massive portraits
that kind of are like about her childhood.
And she actually turns them intoportals, like with AI, where you
can like step into them and experience the paintings.

(24:42):
We're using AI in a creative way, not in a way that's still
our jobs in our life. Yeah.
But I was like, we should be. I could be her agent because her
agent is a character in the film.
So I was like, maybe I can. I mean, I'm trying to think of
like a small part. I think if that would be a.
Little cameo. A little cameo.
Yeah, that's great. Totally, but we're going to Co
direct it you and my sister. That's so cool.

(25:04):
So how does how do you guys do that?
How? What does that feel like when
you Co direct? Well, we haven't yet.
I've, I've worked on, excuse me,I've worked on many of her sets
as an actor, as a costume designer, as an assistant, like
I've been on a lot of her sets, but we've never done it.
So we're going to have to navigate it.
And I think it's going to work really well though.
Like directing is so hard. And I think if we can kind of

(25:26):
divide some of the work and someof the prep and just be able to
bounce ideas off each other and talk about things, I think it'll
be fun. Yeah, I mean, it's amazing
because you guys probably are sointuitive with each other too.
Yeah, so that's a huge asset. It's not like 2 strangers coming
in and trying to make magic. Yeah, yeah.

(25:47):
No, it'll be, it'll be interesting.
I mean, you hear about brother directing duos and and two exact
males, but I don't think I've heard of a sister directing
duos. There's the.
Oh, is that Soska sisters? Right.
Remember. Them the horn, Yeah.
Yeah, they made that way. With the nanny.
Yeah, Do they? Still, Yeah, yeah.
I don't know, I remember readingfor them like God, like 12.

(26:07):
Years ago, they were two. Years ago.
On TV, but together, Yeah, I. Wonder if they're doing it
because it's the thing with TV is like it doesn't really
necessarily pay enough for two people to split it.
Totally. And it's like a short thing.
So I mean nothing you couldn't. But last I heard they were doing
TV. So I wonder, I wonder if they're
directed. Together, maybe, I don't know,

(26:28):
maybe they've split off and they're both directing TV and
you just don't hear about it as much, right?
It's different when they were doing film, it was a little bit
more kind of, we heard about it as actors.
Well, moving into the advocacy work that you've done, yeah, you
use your platform a lot for advocacy.
So what inspired you that part of your journey with that and

(26:49):
how do you balance giving back with your creative?
Life, yeah. When I was a young actor going
to UFT, actually, I was away from my family and I had like
extra time and and I always kindof just thought it was part of
life, that we should all do some, you know, give back in

(27:11):
some way. Of course.
I was like, what can I do? And I started volunteering at a
women's shelter in Toronto and then I just loved and it was
such a great experience. And I was doing like acting
classes with the kids that were living there, which was so fun.
And then just doing kind of random stuff.
And I really enjoyed it. And I kept, so I kept doing that

(27:32):
wherever I would go. Like I was in Vancouver and I
would work at the Vancouver RapeRelief shelter, which was really
intense because that was like anemergency shelter for like help.
I need somewhere to go right now.
So that was that shelter, which was really intense.
But is it interesting to see that?
And then here in Calgary as well, I started volunteering at
a local shelter and I would do workshops with the women on

(27:54):
because I was like, I have all this vocal training from being
an actor. What if I do like, I was like,
oh, maybe I could do a workshop like for fun where I'm basically
doing like our warm up, but to help them feel like they can
find their voice again. That's so incredible.
It was so great. And I still do that
occasionally. And women, it's so powerful.
It's so so. Powerful, feel your voice in

(28:15):
your belly and oh man. Well, and that's, it's true that
we're so like used to thinking about that.
Most people, I guess, yeah, theydon't have the knowledge of even
how to do that or that they should be doing.
I mean, nobody in the normal world except for actors thinks
about their voice the way we do and is aware of their body and

(28:35):
is like, I always think it's interesting if you listen to
people having an argument or if you listen to yourself or your
partner, sometimes people stop breathing and like we like
tighten up our throats and like we just everything tightens up
and blah, blah, blah. So I was coming at it from the
perspective of like, if you wantto go for a job interview or if
you're in a stressful situation.And here are some practical

(28:57):
things you can do to feel more confident and to, you know, come
across more strongly. And you know what I mean?
Like hat be heard, but it's also, and I'd never say this in
a workshop, but it's also like you can protect yourself by
being more like stop back up. Like if you like, use your voice
and use your body, but we don't get into that.

(29:17):
We're, we're, it's more just like you keep it fine, positive.
So anyway, I started doing that and then as heartland started
going, they were like, oh, you're volunteering here.
Do you want to, you know, advocate for the thing and, and,
and like host these events or put it on social media?
So it just like naturally evolved into that.
And now I'm working with two organizations here in Calgary.

