by Jennifer Matos

If you read last week’s interview with Daniela Sea, you read about her feelings for the character, thoughts on classism issues on the L Word and gained a bit of insight into “Max Sweeney”, the character she portrays.

In this week’s conclusion of this segment, we talked about the moment that led her to go back to acting, her past and future projects, girlfriend and musician, Bitch, and her message to GLBT youth.

TLW: I read in an interview that you were doing push-ups and decided that you wanted to go into acting again?

I was describing this time, 2 years ago in the middle of winter, when I had this kind of epiphany that I missed acting so much and I had to pursue it. It was just one of those moments when something hits you, and feels impossible, yet you know you have to do it. When I left home at 16 I enrolled in a local junior college in Oakland, which is outside of San Francisco. I studied improvisation and theater arts with people from all different backgrounds and ages. I loved it! I ended up going on tour with my band and living Europe, and didn’t pursue formal acting for years. I didn’t want to try to fit into the stereotypical roles for women. Looking around, there didn’t seem to be too much else being written at the time for women. And for me, I was always interested in film acting even though I love the theatre. So I think, yeah, I had this moment, 2 years ago during a kind of dark period of time in my life, coming back from this travel and not really knowing what to do with myself. You know when you have those moments? I remember my mom saying “There’s probably something you’re going to learn from all this, just keep open.” And then in this one moment I remembered or I realized “Why can’t I just peruse this thing that I love so much? Who knows what could happen? Try it.” And I did, and pretty quickly I got that audition with John for “Shortbus”.(John Cameron Mitchell who made “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”)

TLW: You have experience working in film, you worked on “Shortbus” and then, the “Itty Bitty Titty Committee” who’s release is planned for 2007?

DS: Um hm. Itty Bitty will premiere, maybe at Sundance? And Shortbus had it’s world premiere at Cannes this past May, and will have it’s North American premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in September. That was a lot of fun, you know, both of those were great projects.
TLW: Could you tell us about your upcoming “Itty Bitty Titty Committee” project?

DS: Yeah, that was so great to work with Jamie Babbit and Andrea Sperling. Jamie directed it and Andrea produced it. They also made “But I’m a Cheerleader”. I was really excited to work on a project with them. The concept of the film is what I like to call a feminist action movie. It makes some pretty poignant political points, and at the same time it’s hilarious. Working with Jaimie was a real treat. Plus all the cast and crew that I worked with were super talented and inspiring. It was executive produced by a non-profit group called “Power Up” and this was their first feature film, having produced a number of shorts in the last years. The profits from this film will go into their organization in order to make more films. They only produce lesbian/queer themed and made films. There’s really no other group like that in the world, and you know, that’s exciting for me. I love the idea that we, as a community, make our own art and tell our own stories. And then that energy goes back in to making more films. This makes for positive change, I think. And within Hollywood! I’m sure the ones who came before us and who fought so hard for change from Stonewall to thousands of years ago would be proud.

TLW: It sounds very circular and continual in that it feeds into the next project.

DS: Yeah. One thing that I really love about our community in general is the fact that we cross lines of gender and sexuality and at the end of the day we are radical thinkers above anything else. I think it’s a really important thing that these ideas and stories are told. And for queer people in the industry it’s really important that we figure out how to tell these stories, whether it’s a film that we finance ourselves, or working with in mainstream venues like TV or bigger budget films. The fact is that this kind of media touches so many people making a place for us in the culture at large. In the last years I see a kind of blossoming, which is effecting positive change in the mainstream and in our lives. It really was a fun movie to make we did a lot of it kind of guerilla-style and we didn’t have permits for some scenes. Each of us made it happen in our own ways. “Shortbus” was made in that same kind of revolutionary vein. That was also an amazing and slightly unorthodox project. It was written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell who also made “Hedwig and the Angry Inch”. In some ways it was a collective pursuit. We would improvise scenes in workshops and then John would write scripts based on those improvisations. The process was pretty organic.

TLW: Wow, that’s interesting because it seems that it allows you to be more creative then.

DS: Yeah. It was a real love vibe between everyone who made that movie. A lot of great friendships were formed or solidified. It felt a lot like theater in that way. It was also challenging and very exciting for me. I’m happy that it was one of my first film projects. I’m really proud of my little part in the greater whole of it. I think it’s a beautiful film.

TLW: It was more about making a connection and the power behind it and what its legacy is.

DS: It’s inspiring to know that you can make a film with that much love and open-mindedness. so yeah, you’ll be hearing a lot about that film in the next months. It really touches people. As I start to look forward, I see myself writing and making my own films and Shortbus was a great example of what’s possible when you demand the seemingly impossible and making it happen.

TLW: So you and Bitch were both in “Shortbus”, what was it like to work with your girlfriend?

DS: Well, we’ve always collaborated on all kinds of things. I mean we’ve played music and I’ve toured and traveled with her and we write together so it all felt pretty organic. It was a lot of fun and pretty magic, you know. She’s a really great actor and performer. I learn a lot from working with her. I loved coming back from the workshops with new ideas, talking over everything. And acting scenes with her was a dream!

TLW: It sounds like following your heart and your intuition on these things has really paid off.

DS: I would say so, yeah.

TLW: You ran away when you were a teenager, right?

DS: Yeah, I left home when I was sixteen and I went to the San Francisco Bay Area, where I lived for awhile before I moved to Europe where I lived for a few years.

TLW: I feel that the GLBT community is very protective about our youth and teens who are coming out and their issues. What advice would you have for teens that are kind of questioning or have questions about what sort of path to take?

DS: Yeah, you know, that’s a good question. I’ve been thinking about it a lot because lately I’ve been getting a lot of emails from younger people asking advice, and now my little cousins are coming into their teens and questioning everything. I mean I would just say in general, you hit it on the head before when you talked about following your heart and your intuition. These things are really all we have to count on because we’re actually our own guides in this adventure of life. And I think also it’s important to have a bit of a rebellious spirit, at a certain point we have to realize that the people we, as a society, give authority to are not always the best keepers of what we should do or how we should lead our lives. I would say, listen to your heart, follow your intuition and question authority whenever possible.

Daniela Sea speaks when there is something meaningful to contribute. Courteous, well-spoken, mild-mannered and a deep soul, speaking with her is like channeling all of the best traits that make up “Max”. An artist in every sense of the word and talented in using many art mediums, Sea is a magnificent work in progress. A well-traveled individual, she has spent a great deal of time reflecting on her experiences. Unaffected by her fame, humbled by everything her eyes have seen and her heart has felt, she truly is a rare find.