June 18, 2025 • 30 mins
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What does it take to cross boundaries between music, acting, and language? Manon Pagès embodies this creative journey, bringing her classical music foundations to the vibrant film scene of New Orleans.
The conversation opens a window into how disciplined training in one art form can powerfully transfer to another. Beginning with taking piano and then entering music conservatory by thirteen, Manon developed a work ethic that would later become crucial to her acting. "I always saw acting as just another instrument," she explains, revealing how she approaches performance with the same technical rigor and emotional expressiveness required in classical music.
Sponsored by Jana McCaffery Attorney at Law. Have you been injured? New Orleans based actor, Jana McCaffery, has been practicing law in Louisiana since 1999 focusing on personal injury since 2008. She takes helping others very seriously and, if you are a fellow member of the Louisiana film industry and have been injured, she is happy to offer you a free consultation and a reduced fee to handle your case from start to finish. She can be reached at Support the show
Follow us on IG @nolafilmscene, @kodaksbykojack, and @tjsebastianofficial. Check out our 48 Hour Film Project short film Waiting for Gateaux: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5pFvn4cd1U . & check out our website: nolafilmscene.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm Manon Pagès and I'm an actress and singer and
musician in New Orleans and I'mvery happy to be at NOLA Film
Scene and curious, honestly,because I don't know what this
is about.
Like, I'm ready.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Welcome to NOLA Film Scene with TJ Plato.
I'm TJ and, as always, I'mPlato.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Obviously I know what this is about.
Like I know we're going to talkabout movies and arts in
general, you know.
But yeah, I'm just curious.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
But we've got you here, just a little scared.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
Welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Thanks for having me, I know.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
I tend to have that effect on people.
I tend to scare people, sowe'll try not to be scary.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Sounds good.
It's not the Halloween episode.
We won't.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Well, I should probably listen to that one.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
For sure, welcome Welcome.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
If we mispronounce it , I apologize in advance.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
And you just do it.
It's all good.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
A lot of our guests.
We met in Jim Gleason's classin the circle exercise.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
You and I met on Olivia's movie Todd's Right when
we were filming the last bigscene I have yet to see this
movie.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
I need to keep telling Olivia because I
couldn't make it to the premiere, so I don't know yet what it
looks like.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
It turned out pretty good.
So I saw an advanced version ofit and then we did the
screening at the theater and shedid a really good job,
especially keeping with themockumentary style of kind of
the you know the guerrillafilmmaking where everything's
not perfectly stable, it just it.
It looked great, everybody wasfunny, the whole movie.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
I really liked it oh, I can't wait to see that.
Actually, olivia and I met onthe movie just like that.
This, this is how I met onanother like mockumentary, so
I'm really into that.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
Ah, I gotcha.
So you also are a musician andwe're going to dig into that.
I came across one of your musicvideos early on, so to back up
a little bit, brian and I bothtook singing lessons, took voice
lessons from Olivia.
And she was giving me ideas,things to practice singing and
(02:23):
watching some of her videos.
One of your videos came up as asuggested video and I watched
him and you were playing thepiano and you were singing and
it was just incredible, you'resuch an incredible singer thank
you so much and then yeah, andso I've seen some of your videos
since where you're playing allthe instruments and that is
(02:47):
incredible how many different.
do you even know how manydifferent instruments you play?
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Yeah, I know.
I mean, you know I wish Iplayed way more if I had time to
learn way more.
But I played piano as my mainfirst love because that's where
I started in music when I waslike eight years old and it led
me to classical music and I gotinto music conservatory when I
was 13 and then it led to a highschool program that was sort of
(03:15):
like noca, I would say, I guess.
Like you know, I had school inthe morning and conservatory the
afternoon or like practicealone, whatever.
Then I started playing guitar,just because I wanted to sing
and I don't know.
I just felt like I could travelwith that better and so I
wanted to learn guitar.
I did like two years ofclassical guitar and then I
bought an electric guitar and uh, which I still travel with,
(03:38):
like I still have here.
I bought a Fender Stratocasterwhen I was, when I was like 15
or something.
I know it's like a bit much,especially because I wasn't
playing guitar at that time.
So, but I just bought a Strat.
And then I started playingdrums last year, which was for a
musical documentary projectabout becoming a rock band in
(03:58):
six weeks, which is kind of ajoke, but I learned how to play
like I was told I should playdrums and because I was was, it
was what was missing in the bandand so so this is what I did
and yeah, I guess I sing and, um, I have like grabbed the
ukulele to just because I neededthat in my music video, but I
(04:20):
don't know how to play that.
I guess I just learned it forthat day, the specific chords,
but I knew I could pick it up.
It's just that I haven't reallyfocused on it.
Yeah, that's not too manyinstruments, it's a reasonable
amount.
And then I do music production,because obviously I produce my
own stuff, so I had to learn allthat which is a whole other
instrument in itself.
It's like this is crazy.
(04:41):
What software do you use foryour, your music production?
Actually, not the one that Iwould say everybody uses.
I use pre-sonus studio one whichis I did not know when I when I
first started that I justbought the one thing that was a
guitar center and I was like,yeah, I just need to figure this
(05:02):
out.
And I spent a lot of time onYouTube learning how to do it
and basically all the covers,and you know, I released an
original too.
What I do is just I learn as Igo.
Obviously, I spent many hourson it before I could even work a
metronome, which was like Idon't love computers, guys Don't
love computers, but I likeproducing music.
So I had to figure it out.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
TJ, calm down, it's okay that she doesn't like
computers.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Anyway, that's the.
Yeah, I guess that's the wholemusic story, but there are many
instruments that still want tolearn how to play.
I'm not, I'm only 34 guys.
Like there's many instruments Icould learn how to play.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
It gonna happen definitely do you find it easier
the more.
The more instruments you pickup, it's easier to pick up a new
one yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
I think like drums came to me really, uh, naturally
, just because obviously I knewall the music theory, and so the
beginning was more aboutlearning the symbols.
For because I wanted to readsheet music.
I'm just obsessed with that.
I'm less comfortable with justtrying to do something by heart
(06:11):
or improvising.
That's not really my jam to dothat.
I'm more into reading stuff andlearning that.
So this is how I learned how toplay drums with reading sheet
music, maybe not like how peoplereally learn how to play drums.
It's kind of like guitar, youknow.
I just I don't do tabs, I dochords and like because I don't
(06:32):
know.
It makes more sense to mebecause I learned how to read
music.
That's the first thing Ilearned how to do yeah, that's
something I struggle with.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
So I started taking piano I don't know, 2016, 2017.
And we actually bought an oldYamaha like 1973 model really
old piano but in really goodshape and I took lessons for
about six or eight months or soand kept up with it.