(29:38):
One is called Homefront, which is incredible.
They work with the courts. They have their own family like
domestic violence court. They work with the police, they
work with the shelter system, they work with children's aid.
Like it's basically as soon as there is any altercation,
domestic violence altercation and the police are called, you
automatically become a client ofhomefronts and they will help

(30:00):
you through the court system andthe shelter system and the whole
thing, which is really great. And then I threw that I got
involved with the Luna Center inCalgary, which is child and
youth advocacy. So children who have been abused
our clients and actually it's the worst 15% of cases.
So it's like the worst, like thehardest cases go to the Luna

(30:21):
Center and it's this beautiful facility where it's like trees
and plants and books and there'salways dogs and kids can kids
can come in and stay there. Testimony once and it's recorded
and then they can pass it to thepolice and pass it to children's
aid to pass it to the doctors and blah, blah, blah.
So they don't have to like re traumatize, thank God.
And if they're going to through the court system, they can do

(30:43):
their testimony like sitting on a comfy couch with a dog on
their lap remotely and they don't have to like look at their
abuser and both. So they do a lot of great stuff.
So actually on November 22nd, I'm hosting Christmas fundraiser
for the Luna Center where it's like the audience is the choir
and there's a choir director who's going to get the audience
singing. It's kind of like Toronto has a

(31:04):
group called Choir Choir Choir that does this where it's like
the audience is the choir. So that's November 22nd in
Calgary. We're going to do that event for
the Luna Center. So all of that's incredible.
What's it like now? You were just mentioning that
you moved to Calgary. Yeah.
You were like a Vancouverite for, I know, most of your life.

(31:25):
Yeah. And now you've stepped into the
Calgarian life. So give us a little glimpse of
what the film life is like there.
And I mean obviously you have this great advocacy centers
there so that you but. You know, it was a financial,
financial decision. I had a third.
She's 3, and we needed more space.
But we had a great community here of friends just from so

(31:48):
many years of working. And it was like we were kind of
watching the real estate market in Vancouver and here and trying
to find a place for years. And we had so many nice friends
here that were like, let's just give it a shot.
It's been great. Obviously we're giving up a lot.
And, and I, you know, I lived inVancouver for so long.
I graduated high school there. I went to tell him I, I lived in
Vancouver, then moved away, thenmoved back.

(32:09):
So I was kind of in Vancouver, in Toronto.
But you really don't realize what you're giving up until
like, you know, I think about like my childhood friends, my
high school friends and and I miss them, but it's also a one
hour flight away. We're trying to think of it that
way. Like I don't feel like it's
goodbye, like I'm going to be back and these days.
Yeah. It's close and when you're in

(32:31):
your. 40s people are so busy, like your world is so small,
your world is so small that I'm now actually living in a
community. I was in the burbs in Vancouver
and now I'm in a walkable community that maybe is
comparable to like South Main orsomething.
Like there's a train station anda Safeway like a stone's throw
away. And it's great.
It's nice, it's great. And, and also Calgary is a very

(32:53):
livable city. Like it's a small town.
Yeah. Like everyone, like you can if
like you'll meet the local politicians and it's just easy
to meet people and network and like, it's it doesn't feel as
like there's as much, it's just easy here.
There's not as much. Yeah.
He found out one of the Dragons done through a CBC event, like a

(33:15):
Manjit Menaz lives here. We met at a thing.
And so I, I went and had coffee with her the other day and, and
she's like, oh, yeah. Like I'm on this board and this
board and I know all these and I'm like, just, it's so easy to
make connections here and, and, and meet people that I like
that. I like that, yeah.
We, we have some other friends too, from the film industry that
moved to Calgary recently and are doing really well.

(33:37):
So yeah, it's, it's nice to hear.
I think that, you know, moving from Vancouver, it used to be
such a bad thing you couldn't audition.
But now everything's on Zoom. Yeah.
Self tape anyways, you know as an.
Actor well, it's like even leaving LA like actors.
Like when I lived there it was like you had to be there.
Now nobody lives there and you can just self tape from
anywhere. Yeah.
So I feel like the world's kind of opened up and you can kind of

(33:58):
be anywhere that feels comfortable and still work.
And you'll probably I'll be backin Vancouver working before you
know it anyways. But I mean, all my auditions
have been for Vancouver and Toronto based projects like
normal, so I don't know. It's not really.
I don't think it'll necessarily negatively affect me.
I'm going to go to Toronto for the DGC awards soon so I'm
nominated. Yeah, Thank you, Major.

