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[0:00] Mo Brady: You're listening to The Ensemblist, the only podcast that shows you Broadway from the inside out. Welcome, I'm Mo Brady.

[0:20] Mo Brady: Being a contemporary working artist means being able to work in a variety of mediums, from theater to film and TV to voiceover. It's often the amalgamation of these experiences that allow a performer to create a fruitful career in the arts.

[0:36] Mo Brady: While each of these forms of performance are different, I've been intrigued about how similar they are at their core, which is why I was so excited to talk to today's guest. Chris Medlin is currently in the ensemble of Broadway's Diana: A True Musical Story, and was an original Broadway cast member of Mean Girls the musical. But last fall, he took four months off from Mean Girls to film the first season of Netflix's Sweet Magnolias. We spoke over the phone recently about this experience, going from theater to film and back to theater, and how those performing experiences were really more similar than different. Here's our conversation.

[1:13] Mo Brady: Hey, would you introduce yourself and tell us where you're calling from today?

[1:26] Chris Medlin: Hi, I'm Chris Medlin, and I'm calling from New York City.

[1:30] Mo Brady: And we are talking about your new Netflix series. Tell me the story of Sweet Magnolias.

[1:37] Chris Medlin: So Sweet Magnolias is a hometown adventure, if you will, about three women who are best friends, Maddie, Dana Sue, and Helen. Maddie is Joanna Garcia Swisher, Helen is the Heather Headley for the Broadway fans, and Dana Sue is played by Brooke Elliott. It's about their friendship and the way that all of their lives intertwine with each other's in the rest of this small town. They've all got relationships and their own issues, and there's kids involved of their own, and the kids are friends, and it's about the way that this small town operates within its own little bubble, if you will.

[2:09] Mo Brady: You were in Mean Girls when the opportunity to audition for Sweet Magnolias came about, is that right?

[2:14] Chris Medlin: Yes, correct. The Broadway run of Mean Girls.

[2:17] Mo Brady: And how long into the show's run was it that you first got the audition appointment for Sweet Magnolias?

[2:24] Chris Medlin: About a year, about the year mark. It was several months after that before anything actually started moving with any kind of accelerated pace. We opened Mean Girls on Broadway in March, April of '18, and by the following spring had started the process for Sweet Magnolias.

[2:40] Mo Brady: And was that transition from theater to film and TV, did that feel like an intentional decision? Was it something you had been pursuing since before Mean Girls? Did this feel like a venture into a new world, or was this just one of many auditions that you had out to?

[2:53] Chris Medlin: Well, I started as a theater stage performer, but then I actually spent quite some time in Los Angeles recording music, and I was a commercial dancer. So I was doing music videos and commercials and ads, and I was touring with artists. And then that over time led back to me being on stage as a theater performer again. The blending of all of the things, they're all about storytelling and about a narrative. So I don't think that it was a jarring initial shift. It was just more of what we all love to do.

[3:24] Mo Brady: So what was the audition for Sweet Magnolias like? You said it took quite a few months from start to finish?

[3:28] Chris Medlin: Yeah, it's actually, it's everyone's favorite, which is self-taping. The role of Isaac Downey was an opportunity that rolled across to me directly. So I started a self-tape process. The creative team behind Sweet Magnolias are largely theater fans, are very supportive of stage work. In the early stages of the show, when the character description of who Isaac would be was put on the table, I thankfully had come to mind and was reached out to for the chance to submit for this role.

[4:00] Mo Brady: That's awesome. So what did that initial submission look like?

[4:03] Chris Medlin: It's not anything largely different than a theater audition. You're given a set of scenes to film. There weren't any songs; it's not a musical show, but you're given a set of scenes. And so I had to do the standard of getting out the tripod, having someone come read with me, filmed all of the scenes, submitted those. They went to Netflix executives of casting, which is terrifying. Then you get adjustments and notes, made those fixes and redid the tapes. That process of its own was several weeks. And then kind of everything like held after I sent the adjusted clips in. Nothing was happening for a month, two months. And then all of a sudden, very fast, it's yours, you have an offer. What do we need to do to make all of this work? You're currently in a show. There's a lot of moving pieces that have to go at once.

[4:52] Mo Brady: Oh my gosh, so it was like two sets of sending and tapes. And that was all?

[4:56] Chris Medlin: Yes. Yeah, I sent in three scenes in the first set, and then just two of the longer ones on the second set. Self-taping in my apartment in New York, while they all sat in LA, making adjustments as if you're doing a stage self-tape for a show.

[5:12] Mo Brady: That's wild. You're like getting this major career opportunity to be a series regular from your apartment. There's no fanfare. You're just doing it all from home. Did that feel surreal in some way?

[5:23] Chris Medlin: It did. I'm used to when I've done other TV film auditions, you typically would go to a casting office and you'd read with a stranger in a new place that you've never been and have no control over, you know, the lighting or the background or any of that. Even in New York, since we walk everywhere and take trains, like the weather on the way there, if it's raining, you look crazy by the time you get there. But when you do it in your own home, there is something that's much more comforting and open about that space because it's yours. Thankfully, you're getting the chance to read with a good friend of yours that you're comfortable with. You can make adjustments as needed. It feels safer to make bolder choices.

[5:59] Mo Brady: That makes sense. You're in your own space. And you also know that if you headed down a path that wasn't fruitful, you could just press stop and try again.

[6:07] Chris Medlin: Correct. Yes, yes.

[6:08] Mo Brady: Love that. All right. So you got this offer to play Isaac. Who is Isaac in the Sweet Magnolias story?