(07:01):
But then my piano teacher movedout of state and I started
going to a place in town and Ididn't really like the format
that they were doing there andhe and I started doing lessons
outside of that for a little bitand then, when he left, I kind
of tapered off.
But my daughter picked it up.
(07:21):
My son started learning drumsat the same place.
It was what's it called Lapa.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
Up here on the North Shore.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (07:30):
And then he switched from drums to guitar, and then
switched from guitar to bass,and then my daughter stayed with
piano.
So between the two of themwe've got at least three
instruments covered.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Right, I forgot about bass.
So one of my friends gave me abass.
I mean, just let me borrow one.
So I guess you probably saw mein some of them with a bass
guitar.
But that's like I'm learning asI go.
Just oh, I need to do that forthis song and this is what I'm
going to do.
So bass is really fun.
I have to say, like I didn'tthink I was going to like it.
I thought I was like, nah, bassis boring, blah, blah, blah,
(08:06):
like boom, boom, boom, like thatfavorite, or do you have
something that you like more?
I have a weird relationship withpiano because I think after the
conservatory I was really burntand I just didn't want to hear
about piano.
I was like I don't even likehow it sounds.
(08:26):
I took a big break from it.
It was when I first moved tothe US.
You know I would play chordshere and there, but that was
just not really my.
It's not what I'm used to withpiano.
I prefer doing that with guitar,because this is how I learned
how to play guitar, andclassical is something that you
know I always love to play butnot really perform it.
(08:48):
So I guess I found, yeah,there's, piano is definitely my
first love and still theinstrument that I will love
forever.
I you know, just like sometimesrelationships, you have
conflicts and you need to justlike work those out.
So I think that now I'm moreinterested in going back to play
classical pieces, even if it'sjust for me.
(09:10):
But I do have a cover.
I'm going to do with a friendwhich is an opera piece, so
that's going to be my a friendwhich is an opera piece, so
that's going to be my comebackinto classical music and
actually public you know.
We'll still film it, you know,and it's not going to be like a
live performance.
I don't know if I'm ready forthat Because like live
performances are pretty dramatic.
If you talk to anybody that'sbeen in a conservatory, we
(09:32):
always talk about their traumaof conservatory.
So, yeah, it's first love forsure.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Still there Very cool .
During my lessons with Olivia,I found I tend to go towards the
crooner songs.
Oh yeah, Nacho, I love HarryConnick Jr In that vein.
Is there a style of music thatyou gravitate towards?
And then is there somethingthat you want to break into that
you've never done before?
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Ooh, yeah, good questions.
I always sang.
When I first started singing, Iwas always picking guy song, I
think, because I just like thedeeper voice and I can get there
.
I think I have a pretty widerange, but I just find more of
my colors in, you know, lowerrange.
So I'm more attracted to guysongs in general.
(10:25):
This is usually what I want totry.
And then definitely folk music,just sad rock like old guys,
not necessarily necessarily old,but I just yeah, this is more
what I'm into.
Uh, it's usually quitedepressing too.
Sorry, what was your otherquestion?
Speaker 2 (10:43):
if that's your style, like where would you like to go
that you haven't been able togo before completely different
style.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
like.
I love electronic music and Ithink the attraction to music
production was also that to beable to create Like.
Eventually I would love to havethe money to have an entire
studio and I would definitelytake lessons for this, but have
somebody teaching me everythingabout electronic music and all
(11:11):
the machines and things likethat so I can create that Like,
essentially like djing, but likeI want.
It's not like I want to dj live, but I would love to create
party songs.
That would be amazing nice likebeach party.
I love that french people haveso many good electronic music
too that you know a lot.
I don't love the things thatare just just percussive or or
(11:35):
or like intense, like I'm not,you know, like Skrillex or
things like that, like I'm moreinto melodies and vibey and
beach.
And yeah, there's a, thisFrench electronic music guy, I
don't know Sorry, I don't knowhow to call it, his name is is
Petit Biscuit, which means likelittle cookie, and he was very
(11:57):
young when he started, like Ithink probably 16, and he made
amazing things.
That's the kind of thing I like.
I mean, it's very like flowyand mellow.
And I do also love the partystuff like David Guetta,
completely different, but that'ssomething that I would like to
do in the future.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Very cool.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
You like the genres of anything, and even the way
you learned guitar and piano.
You're going to do your ownthing.
You want to bring yourself intoit instead of being the rote.
Exactly this is how you do.
I don't want to call you a freespirit and label you as that,
but you seem pretty free to me.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Yeah, I think so.
I think that's also why theconservatory was complicated,
Even though I was with a teacherthat, honestly, I would
probably quit before if I hadn't, if I didn't have this teacher,
cause he was kind of like theoddball of the school and so
talented and and, like, like alot of people wanted this
teacher.
I'm lucky to have had him teachme so much.
(12:54):
He was very open to so manythings, or even the things that
I wanted to do in.
You know, even leaving andquitting the conservatory and
and just going to the US to dosomething completely different.
He was not judgmental at all.
You would think it's like no,this is your path.
Now you know.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
Right.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
So I'm very thankful for people like that.
But it helped me be free with,I think, just the people I was.
You know, I just I always had alot of support with my free
spirit, my family and theteachers that I've had.
So I think I'm pretty luckywith that.
I don't feel like stuck.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
The only way to bring the artistry out of an artist,
not to stick them in a hole.
Speaker 4 (13:34):
Exactly the artistry out of an artist, not to stick
them in a hole, exactly so, whenyou were into music when you
were younger, were you doing anyacting at that point, or did
you break into that when youwere a little bit like after you
moved to the states, or how didhow'd that come about?
Speaker 1 (13:48):
sort of like like not seriously, until I was in the
states I did this like.
So I was in boarding schoolwhen I was in high school and
the place in front of my highschool had it was like a
community center and had a bunchof classes and I took like this
random martial art there calledViet Vo Dao I don't know if
you've ever heard of it yeah, meneither.
(14:10):
And then there was this actingclass there which was a lot of
improv and, yeah, just mostlyimprov.
I was with a bunch of adults.
That's where I kind of was intoa theater class for the first
time, aside from clubs, andmaybe in high school and middle
school.
Well, in middle school but it'snot as heavy as it is in the US
(14:31):
the whole musical theater inthe USs, like the whole musical
theater, like it's very in theus, it's very serious.
You know, you guys put on likeamazing shows in in high school
and and like I'm seeing allthese like christmas shows right
now that my friends are postingfrom their kids and I'm like
what looks like broadway, whatthe heck like where do you find
all that money?
And it's just like the.
(14:52):
The dedication is amazing to me, but we didn't have that in
France, it's not like that.