(34:20):
Congrats coming right up. So.
Excited. So I'm going to that and I'll
stay in like have some meetings and yeah, so I'm just trying to
make it work. Absolutely.
So what would you just backing up?
What would you recommend to women who want to get into
Drift? Yeah, there are so many ways to
get into it, but I think a really good introduction for

(34:43):
anyone is to make a short film. And I recently heard Chloe Zhao
say this amazing quote. She was like people in the
artists need to really examine our shadow selves, like our
dark, our darker side or the side of ourselves that we want
to shut away and ignore because that's where we're going to find
the stories we need to tell. Absolutely.

(35:04):
And isn't, that doesn't mean youcan't make a comedy or something
light hearted or whatever, but like really finding the
authentic stories that resonate with you.
So doing some writing, you don'tnecessarily have to write the
project yourself, but you do need to, to write a journal or
some or some short stories and find like what's resonating with
you and go ahead and, and try tomake a short.

(35:24):
There are so many grants out there.
You can do it really cheap. It's just a great entry and into
it to have something to show andor to put in festivals to start
that networking process. And then from there, there's
like a million ways to try to get into it.
But one thing I've learned recently that I think is a great
lesson for anyone, no matter what level of the industry
you're at, is it's really important to not be afraid to

(35:49):
just reach out to that person. OK, so you need a distributor
for this thing. Who is the best distributor in
Canada? Start there.
Reach out to like the head of the thing we have.
We have to start thinking of ourselves as worthy of, of those
of those meetings, of those calls of people's times.
Like you're applying to telephone for development
funding. Who are the heads of in, in BC

(36:12):
and nationally of telephone? Who are the decision makers?
Hi, I'm so and so I am applying.I would love a meeting with you,
blah, blah, blah. That, you know, there would be
some things we need to discuss. They need to know, you know what
I mean? Like rather than like applying,
but it's even just like rather than applying facelessly or as a
faceless whatever. Like we really like.
I think as actors we're kind of,or I was a little bit like, Oh,

(36:35):
I just going to put it out into the ether, but it's like, no, we
need to like. Be well.
We wait for an invitation, right?
We've we've been trained to waitfor an invitation to be on
someone else's set on someone else's prop.
Right. And I, I heard something the
other day that was like, you need to be audacious, audacious,
like have the audacity to go andask that question or ask that
person so that you can get aheadin your career as a filmmaker,

(36:59):
right? And not be afraid of doing that
because it's not going to hurt you.
No, just going. To be like, but also for me,
it's helpful. It's helpful for me, rather than
thinking of it as being as having audacity, it's helpful
for me to just think of it as practical.
If I was selling chicken breasts, I would want to talk to
the farmers and I would want to talk to the head of distribution

(37:21):
and I would want to have one-on-one.
Like for me, I've just started thinking of it as like, I have a
story, I have a script. You need stories, you need
scripts. You should know me, you should
meet me. I want to tell you about my
thing. I'm going to practice pitching
it. And I want to tell as many
people as I can about it and especially the most important
people. And I'm just, it takes the fear
away from me if I'm just like, this is business.

(37:42):
This is practical. This story won't get made unless
people know about it. Yeah, it's the truth.
And Chelsea and I have been doing the same thing.
It's like we're just going out there and meeting the people and
saying, hey, This Is Us, this iswhat we do, this is what we're
making, you know well. It's helpful if you, if either
you or you have someone attachedto you who has done a lot of

(38:02):
homework and research, that's helpful.
And it's helpful if you're like,you know, this is the funding
we're looking at and this is what we're.
It's helpful if you come as prepared as possible.
But yeah, that for me has been agame changer just to be like,
it's not weird to want to talk to everyone, you know what I
mean? And like the most like, yeah.

(38:23):
And you and what I've found is that people at the top are
actually really open to chattingand they really want to get to
know you. You know, their their doors are
for the most part especially like telephone, even CBC,
they're open and they want to hear from you, right?
So why not try? Totally.
Yeah. Yeah, that would be some
important advice. Yeah, I think that's great.

(38:44):
That's that's I love. That I love that advice, it's
awesome. So we ask everybody,
specifically women over 35, if there's been a moment that you
felt you're too old, too much ornot, or not.
Definitely, yeah, definitely something specific or I mean,
especially in my 30s, I was like, Oh, my career is over or
it's too late to start this. It's too late.

