These Showers Can Talk is an improvisational comedy poking fun at lesbian stereotypes through the journey of the film’s lead character, Samantha. The 25-minute short takes place in Manhattan where Samantha finds herself in a relationship dilemma with her girlfriend Gloria. Samantha spends the day seeking advice from her stereotypical friends in their bathrooms, whose individual dysfunctions outshine Samantha’s problems. GO’s reporter Jodi Savitz spoke with Producer/Director, Gabrielle Lindau, lead actress Danai Ewan as Samantha and mega adult film star Brittany Andrews to find out how these ladies were able to pull off an improvised comedy about lesbian stereotypes.
GO: Gabrielle Lindau, what was the original concept and thought process for the film?
Gabrielle: The film’s concept came to me when I was visiting a friend one morning who was going on a lunch date. She happened to be in the shower and I was hanging out with her in the bathroom giving her dating advice.
At the time I was working on Lori Michaels’ music video ‘The Right,’ where we were confronted with a lot of serious materials, including a lot of anti-marriage equality protesters. After seeing the dark side of what’s happening to the gay community in the United States, I really wanted to work on a project that was a comedy with a little bit of an existential twist on lesbian stereotypes.
GO: When you chose Lori Michaels to play a key role in the movie, what was it like working with her?
Gabrielle: Working with her on the music video and having her in my life in the marriage equality campaign, “I Want The Right,” I knew she would be perfect for the part. I said, “Look, I have a great part for you, I want to talk to you about my story synopsis, go through the step outline and hear what you think.” The next thing I knew, we were in rehearsals.
GO: How did you present each scenario to the actresses before the improvising started?
Gabrielle: I went through certain beats that I wanted the actors to hit upon and I went though different scenarios I thought would be interesting for them to touch upon and act out. As everybody has had experience with dating, I knew they could bring a new light to the scenes and their own experiences to really convey what the message of the story was.
GO: The movie was made on an extremely low budget. How did you manage to get your crew together and have everybody volunteer their time?
Gabrielle: It was really a challenge. I had to go through a casting process and it took a lot of resumes for me to find the right team. I am happy to say I was able to find Andy Morell, who turned out to be an incredible cinematographer, along with my two producers Laura C. Fry and Andrew Hernandez. It was a lot of touch and play.
GO: Why did you want to have an after-party at RF?
Gabrielle: I met Hana and I fell in love immediately. I love RF Lounge. I think that the owners are incredible and I really do love the lesbian community in Manhattan. I wanted to be able to share this with them tonight and I am very honored to be having Tiko Pink as our special performance
GO: Danai Ewan, How did you feel playing a lesbian character?
Danai: Honestly, it opened me up to lesbian and gay relationships. I have a ton of gay guy friends. Gabrielle is one of 3 lesbian friends that I have. Being straight, I always assumed there was something in lesbian relationships that they were getting that wasn’t happening in heterosexual relationships. Doing this film made me realize that these relationships are no different from what we go through with guys.
GO: Brittany Andrews, as an adult film star how did you get involved in comedy acting?
Brittany: I met Gabrielle Lindau at a fundraiser for These Showers Can Talk. We started emailing each other back and forth and we finally got the opportunity to sit down and talk. She told me, “I would really love for you to be in the film.” I said, “Well you know I’m not an actress, I’m really not good at it. I might be a porn actress but you know I’m not an actress.” She said, “… it’s a comedy, just be yourself.” I told her that that is right up my ally.
GO: Did you have any experience with lesbian relationships to draw from for your role?
Brittany: No. (screams and laughs) I used to be bisexual when I was younger but have not been with a girl since 1998. I’m what they call a G.F.P. (Gay for pay)
GO: What was your favorite part of working with Gabrielle?
Brittany: In general the entire experience has been a lot of fun, meeting all of her friends and actually getting to see the final product. I think it turned out fabulously well. She did a great job with comedic timing. The whole experience was fun from begining to end.
Keep an eye out for These Showers Can Talk at upcoming lesbian film festivals across the country.
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