So if you want to do somethinglike that, you kind of have to
do extracurricular activity.
So that's what I did in highschool and then I stayed.
I stick to that teacher whobecame a really good friend
after high school and then Imoved to the US when I was 20.
So the time to you know, I meanmean I didn't move to be an
(15:19):
actor.
I I wanted to speak English, toget into a film school in
France without having to go tocollege to learn English because
I don't like it's cool.
And I just never came back, youknow, because life happened at
the time I met someone and andthen we got married obviously
didn't work and I realized thatNew Orleans was such a really
awesome spot for movies.
That was in 2011.
(15:40):
So like, if you remember, thattime was like really nice for
for movies in in New Orleans andand I just started doing extra
work to meet people that did itCause I didn't know anyone and,
uh, I probably did extra workfor two years and during that,
towards the end of like mewanting to stop doing extra work
because I just wanted more outof this, I definitely was like,
(16:03):
oh yeah, this is what I want todo.
I started acting lessons andwith various coaches here and
then I signed in my first agencyreally quickly.
It was weird, actually.
First agency really quickly.
It was weird actually.
It was like I I went, I think Ifound an audition on craigslist
, uh, which doesn't sound greatlike this.
Fortunately I did not getkidnapped, you guys right, but
(16:25):
it could have happened comeaudition in my hotel room.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
It's just you and me.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Well, I've done some weird.
Yeah, I've done some weirdstuff like that.
Like, oh yes, just like you,you're like oh my god, if I
could teach my younger self tobe like more.
Like, no, don't do it butsometimes you gotta make those
mistakes.
But yeah, that audition was ina building of that it was
happening in that agency'sbuilding.
And she heard the auditionwhich ended up booking that was
(16:50):
like my first short film.
And she was like, could youhave an agent?
And I was like, no, I don't.
Yeah, I mean I thought you know, obviously it's something I
want at some point, uh, but Idid not know I was going to be
asked that today and you knowshe, let me think about it and I
was like I mean, why not?
You know, I don't know her, I,I she was a great first agent
and and and now I have anotherone.
(17:12):
But this is how I started, yeah, so everything kind of.
Eventually I stopped doingextra work because I was
auditioning for, you know, stuffthat weren't you know, just,
you can't.
You know, miss your mess upyour chances.
If you already book a movie asan extra, you obviously can't
audition for it.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
You got to make the break at some point.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
So mostly everything was in the U?
S for acting.
For acting, I would say the US.
You said you didn't want to goto school.
(18:11):
How much English you know?
Hosting you like an Americanfamily hosting you.
I mean.
My grades at school went fromlike I mean we're talking about
like D.
Sudden I was like, oh well, see, this is the way to do it.
And that's why, in my head, Iwas like I need to live in the
US, I need to do something inthe US for a longer time.
How do I do this?
How do I do this?
And the time I went, when I was17, I was like I need to go
back, this is what I want to do.
And then and the conservatorywas like I don't know if this is
(18:35):
what I want to do for my life.
And then films were justcreeping in.
I was more interested in it.
I was not playing music.
I was watching so many moviesand just pretending to practice
at the conservatory, but I wasnot.
I was like renting a bunch ofDVDs down my street and just
like watching them nonstop, youknow, like the equivalent of
Blockbuster, I guess, Like itwas this like distributor thing,
(18:58):
you know, and I would just bedoing that all the time and
telling my parents that I wasstudying real hard at the
conservatory.
And then I'm like well, this iswhat I need to do.
Like it's movies.
How do I get into movies?
How does that work?
In France, and the only thing Iknew of was a film school and I
was like film school has schoolin it.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
I don't love that part.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
And then I needed to speak English and so I went to
the US, so I did an au pairprogram and that's when I think
I went in with a good level ofEnglish.
It was not like some of thegirls that left France with me
were terrible in English, so Ifeel bad for them because they
must have had a hard time.
I wasn't too bad, but I mean,of course, the accent and like
(19:42):
how fast people are speaking.
It's like at the beginningyou're just like, oh my God, oh
my God.
It took me about two months andI remember going to the theater
.
It wasn't the first time I wasgoing to theater in the US, us,
but it was the first time I wentto a theater and I was like oh,
oh, I understood everything.
I mean like about everythingyou know, and like I remember I
(20:03):
think the movie was it was aJason Bateman comedy, switch
maybe, or something like thatand I just I was like, oh my
gosh, that's it.
I know English.
Now I can go back to France anddo that film school and I just
never did.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
Why do film school, where you can just be in films
and learn Exactly?
Speaker 1 (20:23):
It was very convenient that this all you
know, like it's just, I guess,manifesting it, and there's a
little bit of that you know.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
And there's a lot to be said for doing it, because
you can take the schooling allthe time oh yeah, I felt like a
student until I finally startedchanging my feelings.
And then there's jumps when youfinally get in a film yeah, you
know what I mean like my braindetached from.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
I have to do this and I have to do this right to, oh,
oh, this is how it is that istotally me, though, like I think
I think the most good withschool in general, like for art
or anything, is just that youlearn the work ethic and how
like it's easy to get distractedand thinking that you don't
need that much work to do that.
And I feel like, especially foracting, because it's not like an
(21:09):
instrument or a sport.
I mean it is, but a lot ofpeople think it is not and can
get away with it.
I mean it is, but a lot ofpeople think it is not and can
get away with it.
And I think what theconservatory taught me was that
work ethic and how many hoursyou need to spend at something
to really be good at it.
So I always saw acting as justlike another instrument.
And so I think that from theconservatory, even if I didn't
(21:30):
go to film school or theaterschool, I still knew about the
work ethic and I took thatseriously from day one and I
knew how much work I was goingto have to.
I know how much work I stillhave to put into, you know, and
how much better I want to get.
Every time I do something, I'mvery, very critical.
If I watch something, I'm like,okay, that was good, but next
time I need to do this, and thenI'm going to read this book and
(21:53):
blah, blah, blah.
I think I would be very muchconservatory-like at the
beginning, Like I need to dothis.
This is my checklist for myauditions.
I need to go through this, this, this, this, this, this, and I
cannot miss one step or I willfail.
Now I'm like much looser aboutit.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
It becomes ingrained in you.
A part of you.
You've learned your scales, youknow what the tones would be.
And then you just you do thejazz, you do the free form, you
do the improv while you're inthe scene, you know, and you
live it.
Yeah, so that was going to leadme to my.
I was kind of formulating thequestion because we've talked
with many people, like we talkedwith Rick Overton.
He talked about how it wasmusic.
Rob Paulson did and I know youhear the terms like I was one
(22:32):
note in an audition class.
So there's a lot of similarityand overlap between music and
acting.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
I can't even formulate a question.