(39:07):
Like, Oh my God, definitely. But I think the older I get, the
more I'm like, don't be so like if that feels immature, like I
think in reality, this industry is hard.
It's not for the faint of heart.And, and you really just need to
be like practical and like you need to be budgeting your time

(39:29):
and actually working on our art like it's a business.
That's it's not easy. It's not easy because we all
have ADHD and we all are like emotional and flighty and.
But you can. Do it.
You can do it if you really wantto do it and make it work for
yourself. But I've certainly had those
experiences, and getting older on screen is not easy.

(39:52):
I know it sucks. I really.
Also, it's like, why? But it's empowering.
So, so many, yeah, there's so many women that are changing
that as. Well, like for for.
I don't know, I think about likemy mom when she started to, you
know, she's not an actor, but it's like what she saw on screen
versus what we're seeing on screen.
There is a shift, you know it is, it is going in a positive.
Direction, totally. And there's like more

(40:12):
interesting and varied stories about women over 40.
We're not all just mothers or wives or whatever.
No, for sure, that's true. We do.
I do. I actually, I'm like when people
are like nowadays when people are like, are you worried about
yeah, there being less stories or less parts?
I don't feel that as much. Yeah, yeah, which is good, which

(40:36):
is so nice. I think we're starting to
change. Golden Girls, you know.
Golden Girls was the best, but it's really funny when you I
would. Kill to be on the Golden.
Girl. But it is funny when you look at
that image of the women from Sexand the City who were the same
age as The Golden Girls. Have you seen that?
Yes, yes. Because they're the same age.
Yes, it's the blue hair versus. Like, well, not just the blue

(40:58):
hair, like the curlers and the little collars and the ruffles
and the like. And the senior citizens home.
They were innocent, right? They're innocent like those
ideas are. Yeah, it's interesting.
I'm glad that that's changing, that's for sure.
Thanks. God.
Yeah, I mean, look at to me and Pamela and I mean everybody,
even Jamie Lee Curtis, like there are so many women that are

(41:20):
just taking their power and theydon't give us.
F and they're just dad. They're just like interesting
and like Toni Collette, like love her so much, love her, love
her. So Speaking of.
Women in the industry, is there anyone who's helped you or
inspired you? Yeah, I mean, like, I talked
about Megan Follows and Kristen Lehman, like, big shout outs to
them. Jessica Steen plays Lisa

(41:42):
Stillman on Heartland, Jack's wife.
She's always been just so supportive and lovely, and she's
about a decade older than me, soI've always, like, looked up to
her and seen how she navigates things with grace.
But so many women. I mean, GAIL Harvey is another
director that mentored me and, like, supported me.

(42:03):
I'd love her so much. I know I'm forgetting other
female directors, but Eleanor Lindo shadowed Let me shadow.
I think I was her first shadow. Eleanor Lindo's.
Yeah. And she's been around forever.
She directed the Littlest Hobo. My.
Goodness, yeah, that's incredible.
She's and I think she was one ofthe first female directors for
sure in Canada. Wow, I think.

(42:26):
That's a good person to learn. From Heather Conkey too, who was
a showrunner on Heartland. I've learned a lot from watching
her navigate, especially becauseour show you're in meetings with
a bunch of Cowboys often, you know, if you're in like the
animal owned stunts meeting, you're literally in a Cowboys
who are not used to being bossedaround by women, Not to say that

(42:47):
they're not nice people, but like it's it's really
intimidating and watching her navigate that as the kind of
stoic, kind of very calm leader,but like firm, like she had a
vision and she did not deter from it.
So that was always really interesting to watch.
Wow. That's really cool.

(43:10):
Should we ask our last question?Thank you so much for your.
Time today. Thank you for having on our
show. We're so happy.
How long have you been doing theshow now?
This is our first season. OK, yeah.
So how many hours will you do? For the first season, what are
we at now? This is episode 7.
Good for you. Yeah, I think, I think we're
thinking. I don't.
We actually haven't really officially put a number on it.

(43:31):
It's just how it's going to feel.
Yeah. Like we're, we're just having so
much fun and. When can I watch your project?
What is it that you're directingnow We have.
We haven't officially announced it.
Oh, OK. OK.
So. You don't have to.
I'm not that we. Will we will.
We will share. We will share shortly.
But yeah, it's a, it's just a project that Chelsea and I
created and wrote. We've been kind of doing that

(43:52):
for a while north of eight yearsnow together.
So it's finally doing something in our own control without other
people kind of bossing us around.
So it was kind of, it was refreshing to do it together and
to our own accord for the first time.
Good for you, good for both of you SO.
Wearing wearing all the hats andwe still haven't killed each

(44:12):
other, so it's great. It's really a challenge though
in this industry because we're, because it's like it's our art
and our passion and we're passionate to be able to
maintain good working relationships is, is not easy,
but it's commendable if you can be professional and, and try to
be sane and, and maybe get some therapy and deal with your own.

