A: I was going to school for writing when I became interested in film. I wrote my first screenplay after I graduated, and it won an award. I wasn’t quite sure what to do with it then, but many people told me I should make it myself. I also wanted to act in it, but I didn’t know very much about acting at that point. Some time later, I started taking acting classes. When I started getting cast in films, that was when I got more involved as a writer, director, and producer.

          A: I play Ellen Farnsby, a woman who went to school to be a writer but never really followed through with it. She has a crush on this younger guy, Jeremy, who just graduated from art school, and the two of them like to talk about the art they would like to create, if only they had time. She gets kidnapped by Paige, played by Brooke Lemke, who is the opposite of Ellen. Paige has all the drive, and none of the talent. She has written several novels, and none of them have been published, because they all suck. She locks her in a room and forces her to write a novel, just to see if she’s all talk, or if she really can do something with herself.

          A: “Why Am I in a Box?” is a dark comedy, and not horror. It’s kind of the same premise as “Saw” only instead of being forced to hack her leg off, or crawl through razor wire, the lead character is being forced to write a novel. Which can be just as torturous, if you think about it.

          A: The hardest thing about the movie was directing and acting at the same time. I thought it would be easy, because I had done so much acting already. But trying to work both sides of the camera at the same time was a whole new experience. The way I see it, there are three different perspectives from which you can view a performance in film acting. There’s the way you see yourself while you’re acting, first of all. Then there’s the way the audience sees you. One thing I love about film acting is that you can watch a movie you did and see how you appear to the audience, which you can’t do with theater. Then, there is the perspective of the director, which is entirely different. When I was directing myself for the first time, I found I couldn’t see my own performance the way I normally did. I couldn’t see it from the same perspective I had when I watched my other actors, either. I was forcing myself into an entirely new perspective, which was challenging. Now that I’m in post-production, it’s interesting watching my performance. My memory of acting was foggy, because it was such a different experience.

          Another very difficult issue I had to deal with was Brooke’s health. She started having very severe pain before we began filming, and we were not sure what was wrong with her. I was worried about not having my co-producer to back me up, as well as having a personal concern for my friend.

          A: I knew it when we broke for lunch of the first day. Everyone was working so well together, and doing exactly what they were supposed to do at every possible moment. I knew I had the right group of people. And during lunch, I also found out the Brooke’s tests had all come out okay. She didn’t have any of the serious illnesses they checked her for. She was going to be okay.

          A: I also write, directed and produced the movie. Although acting is my favorite thing, I am going to be doing more directing and producing, as well as writing, which is what went to school for.

          A: Oh, yes! “13 Hours” was so much fun! Crist Ballas was the makeup artist, and I would go over to his workshop every day before shooting and sit in the chair for three hours while he airbrushed me. Crist was amazing to work with. He lives in Minnesota, but he has worked all over the place. He told me what it was like working with David Lynch, which was so interesting, because I have always been a fan. While we were waiting for a ride to set, he showed me photos of the makeup he did for Jackie Chan and Jet Li in “Forbidden Kingdom.”

          A: “The Horror Vault” is in interesting story. It’s an anthology of horror shorts put together by Kim Sonderholm. I saw a bulletin on myspace that mentioned the DVD collection was almost complete, but they were looking for two more shorts. On a whim, I sent a link to a student film I had been in called “Retina.” It was a horror short I did with my friend JP Wenner for his Film 5 project at school. I essentially did it just for fun, since student films don’t usually get seen, but I was very pleased with the way it turned out. I finally heard back about a month later, and Kim told me he was interested in having Retina on “The Horror Vault.”

          A: “Unholy Reunion” is about an artist who kills people and uses their skin as canvas. I played Monica Telmig, the wife of the killer. At the start of the film, I’m having an affair with my husband’s art dealer. Adkov, my husband, figures out what’s going on and comes home and kills is both. It’s really tasty! They made a prop that looked like my corpse. When Ric showed it to me, it really freaked me out! Mike Etoll, the F/X guy was going to make a cast out of my face, but he didn’t get the chance to, and yet it still looked remarkably like me!

          A: “Tales Of The Dead” was one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve ever had on a set. Tim and Lisa from Haunted Autumn Productions were so great to work with. There was a lot of laughter on set. They also let us take our characters and run with it. We added a lot of things while we were filming, and we kept making stuff up. It was also notable because it was my first time acting with Brooke Lemke. It was our first day on set that we got the idea for Silent-But-Deadly Productions. I was only supposed to be in one segment, originally, but I ended up in almost all of them. They just kept inviting me back! And I couldn’t say no. I was having too much fun.

          A: I don’t know! I hope I’m still making progress whatever I’m doing. If you’d told me ten years ago that I’d be doing this, I never would have believed it. Since started acting, I’ve always made it a goal to keep improving and moving forward with everything I do. 2008 has been a great year, and I hope 2009 will be even better!

          A: I would love to work with David Cronenberg. He is, without a doubt, my favorite director. I think he is a master at what he does, and I would love to opportunity to watch him at work.

          A: I like unusual characters. I have done a lot of horror, and I love the genre, but I’m open to anything. I like to play roles that give me a chance to do things I haven’t done before. And I like to work with talented, fun people.

          A: I've been in a few music videos, most notably NOFX, POS and Slug, and The Minus Five. I also love modeling. I'm on lots of websites, like Brutal Hardcore Beauties and Bloody Messy Girls. I'm also a member of the Satanic Sluts, and I have a page on their site. I'm on official Flesh Farm model, and I'm on a few pinup sites, too. I've also done commercial print and fetish fashion. I work with a Minneapolis-based designer named Brittany Hughes.

          A: It would definitely be the movies. As much as I love modeling, it's just not as creatively fulfilling as acting is. I could do movies forever. But thankfully, I don't have to choose, and I can have as many creative pursuits as I like!

          A: I have a new project in development right now called "The Last Revenants." I'm going to be working with Suzi Lorraine and Melantha Blackthorne. Robert Pratten, who did "Mindflesh" is going to be directing. It's a story about the last vampires on earth, and I can't wait to work on it. I've also got a few more projects coming up, including the new movie from Haunted Autumn Productions, "Hi-Way Headhunter." I also recently completed work on two other movies, "Camp Kill" and "Terror Overload" which should be completed some time this year.

          A: I rented "The Ruins" recently. Other than the annoying characters, I thoroughly emjoyed it. But I do know that the characters were a deal breaker for a lot of my friends. Some people hated it. It is pretty hard to sympathize with those kids, but it was fun to watch.

          There is a Korean horror movie called "Memento Mori," which I absolutely love. It's the sequel to a movie called "Whispering Corridors." The two films have almost nothing in common, other than the theme of supernatural events in an all girls' school. "Memento Mori" is about a student who finds a shared diary between two girls at her school who are also lovers. There is a mysterious suicide, which sets off a bizarre chain of events at the school. I find it creepy, funny, and touching at the same time.

          A: You are quite welcome. Thank you for having me on your site.