I think you understand, butdiscuss.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
It's weird because, like I think, in so many ways I
can relate music to like I doboxing too, and I think there's
similarities into that as well.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
You want to express the emotion in acting and you
want to do that music too.
So if you're reading classicalor reading a script like for
voiceover, or just you have thewords in front of you.
You can't be just stuck andfocused on the note.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
To have images.
Yeah, yeah, totally yeah, and Ithink this is I always give
images to my students when weplay piano and of course it's
artificial.
I'm not not giving my imageslike how I see this piece, but
like I'm also encouraging themto find their own vision in it.
You know, it's like with acting.
The nice thing if it's films isthat usually you do have the
(23:26):
fact that, like the situation isthere, the room is there, you
don't have to really inventanything unless it's theater and
or unless you're cold readingor doing the audition.
Uh, so it is important to knowhow to do that.
But when you get the job, it'snice because everything is there
.
But I think imagining thingsand just being creative and and
that's definitely relates withmusic and, yeah, cool cool.
Speaker 4 (23:50):
So I was gonna ask brian, when you were coming up
through elementary and juniorhigh in Louisiana, did you take
French?
Speaker 2 (23:58):
I did not.
I wanted to, especially becauseof my last name and for the
folks out there it's Plato, butsince I'm a, yet it's.
Plato and like the clay.
I was teased like that in the70s.
I was a kid in the 70s.
You can make it with Platoflashbacks, sorry.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
I don't know that style you're teaching me that
one because, cause, obviously wehave different ones.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Yeah, yeah, it was you can make it with Play-Doh,
with the Play-Doh toys jingle,then anything goes with Play-Doh
, and then Play-Doh fun to playwith, not to eat.
And that's when I was out.
Speaker 4 (24:29):
Where I went to school we took French up through
.
I remember taking it up throughjunior high, seventh, eighth
grade somewhere around there.
I went to a private school fora couple of years and it stopped
at that point and then by thetime I went back to public
school I think seventh gradethere were other electives that
we could take.
(24:50):
So it stopped.
But I have family on my mom'sside that's Cajun French, but I
have family on my mom's sidethat's Cajun French and of
course it's a very, verydifferent kind of French.
But I could understand mygrandma when she was speaking
you know Cajun French and shecould understand what I was
saying.
(25:10):
But words, slangs, things werevery, very different and then
through many, many years of notkeeping up with it, it just
completely went away.
I still hear a few words hereand there and I understand what
they mean, but it's been a very,very long time.
In high school we moved andSpanish was the only foreign
(25:33):
language that was available andyou had to have, I think, two
semesters of it, maybe one.
I wish it would have kept upthroughout high school, I don't
know.
I just I found French moreinteresting and for me I don't
know if it was because I hadfamily.
I just picked it up a littleeasier than I did Spanish.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
Yeah, because I mean you heard it like I'm assuming
like your grandparents werespeaking it, and then you
couldn't understand them.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
I just hear that story often Like, yeah, I mean,
I heard it my whole childhood.
My grandparents would just, youknow, like their generation
would talk behind our backs orthings like that, or like great
grandparents or something youknow.
So I'm assuming that you'veheard that.
So your ear, just like music,it adjusts to.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
I went to French, but it was filled up, so I got
Spanish.
And then when I was playing itwas, but when I was in, like
peewee football, I wanted to beon the Saints and I got to be on
the Falcons.
And then now, years later,never thought I had a chance to
be an actor in acting, and nowI'm into it.
So everything's been a dreamdeferred for me.
Speaker 3 (26:42):
Oh man.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
Well, you can get back to french yeah, you know,
duolingo is amazing uh babble'sa good app, oh yeah, babble's a
good one.
Uh, I do duolingo for spanishand italian.
Well, italian is very new.
I just started recently.
But, um, but yeah, I, because II did a good bit of spanish in
school also and then, like, Ispoke it a little bit in my life
(27:07):
later on and now I'm notpracticing it, so I want to get
back to it.
I think Duolingo is amazing.
It's free.
There's so many things you canlearn for free.
It's crazy.
Speaker 4 (27:17):
My daughter's learning French with Duolingo
and she'll leave me notes,sometimes in French, so I'm
picking up a few little wordshere and there.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
I love that.
That's cool.
Speaker 4 (27:27):
Thank you so much for joining us.
Do you have any socials thatyou want to plug?
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Yes, and again, thank you for having me.
You guys, this is really fun.
I do have, obviously, youtube.
Since we were talking aboutmusic, it's Manon Pagès on
YouTube.
Very easy, m-a-n-o-n and pagesp-a-g-e-s.
I have instagram, manon of thesprings, uh, which is a
reference to a french movie.
yes, I'm a nerd and you can seeon youtube and yeah on youtube
(27:56):
and instagram yes, I figured youcan see all that stuff, all the
music that I do on there.
Uh, please follow, subscribe ifyou like it.
And then I do have a movie thatwas at the Louisiana Film Prize
, called Byla.
So very excited about thismovie, I'm very proud of it.
Hopefully we can.
If you stay tuned on my pages,you'll know when this comes out,
(28:19):
because right now it's running.
It's being submitted to otherfestivals now that we did the
film prize and yeah, that's it.
Speaker 4 (28:26):
I actually forgot to mention this during the episode.
Your 48-hour offering at PostalApocalypse is that right?
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah Wasbrilliant.
We saw all the different takesof a postal carrier and your
performance was fantastic.
Loved your film.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
Thank you so much.
Yeah, we shot this.
This movie was like really itwas much longer than the cut
that we had to do.
Actually, I wanted to textJames, the director, like
yesterday, to ask him if hebecause I know he was making
another cut where there's moregoing on in it.
I don't know how we we shot somuch in in one day, but there's
(29:07):
like the movie is three timeslonger, I think.
But thank you, uh, I I some themusic in that is mine oh
excellent, oh wow, okay, that'sstuff I had done for another
movie before and we just reusedthat.
It was the same vibe.
It's okay, because the moviewas the one that I produced.
Speaker 4 (29:23):
I'm just playing.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
I don't have to fight anyone.
Manon, could you do us a favor?
Speaker 3 (29:29):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Could you take us out in French?
Speaker 3 (29:32):
Okay, merci TJ.
Merci, brian, de m'avoiraccueilli sur ce podcast.
Je suis super touchée de votreaccueil et de votre intérêt.
Je ne sais même plus commentparler.
Super touched by your welcomeand your interest.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
I don't even know how to speak, I just realized I
couldn't make a sentence, I justcouldn't finish my sentence.
Anyway, au revoir, bonnejournée, au revoir.
I'm Manon Pagès and I'm an actress and singer and
musician in New Orleans and I'mvery happy to be at NOLA Film
Scene and curious, honestly,because I don't know what this
is about.
