Interview with Morgan Thomas

Each month we'll interview a member of the Sine Fine Film company, asking the same or similar questions, and learn more about the actors and crew. 

This month I'm interviewing Morgan Thomas who's been with the company since the spring of 2001.

Q: How did you get involved in SFF? (And what possessed you to keep coming back for more torture?)

A: How’d I get involved? That is a funny story. First day of college – SIU – I headed up to SPC-TV just to check it out. And there you were Yibble, sitting at the editing bay, making a credit page for The Curse - before even filming The Curse.  I came up and asked “whatcha doing?” and if I could help out, because I’d never done any TV work before.  I thought it would be neat and I wanted to get involved in something.

And I think it was a couple months later – I think Peter Normand popped up at the cafeteria and told me that you’re filming in the woods behind Faner, and if I hurry up I can help. So I run over there and we film the infamous “flying sorcerer” scene (well, he wasn’t filmed, but he did fly).  And I think it was the following weekend or something, I forget how far down the road it was.

 

So I showed up at the student center at the ass-crack of dawn to help behind the scenes and here comes Peter Normand, with this grin that frightened me terribly, and says “you’re gonna be a star!” And I said, “I’m gonna be a what?”  

Here I am, you know, not dressed up at all for a part, and I’m replacing the role for Maria – which was fun… I couldn’t read in the car because of motion sickness to even know what the hell was going on in the script. I sped read on set trying to figure out what the hell the character is about - “Quick! What’s your motivation? Um..I’m a bitch? Okay go with it!”

It was fun!  Maybe I’m masochistic or something, I don’t know, but it’s an awesome, creative outlet to keep me from going completely bonkers. And it’s an excuse to get together with friends that you hadn’t seen in forever.

Q: What was your favorite part to play?

A: Oh geez…oh boy. So many to choose from. It’s a tie between Maria and Minerva really.  Minerva because I could just be a spaz and it was okay, and Maria just because of how long I’ve played Maria.  Minerva - she was just fun to portray, I know I could of done it better but…you know.

Q: What was your favorite filming day?

A: Technically it wasn’t a filming day, but we were on film and I think that would probably be when all of the cast and crew were heading to the Parthenon road trip, I think that was the Parthenon road trip, maybe the Champaign road trip - I know it was a road trip! We were spazzy as all get out that night, just hyperactive and I think there was a seesaw involved.  That was just a day that everyone was just nuts, and it was fun. 

Q: What was your least favorite filming day?

A: The day I had a somewhat mental crack – the last day of shooting for The Gift Bearer (season 1).  That should have been a real big hint that something was wrong, but it actually took a few more years before I went to see a doctor.  Yeah, the day I scared the crap out of Adele.

There were too many directors on set going in too many directions and people were wanting to do their own thing and not really cooperating on the outcome. “I wanna try this.” “No, let’s do this”. I think that’s when we were having issues with some of the actors too that day.  We were having drama non-stop and I finally had a little bit of a dissociative break, cause there was so much stress going on.

  

Q: What’s your dream role?

A: Wow…geez.  What can I play, hmm....?  I sort of got to play a sassy vamp as an actual vampire – I never got to play a sassy vamp until then.  I’ve never done a full on sexy role, I don’t think – like an intentional one.  I’ve done a silly one, and the vampire one.  And I like detectives.  I’m not sure how that would combine though…

Q: What’s your favorite production to watch?

A: I have not seen Perfect Combination, I’ve seen snippets of it but I’ve never seen the whole thing all the way through, so I’d like to see that.  I’ve got some of the Gift Bearer discs you’ve given me and some other stuff.  I haven’t seen the final stuff from the summer shoot.  Favorite to watch…god, I gotta narrow it down.  I like the fairy tale series – Twisted Tales - I do like watching that.

Q: What’s your favorite costume, accessory, or prop?

A: Probably Sherman (the Gift Bearer statue). Yup. 
Berry and me - we kinda had a bonding. 

I remember the – I don’t know if it’s the can-can costume or what it would be called.  I wore it for Gift Bearer during a montage and it was too tight, and I think I stretched it out a little bit.  But I think that was one that I couldn’t get off after I got it on.  You know, the red one?  I couldn’t get it back off!

Oh and that evil skirt at Fort De Chartres – it was too long and I was wearing shoes that were not period and I kept tripping over it. Like it would slide a certain way because of the material it was made of and then it just made me go flip!

Q: Who’s your favorite actor co-star/actor you’ve worked with?  Who would you like to work with in the future?

A: Oh…that’s another toughie.  I’ve got to narrow it down. Russell should be a given – I miss working with him.   I guess it’s a tie between Russ and Bryan on the boys side.

Trying to narrow it down on the girl’s side...  Well, I wish I could have worked with Michelle a little bit more.  It felt natural working with both of them.  Working with them things just…bounced.

With Russ and I it really did feel like he was a brother, so when we were being goofy or batting lines back and forth between each other in a scene it was just natural.  And the creepy incest scene really did feel creepy.

With Shelly it was the same, just kinda natural.  She could deliver a line and how natural she could just…you know, just portray the character.  It set a standard that I tried to keep up with.  

Q: Sum up each production you’ve been in using only one word or short sentence.

THE CURSE

White Feather

THE GIFT BEARER

Brain explodies

MEDEA SCHOOL OF MELODRAMA

Fun

ATTACK OF THE COOKIE PEOPLE

Mimes

DREAM CHASERS

I’m thinking of a road sign that just keeps curving

EIDOLON

Closure

GIFT BEARER: TIME AFTER TIME

To be continued…

FORTUNATE ONES: FAERIE TALE

My hairstyle

FORTUNATE ONES: FOREVER

What is that noise? (There was a pipe making a lot of noise)

FORTUNATE ONES: MAGIC-8

Oops.

Q: Top 5 favorites: (not SFF related)

Favorite Color - Burgundy

Favorite Movie or TV Show – 

The Booth at the End is great, and Road to Perdition is one of my favorite movies.

Favorite Song or Band/Artist

Current favorites are Abney Park and Lindsey Stirling – I like her stuff

Favorite Food or Drink - Beef Ravioli and Vault

Favorite Holiday - Halloween