(44:34):
Our own BS, yeah. Well, what's amazing is we have
been friends for over 20 years. And so I think having that
foundation like you and your sister, like Jovan and I are
basically sickly. Sisters, Yeah.
Yeah. And and actually that is our
last question is what does this happen do?
And I think that that is a really nice transition to that
question because like that is what I think has kept us, you

(44:57):
know, alive together in our relationship is just like the
respect, love each other and we have the same end goal and we
know that. So it always comes ahead of
anything. Else, yeah, that's really cool
that you can be there to supporteach other because that's for
me, Sisterhood is like literallyI have two sisters and we are a

(45:18):
really important support networkfor each other.
And we will call each other on our BS and we will, you know,
talk through hard things and, and we'll also kind of try to
call each other out when we're being a certain way.
So we're, but we're, we're therefor each other no matter what.
And then there's like the other side of sisterhood, which is
like women. This is the same for men, but I
think it's more important for women in a way.

(45:40):
We really need community. We need, we need to like have
friends and coworkers who we cantalk to and rely on and bounce
ideas off of. And it's, it's just like it's in
our DNA that we need that 100% for our health, for our
well-being, for happiness. Yeah.
And for our? Careers, yeah, but Chelsea, do

(46:03):
you have kids? I have 4:00.
Yeah. So, you know, being a mom is so
hard. Like it's so, so, so hard.
So trying to do anything outsideof that is like crazy.
It's not crazy. It's just very, very
challenging. So, you know, just to have
someone understand that. Well, and I'm, I'm a single mom
and so I also need a partner work wise that like understands

(46:27):
that there are days that are a little more challenging than
others and. Things go sideways.
Thank God Jovana gets it. And and same for me with her,
like her kids are so busy and she always has a lot going on.
So like it's really an ebb and aflow for us just going like, OK,
what does this week look like? Does this week.
Look like yeah. Where can you pick?
Up. I heard something that said

(46:47):
that, gosh, I'm going to totallyget this wrong, but in a
relationship it's never 5050 because like there's some days
where one person can show up anddo 90% and the other person's
like I've only got 10%. Yeah, Brené Brown talks about
that. Yeah, yeah.
And then the other day the otherperson might be able to pick up
more. And so I think it applies with
with any type of relationship, you know.
Well, and then with women, you know, men are the sun because

(47:09):
they're, they always rise and they're always there and their,
their energy and their, their hormones are very consistent.
They can have like kind of the same routine everyday.
Women are the moon because we wax and wane and we have our
hormones are wildly different throughout the month and our
needs and our need for more restor our need for more comfort or
more this or, or I need to work and get things done.

(47:31):
It ebbs and flows. We are seasonal.
We have like we shift and we change and we evolve and we're
more active as parents typically.
So we have we have all those things that we have to maneuver,
you know, use as like a tool. It's powerful, but it's also
it's, it makes every day a little different.
We can't have the same routine every day the way that men can.

(47:54):
Yeah. That's a.
Different way of saying things, yeah.
I'm going to next time when my son is like, mom, what's going
on? I'm like, I'm the best.
Well, thank you so much. Thank you.
That was so lovely. That was so lovely.
I had the best time. I knew this was going to be
great. Like every time I go into a
podcast, I'm a bit like anxious,but I was like, this is going to

(48:14):
be great. I can tell I knew this is.
We love you and we are so inspired by you and and we need
so many women like you doing what you're doing and I know
people will really love to hear.Resonate.
When my when my film comes out, I'll come back on the podcast
and talk about it, please. Yes, let's talk all about it.
We want to hear about every aspect of it.
Yeah, you. Want to come to the screening?

(48:36):
Oh, it's called Expoto, which islike the name of a painting that
people make traditionally in Mexico or in Latin America,
which are like offerings to the Saints.
That's what I love. Amazing.
Yeah. I love it.
Well, best of luck with Xphoto and all the development with
that and the DGC awards we're going.
To thank you. We're going to be promoting that

(48:58):
for you in our minds and. Souls and where can.
You get. Like you want to share your?
Yes, I'm on Instagram. Excuse me, I'm getting over a
quote Michelle Morgan under score on Instagram.
Yeah, Thank you guys. Have the best day.
Nice to see you guys. Nice to see you.

(49:20):
If today's episode lit a fire render you share it with a
fellow creative or screenshot this episode and post it to your
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and leave us a review. Want more?
Follow us on Instagram at The Creative Sisterhood and check
out Grand Blvd. Entertainment to get plugged
into the movement. Until next time, keep telling
your story, stay bold and remember.

(49:40):
We don't play by the rules. We make.