Like, I'm ready.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Welcome to NOLA Film Scene with TJ Plato.
I'm TJ and, as always, I'mPlato.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
Obviously I know what this is about.
Like I know we're going to talkabout movies and arts in
general, you know.
But yeah, I'm just curious.
Speaker 2 (00:32):
But we've got you here, just a little scared.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
Welcome.
Speaker 2 (00:38):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Thanks for having me, I know.
Speaker 4 (00:41):
I tend to have that effect on people.
I tend to scare people, sowe'll try not to be scary.
Speaker 2 (00:48):
Sounds good.
It's not the Halloween episode.
We won't.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Well, I should probably listen to that one.
Speaker 2 (00:56):
For sure, welcome Welcome.
Speaker 1 (00:58):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (01:00):
If we mispronounce it , I apologize in advance.
Speaker 1 (01:03):
And you just do it.
It's all good.
Speaker 4 (01:06):
A lot of our guests.
We met in Jim Gleason's classin the circle exercise.
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:13):
You and I met on Olivia's movie Todd's Right when
we were filming the last bigscene I have yet to see this
movie.
Speaker 1 (01:22):
I need to keep telling Olivia because I
couldn't make it to the premiere, so I don't know yet what it
looks like.
Speaker 4 (01:28):
It turned out pretty good.
So I saw an advanced version ofit and then we did the
screening at the theater and shedid a really good job,
especially keeping with themockumentary style of kind of
the you know the guerrillafilmmaking where everything's
not perfectly stable, it just it.
It looked great, everybody wasfunny, the whole movie.
Speaker 1 (01:49):
I really liked it oh, I can't wait to see that.
Actually, olivia and I met onthe movie just like that.
This, this is how I met onanother like mockumentary, so
I'm really into that.
Speaker 4 (02:01):
Ah, I gotcha.
So you also are a musician andwe're going to dig into that.
I came across one of your musicvideos early on, so to back up
a little bit, brian and I bothtook singing lessons, took voice
lessons from Olivia.
And she was giving me ideas,things to practice singing and
(02:23):
watching some of her videos.
One of your videos came up as asuggested video and I watched
him and you were playing thepiano and you were singing and
it was just incredible, you'resuch an incredible singer thank
you so much and then yeah, andso I've seen some of your videos
since where you're playing allthe instruments and that is
(02:47):
incredible how many different.
do you even know how manydifferent instruments you play?
Speaker 1 (02:53):
Yeah, I know.
I mean, you know I wish Iplayed way more if I had time to
learn way more.
But I played piano as my mainfirst love because that's where
I started in music when I waslike eight years old and it led
me to classical music and I gotinto music conservatory when I
was 13 and then it led to a highschool program that was sort of
(03:15):
like noca, I would say, I guess.
Like you know, I had school inthe morning and conservatory the
afternoon or like practicealone, whatever.
Then I started playing guitar,just because I wanted to sing
and I don't know.
I just felt like I could travelwith that better and so I
wanted to learn guitar.
I did like two years ofclassical guitar and then I
bought an electric guitar and uh, which I still travel with,
(03:38):
like I still have here.
I bought a Fender Stratocasterwhen I was, when I was like 15
or something.
I know it's like a bit much,especially because I wasn't
playing guitar at that time.
So, but I just bought a Strat.
And then I started playingdrums last year, which was for a
musical documentary projectabout becoming a rock band in
(03:58):
six weeks, which is kind of ajoke, but I learned how to play
like I was told I should playdrums and because I was was, it
was what was missing in the bandand so so this is what I did
and yeah, I guess I sing and, um, I have like grabbed the
ukulele to just because I neededthat in my music video, but I
(04:20):
don't know how to play that.
I guess I just learned it forthat day, the specific chords,
but I knew I could pick it up.
It's just that I haven't reallyfocused on it.
Yeah, that's not too manyinstruments, it's a reasonable
amount.
And then I do music production,because obviously I produce my
own stuff, so I had to learn allthat which is a whole other
instrument in itself.
It's like this is crazy.
(04:41):
What software do you use foryour, your music production?
Actually, not the one that Iwould say everybody uses.
I use pre-sonus studio one whichis I did not know when I when I
first started that I justbought the one thing that was a
guitar center and I was like,yeah, I just need to figure this
(05:02):
out.
And I spent a lot of time onYouTube learning how to do it
and basically all the covers,and you know, I released an
original too.
What I do is just I learn as Igo.
Obviously, I spent many hourson it before I could even work a
metronome, which was like Idon't love computers, guys Don't
love computers, but I likeproducing music.
So I had to figure it out.
Speaker 2 (05:24):
TJ, calm down, it's okay that she doesn't like
computers.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
Anyway, that's the.
Yeah, I guess that's the wholemusic story, but there are many
instruments that still want tolearn how to play.
I'm not, I'm only 34 guys.
Like there's many instruments Icould learn how to play.
Speaker 4 (05:42):
It gonna happen definitely do you find it easier
the more.
The more instruments you pickup, it's easier to pick up a new
one yeah, for sure.
Speaker 1 (05:51):
I think like drums came to me really, uh, naturally
, just because obviously I knewall the music theory, and so the
beginning was more aboutlearning the symbols.
For because I wanted to readsheet music.
I'm just obsessed with that.
I'm less comfortable with justtrying to do something by heart
(06:11):
or improvising.
That's not really my jam to dothat.
I'm more into reading stuff andlearning that.
So this is how I learned how toplay drums with reading sheet
music, maybe not like how peoplereally learn how to play drums.
It's kind of like guitar, youknow.
I just I don't do tabs, I dochords and like because I don't
(06:32):
know.
It makes more sense to mebecause I learned how to read
music.
That's the first thing Ilearned how to do yeah, that's
something I struggle with.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
So I started taking piano I don't know, 2016, 2017.
And we actually bought an oldYamaha like 1973 model really
old piano but in really goodshape and I took lessons for
about six or eight months or soand kept up with it.
(07:01):
But then my piano teacher movedout of state and I started
going to a place in town and Ididn't really like the format
that they were doing there andhe and I started doing lessons
outside of that for a little bitand then, when he left, I kind
of tapered off.
But my daughter picked it up.
(07:21):
My son started learning drumsat the same place.
It was what's it called Lapa.
Speaker 3 (07:27):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
Up here on the North Shore.
Speaker 3 (07:29):
Okay.
Speaker 4 (07:30):
And then he switched from drums to guitar, and then
switched from guitar to bass,and then my daughter stayed with
piano.
So between the two of themwe've got at least three
instruments covered.
Speaker 1 (07:44):
Right, I forgot about bass.
So one of my friends gave me abass.
I mean, just let me borrow one.
So I guess you probably saw mein some of them with a bass
guitar.
But that's like I'm learning asI go.
Just oh, I need to do that forthis song and this is what I'm
going to do.
So bass is really fun.
I have to say, like I didn'tthink I was going to like it.
I thought I was like, nah, bassis boring, blah, blah, blah,
(08:06):
like boom, boom, boom, like thatfavorite, or do you have
something that you like more?
I have a weird relationship withpiano because I think after the
conservatory I was really burntand I just didn't want to hear
about piano.
I was like I don't even likehow it sounds.
(08:26):
I took a big break from it.
It was when I first moved tothe US.
You know I would play chordshere and there, but that was
just not really my.
It's not what I'm used to withpiano.
I prefer doing that with guitar,because this is how I learned
how to play guitar, andclassical is something that you
know I always love to play butnot really perform it.
(08:48):
So I guess I found, yeah,there's, piano is definitely my
first love and still theinstrument that I will love
forever.
I you know, just like sometimesrelationships, you have
conflicts and you need to justlike work those out.
So I think that now I'm moreinterested in going back to play
classical pieces, even if it'sjust for me.
(09:10):
But I do have a cover.
I'm going to do with a friendwhich is an opera piece, so
that's going to be my a friendwhich is an opera piece, so
that's going to be my comebackinto classical music and
actually public you know.
We'll still film it, you know,and it's not going to be like a
live performance.
I don't know if I'm ready forthat Because like live
performances are pretty dramatic.
If you talk to anybody that'sbeen in a conservatory, we
(09:32):
always talk about their traumaof conservatory.
So, yeah, it's first love forsure.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
Still there Very cool .
During my lessons with Olivia,I found I tend to go towards the
crooner songs.
Oh yeah, Nacho, I love HarryConnick Jr In that vein.
Is there a style of music thatyou gravitate towards?
And then is there somethingthat you want to break into that
you've never done before?
Speaker 1 (10:01):
Ooh, yeah, good questions.
I always sang.
When I first started singing, Iwas always picking guy song, I
think, because I just like thedeeper voice and I can get there
.
I think I have a pretty widerange, but I just find more of
my colors in, you know, lowerrange.
So I'm more attracted to guysongs in general.
(10:25):
This is usually what I want totry.
And then definitely folk music,just sad rock like old guys,
not necessarily necessarily old,but I just yeah, this is more
what I'm into.
Uh, it's usually quitedepressing too.
Sorry, what was your otherquestion?
Speaker 2 (10:43):
if that's your style, like where would you like to go
that you haven't been able togo before completely different
style.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
like.
I love electronic music and Ithink the attraction to music
production was also that to beable to create Like.
Eventually I would love to havethe money to have an entire
studio and I would definitelytake lessons for this, but have
somebody teaching me everythingabout electronic music and all
(11:11):
the machines and things likethat so I can create that Like,
essentially like djing, but likeI want.
It's not like I want to dj live, but I would love to create
party songs.
That would be amazing nice likebeach party.
I love that french people haveso many good electronic music
too that you know a lot.
I don't love the things thatare just just percussive or or
(11:35):
or like intense, like I'm not,you know, like Skrillex or
things like that, like I'm moreinto melodies and vibey and
beach.
And yeah, there's a, thisFrench electronic music guy, I
don't know Sorry, I don't knowhow to call it, his name is is
Petit Biscuit, which means likelittle cookie, and he was very
(11:57):
young when he started, like Ithink probably 16, and he made
amazing things.
That's the kind of thing I like.
I mean, it's very like flowyand mellow.
And I do also love the partystuff like David Guetta,
completely different, but that'ssomething that I would like to
do in the future.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
Very cool.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
You like the genres of anything, and even the way
you learned guitar and piano.
You're going to do your ownthing.
You want to bring yourself intoit instead of being the rote.
Exactly this is how you do.
I don't want to call you a freespirit and label you as that,
but you seem pretty free to me.
Speaker 1 (12:33):
Yeah, I think so.
I think that's also why theconservatory was complicated,
Even though I was with a teacherthat, honestly, I would
probably quit before if I hadn't, if I didn't have this teacher,
cause he was kind of like theoddball of the school and so
talented and and, like, like alot of people wanted this
teacher.
I'm lucky to have had him teachme so much.
(12:54):
He was very open to so manythings, or even the things that
I wanted to do in.
You know, even leaving andquitting the conservatory and
and just going to the US to dosomething completely different.
He was not judgmental at all.
You would think it's like no,this is your path.
Now you know.
Speaker 4 (13:11):
Right.
Speaker 1 (13:12):
So I'm very thankful for people like that.
But it helped me be free with,I think, just the people I was.
You know, I just I always had alot of support with my free
spirit, my family and theteachers that I've had.
So I think I'm pretty luckywith that.
I don't feel like stuck.
Speaker 2 (13:29):
The only way to bring the artistry out of an artist,
not to stick them in a hole.
Speaker 4 (13:34):
Exactly the artistry out of an artist, not to stick
them in a hole, exactly so, whenyou were into music when you
were younger, were you doing anyacting at that point, or did
you break into that when youwere a little bit like after you
moved to the states, or how didhow'd that come about?
Speaker 1 (13:48):
sort of like like not seriously, until I was in the
states I did this like.
So I was in boarding schoolwhen I was in high school and
the place in front of my highschool had it was like a
community center and had a bunchof classes and I took like this
random martial art there calledViet Vo Dao I don't know if
you've ever heard of it yeah, meneither.
(14:10):
And then there was this actingclass there which was a lot of
improv and, yeah, just mostlyimprov.
I was with a bunch of adults.
That's where I kind of was intoa theater class for the first
time, aside from clubs, andmaybe in high school and middle
school.
Well, in middle school but it'snot as heavy as it is in the US
(14:31):
the whole musical theater inthe USs, like the whole musical
theater, like it's very in theus, it's very serious.
You know, you guys put on likeamazing shows in in high school
and and like I'm seeing allthese like christmas shows right
now that my friends are postingfrom their kids and I'm like
what looks like broadway, whatthe heck like where do you find
all that money?
And it's just like the.
(14:52):
The dedication is amazing to me, but we didn't have that in
France, it's not like that.
So if you want to do somethinglike that, you kind of have to
do extracurricular activity.
So that's what I did in highschool and then I stayed.
I stick to that teacher whobecame a really good friend
after high school and then Imoved to the US when I was 20.
So the time to you know, I meanmean I didn't move to be an
(15:19):
actor.
I I wanted to speak English, toget into a film school in
France without having to go tocollege to learn English because
I don't like it's cool.
And I just never came back, youknow, because life happened at
the time I met someone and andthen we got married obviously
didn't work and I realized thatNew Orleans was such a really
awesome spot for movies.
That was in 2011.
(15:40):
So like, if you remember, thattime was like really nice for
for movies in in New Orleans andand I just started doing extra
work to meet people that did itCause I didn't know anyone and,
uh, I probably did extra workfor two years and during that,
towards the end of like mewanting to stop doing extra work
because I just wanted more outof this, I definitely was like,
(16:03):
oh yeah, this is what I want todo.
I started acting lessons andwith various coaches here and
then I signed in my first agencyreally quickly.
It was weird, actually.
First agency really quickly.
It was weird actually.
It was like I I went, I think Ifound an audition on craigslist
, uh, which doesn't sound greatlike this.
Fortunately I did not getkidnapped, you guys right, but
(16:25):
it could have happened comeaudition in my hotel room.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
It's just you and me.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Well, I've done some weird.
Yeah, I've done some weirdstuff like that.
Like, oh yes, just like you,you're like oh my god, if I
could teach my younger self tobe like more.
Like, no, don't do it butsometimes you gotta make those
mistakes.
But yeah, that audition was ina building of that it was
happening in that agency'sbuilding.
And she heard the auditionwhich ended up booking that was
(16:50):
like my first short film.
And she was like, could youhave an agent?
And I was like, no, I don't.
Yeah, I mean I thought you know, obviously it's something I
want at some point, uh, but Idid not know I was going to be
asked that today and you knowshe, let me think about it and I
was like I mean, why not?
You know, I don't know her, I,I she was a great first agent
and and and now I have anotherone.
(17:12):
But this is how I started, yeah, so everything kind of.
Eventually I stopped doingextra work because I was
auditioning for, you know, stuffthat weren't you know, just,
you can't.
You know, miss your mess upyour chances.
If you already book a movie asan extra, you obviously can't
audition for it.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
You got to make the break at some point.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
So mostly everything was in the U?
S for acting.
For acting, I would say the US.
You said you didn't want to goto school.
(18:11):
How much English you know?
Hosting you like an Americanfamily hosting you.
I mean.
My grades at school went fromlike I mean we're talking about
like D.
Sudden I was like, oh well, see, this is the way to do it.
And that's why, in my head, Iwas like I need to live in the
US, I need to do something inthe US for a longer time.
How do I do this?
How do I do this?
And the time I went, when I was17, I was like I need to go
back, this is what I want to do.
And then and the conservatorywas like I don't know if this is
(18:35):
what I want to do for my life.
And then films were justcreeping in.
I was more interested in it.
I was not playing music.
I was watching so many moviesand just pretending to practice
at the conservatory, but I wasnot.
I was like renting a bunch ofDVDs down my street and just
like watching them nonstop, youknow, like the equivalent of
Blockbuster, I guess, Like itwas this like distributor thing,
(18:58):
you know, and I would just bedoing that all the time and
telling my parents that I wasstudying real hard at the
conservatory.
And then I'm like well, this iswhat I need to do.
Like it's movies.
How do I get into movies?
How does that work?
In France, and the only thing Iknew of was a film school and I
was like film school has schoolin it.
Speaker 3 (19:18):
I don't love that part.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
And then I needed to speak English and so I went to
the US, so I did an au pairprogram and that's when I think
I went in with a good level ofEnglish.
It was not like some of thegirls that left France with me
were terrible in English, so Ifeel bad for them because they
must have had a hard time.
I wasn't too bad, but I mean,of course, the accent and like
(19:42):
how fast people are speaking.
It's like at the beginningyou're just like, oh my God, oh
my God.
It took me about two months andI remember going to the theater
.
It wasn't the first time I wasgoing to theater in the US, us,
but it was the first time I wentto a theater and I was like oh,
oh, I understood everything.
I mean like about everythingyou know, and like I remember I
(20:03):
think the movie was it was aJason Bateman comedy, switch
maybe, or something like thatand I just I was like, oh my
gosh, that's it.
I know English.
Now I can go back to France anddo that film school and I just
never did.
Speaker 2 (20:19):
Why do film school, where you can just be in films
and learn Exactly?
Speaker 1 (20:23):
It was very convenient that this all you
know, like it's just, I guess,manifesting it, and there's a
little bit of that you know.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
And there's a lot to be said for doing it, because
you can take the schooling allthe time oh yeah, I felt like a
student until I finally startedchanging my feelings.
And then there's jumps when youfinally get in a film yeah, you
know what I mean like my braindetached from.
Speaker 1 (20:47):
I have to do this and I have to do this right to, oh,
oh, this is how it is that istotally me, though, like I think
I think the most good withschool in general, like for art
or anything, is just that youlearn the work ethic and how
like it's easy to get distractedand thinking that you don't
need that much work to do that.
And I feel like, especially foracting, because it's not like an
(21:09):
instrument or a sport.
I mean it is, but a lot ofpeople think it is not and can
get away with it.
I mean it is, but a lot ofpeople think it is not and can
get away with it.
And I think what theconservatory taught me was that
work ethic and how many hoursyou need to spend at something
to really be good at it.
So I always saw acting as justlike another instrument.
And so I think that from theconservatory, even if I didn't
(21:30):
go to film school or theaterschool, I still knew about the
work ethic and I took thatseriously from day one and I
knew how much work I was goingto have to.
I know how much work I stillhave to put into, you know, and
how much better I want to get.
Every time I do something, I'mvery, very critical.
If I watch something, I'm like,okay, that was good, but next
time I need to do this, and thenI'm going to read this book and
(21:53):
blah, blah, blah.
I think I would be very muchconservatory-like at the
beginning, Like I need to dothis.
This is my checklist for myauditions.
I need to go through this, this, this, this, this, this, and I
cannot miss one step or I willfail.
Now I'm like much looser aboutit.
Speaker 2 (22:08):
It becomes ingrained in you.
A part of you.
You've learned your scales, youknow what the tones would be.
And then you just you do thejazz, you do the free form, you
do the improv while you're inthe scene, you know, and you
live it.
Yeah, so that was going to leadme to my.
I was kind of formulating thequestion because we've talked
with many people, like we talkedwith Rick Overton.
He talked about how it wasmusic.
Rob Paulson did and I know youhear the terms like I was one
(22:32):
note in an audition class.
So there's a lot of similarityand overlap between music and
acting.
Speaker 3 (22:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (22:38):
I can't even formulate a question.
I think you understand, butdiscuss.
Speaker 1 (22:41):
It's weird because, like I think, in so many ways I
can relate music to like I doboxing too, and I think there's
similarities into that as well.
Speaker 2 (22:52):
You want to express the emotion in acting and you
want to do that music too.
So if you're reading classicalor reading a script like for
voiceover, or just you have thewords in front of you.
You can't be just stuck andfocused on the note.
Speaker 1 (23:04):
To have images.
Yeah, yeah, totally yeah, and Ithink this is I always give
images to my students when weplay piano and of course it's
artificial.
I'm not not giving my imageslike how I see this piece, but
like I'm also encouraging themto find their own vision in it.
You know, it's like with acting.
The nice thing if it's films isthat usually you do have the
(23:26):
fact that, like the situation isthere, the room is there, you
don't have to really inventanything unless it's theater and
or unless you're cold readingor doing the audition.
Uh, so it is important to knowhow to do that.
But when you get the job, it'snice because everything is there
.
But I think imagining thingsand just being creative and and
that's definitely relates withmusic and, yeah, cool cool.
Speaker 4 (23:50):
So I was gonna ask brian, when you were coming up
through elementary and juniorhigh in Louisiana, did you take
French?
Speaker 2 (23:58):
I did not.
I wanted to, especially becauseof my last name and for the
folks out there it's Plato, butsince I'm a, yet it's.
Plato and like the clay.
I was teased like that in the70s.
I was a kid in the 70s.
You can make it with Platoflashbacks, sorry.
Speaker 1 (24:13):
I don't know that style you're teaching me that
one because, cause, obviously wehave different ones.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
Yeah, yeah, it was you can make it with Play-Doh,
with the Play-Doh toys jingle,then anything goes with Play-Doh
, and then Play-Doh fun to playwith, not to eat.
And that's when I was out.
Speaker 4 (24:29):
Where I went to school we took French up through
.
I remember taking it up throughjunior high, seventh, eighth
grade somewhere around there.
I went to a private school fora couple of years and it stopped
at that point and then by thetime I went back to public
school I think seventh gradethere were other electives that
we could take.
(24:50):
So it stopped.
But I have family on my mom'sside that's Cajun French, but I
have family on my mom's sidethat's Cajun French and of
course it's a very, verydifferent kind of French.
But I could understand mygrandma when she was speaking
you know Cajun French and shecould understand what I was
saying.
(25:10):
But words, slangs, things werevery, very different and then
through many, many years of notkeeping up with it, it just
completely went away.
I still hear a few words hereand there and I understand what
they mean, but it's been a very,very long time.
In high school we moved andSpanish was the only foreign
(25:33):
language that was available andyou had to have, I think, two
semesters of it, maybe one.
I wish it would have kept upthroughout high school, I don't
know.
I just I found French moreinteresting and for me I don't
know if it was because I hadfamily.
I just picked it up a littleeasier than I did Spanish.
Speaker 1 (25:52):
Yeah, because I mean you heard it like I'm assuming
like your grandparents werespeaking it, and then you
couldn't understand them.
Speaker 3 (25:59):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
I just hear that story often Like, yeah, I mean,
I heard it my whole childhood.
My grandparents would just, youknow, like their generation
would talk behind our backs orthings like that, or like great
grandparents or something youknow.
So I'm assuming that you'veheard that.
So your ear, just like music,it adjusts to.
Speaker 2 (26:20):
I went to French, but it was filled up, so I got
Spanish.
And then when I was playing itwas, but when I was in, like
peewee football, I wanted to beon the Saints and I got to be on
the Falcons.
And then now, years later,never thought I had a chance to
be an actor in acting, and nowI'm into it.
So everything's been a dreamdeferred for me.
Speaker 3 (26:42):
Oh man.
Speaker 1 (26:44):
Well, you can get back to french yeah, you know,
duolingo is amazing uh babble'sa good app, oh yeah, babble's a
good one.
Uh, I do duolingo for spanishand italian.
Well, italian is very new.
I just started recently.
But, um, but yeah, I, because II did a good bit of spanish in
school also and then, like, Ispoke it a little bit in my life
(27:07):
later on and now I'm notpracticing it, so I want to get
back to it.
I think Duolingo is amazing.
It's free.
There's so many things you canlearn for free.
It's crazy.
Speaker 4 (27:17):
My daughter's learning French with Duolingo
and she'll leave me notes,sometimes in French, so I'm
picking up a few little wordshere and there.
Speaker 1 (27:26):
I love that.
That's cool.
Speaker 4 (27:27):
Thank you so much for joining us.
Do you have any socials thatyou want to plug?
Speaker 1 (27:32):
Yes, and again, thank you for having me.
You guys, this is really fun.
I do have, obviously, youtube.
Since we were talking aboutmusic, it's Manon Pagès on
YouTube.
Very easy, m-a-n-o-n and pagesp-a-g-e-s.
I have instagram, manon of thesprings, uh, which is a
reference to a french movie.
yes, I'm a nerd and you can seeon youtube and yeah on youtube
(27:56):
and instagram yes, I figured youcan see all that stuff, all the
music that I do on there.
Uh, please follow, subscribe ifyou like it.
And then I do have a movie thatwas at the Louisiana Film Prize
, called Byla.
So very excited about thismovie, I'm very proud of it.
Hopefully we can.
If you stay tuned on my pages,you'll know when this comes out,
(28:19):
because right now it's running.
It's being submitted to otherfestivals now that we did the
film prize and yeah, that's it.
Speaker 4 (28:26):
I actually forgot to mention this during the episode.
Your 48-hour offering at PostalApocalypse is that right?
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah Wasbrilliant.
We saw all the different takesof a postal carrier and your
performance was fantastic.
Loved your film.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
Thank you so much.
Yeah, we shot this.
This movie was like really itwas much longer than the cut
that we had to do.
Actually, I wanted to textJames, the director, like
yesterday, to ask him if hebecause I know he was making
another cut where there's moregoing on in it.
I don't know how we we shot somuch in in one day, but there's
(29:07):
like the movie is three timeslonger, I think.
But thank you, uh, I I some themusic in that is mine oh
excellent, oh wow, okay, that'sstuff I had done for another
movie before and we just reusedthat.
It was the same vibe.
It's okay, because the moviewas the one that I produced.
Speaker 4 (29:23):
I'm just playing.
Speaker 2 (29:25):
I don't have to fight anyone.
Manon, could you do us a favor?
Speaker 3 (29:29):
Yes.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
Could you take us out in French?
Speaker 3 (29:32):
Okay, merci TJ.
Merci, brian, de m'avoiraccueilli sur ce podcast.
Je suis super touchée de votreaccueil et de votre intérêt.
Je ne sais même plus commentparler.
Super touched by your welcomeand your interest.
Speaker 1 (29:47):
I don't even know how to speak, I just realized I
couldn't make a sentence, I justcouldn't finish my sentence.
Anyway, au revoir, bonnejournée, au revoir.
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