[6:15] Chris Medlin: Isaac Downey is the new face in town, both literally and figuratively. Isaac Downey doesn't actually exist in the book series that the show is based off of. So he's a brand new character in this world, in this environment. He is just trying to find how he fits into this community when it is so tight-knit. And he finds himself working at Dana Sue, played by Brooke Elliott. Dana Sue has a restaurant named Sullivan's, and he works in the restaurant. And so that's his connection into this trio of the Sweet Magnolias.

[6:46] Mo Brady: How much did you know about him when you started the filming process?

[6:52] Chris Medlin: Not too much, which is a little frightening. I was told the ways that it was felt that I could probably attach to different aspects of Isaac. Because it is a new character, they wanted to see what my perspective could bring to it. Because there is a little wiggle room of it's a new character. So there's nothing to have to strictly stick to in your choices or the way that things are reacted to. But there's also a world that it still needs to fit into at the same time.

[7:21] Mo Brady: So what you're saying you were asked to do was create this character, much like you create an ensemble character in a show. How much of that was really up to you versus conversations that you're having with members of the creative team or the writers? Like, tell us about the dialogue of developing Isaac.

[7:39] Chris Medlin: These TV and film sets move very fast. So you are given set lines; there's no tone to go with them or reactions that are necessarily scripted. It's a strange thing finding a blend of existing within the character to make choices as the character, but also when the character doesn't exist and feels a little more honest from like within your own self, to find a blend of choices that are honest, but aren't yours. It's a constant discussion with directors and showrunners and writers that are all very present on set and very conversational, and you can always talk to them. They're in and out of the set itself giving pointers or try this way or this was really working. Can you go further into that?

Or even sometimes saying no to things, and you have to be okay with that as well. But it's a very constant discussion scene by scene as you're filming with the people overseeing things because while you are existing honestly within this role on your own, they're also seeing things from the outside so they know where you're supposed to be in your arc and they can make sure that everything like lines up and is justified as well. It is very much so a team effort of you bring this to the table, they help polish it.

[8:53] Mo Brady: Do you have a specific example of something where you brought a choice to the table and it was refined or polished or you learned that maybe it wasn't the right choice because of something that was coming later in the season?

[9:07] Chris Medlin: It's usually in minor things. A stage direction, if you will, can be followed, but I may not know why it's there. So if I feel confused or if they feel confused about the intention of me doing what was written, we can double-check with each other and make sure that I know why a certain action is being taken. Actually, a really interesting moment for me was a point where Isaac says a lot of essentially dry things out of nowhere, like just little ad libs and quips off to the side. And there was one that wasn't working as well as it should have been. I have a little bit of that dry, sarcastic spirit in myself as well and had exhibited enough of that on set around these people that they were like, just access what Chris does. Like how would Chris say that? That's something like special and unique that I was able to bring to Isaac. A certain like off-the-cuffness about some of the things that he says that are joking, but possibly insightful at the same time.

[10:06] Mo Brady: And how much of the script are you getting in advance? You know, when we do a play, you know the full journey of the character.

[10:13] Chris Medlin: From the moment you look at the script and sometimes there are adjustments being made, new pages, but you get the sense of this is where a character starts their story and this is where a character ends. Did you also get that breadth of the journey for Isaac or were you getting episode by episode learning new things about him through the process? You get both. They want to be sure that you have all the info that you want and all the info that you need to be able to make honest choices. You are given like a full season overrun of what's going to happen to this character within the world, but you don't really find the details that we want as stage actors. You don't get those until much closer to filming, which I think is one of the more jarring parts of it coming from being in a long-running stage show for over a year at that time.

We filmed a pair of episodes for two week filming blocks and it can be in any scene and episode order depending on what locations they need because if we're going to be in the restaurant, which is where Isaac is, then we're probably going to film all of those in a day or two even if they span over two different episodes. So sometimes the days are a little more tightly packed like that, but you don't get the script until somewhere within a week in advance of that two-week filming block. You do one cold read with everyone around the table. Producers and extended creatives are also videoing in and listening to make sure everything's working and you are on your own. Of course, you get a schedule for that two-week block where it says you're filming these scenes on this day, but you never get to go through this dialogue with other people until the day of and in that process the day of is very fast and so you show up post hair and makeup, post all of that.

You show up to set and you have about 20 minutes, maybe 30, to get in the space, figure out where you would stand and it's a collaborative effort again with creatives and cast to figure out where they'd stand, where they'd walk, what would they move, what would they be doing. Set that really quickly, decide the angles, the shots that the camera needs to get. You may get four or five takes and that's it and then you walk away from that scene and you never say those lines again. So there's something very hands-off about the process that you get a script a week in advance, you're left with time on your own, and then you come back the day of and you're given maybe 20 minutes to make the physical choices on a set with the people and then you film it and that's it. You just let go and let God. There's so little that you have control over.

[12:34] Chris Medlin: Yeah, yeah. You have to be able to make the choices you want to make as quickly as you can and then also be able to walk away from them because once they say, cut, cut, check the gates, that's it. You're not gonna get to, well I had a great idea, like what if I say it this way. You already had your chance to do that so you have to be able to make the choices quickly and then walk away from them knowing that the people behind the camera saw what they needed to see and that's all you can do. I wanted to ask you about the community of filming a series like this. You left New York to film this, correct?

[13:05] Chris Medlin: Correct, yeah. So you've got a little bit of that regional theater community of people that come together to put on a show, right? You're all living and working in the same space, you're away from home, but also this isn't the same vibe that we often think of a theater family being or was it in this case? It's not. Your bond is going to mostly be with people behind the camera and that can be anybody on set that you're going to see more regularly on like a theater bubble if you will for a regional gig. There isn't really a time, unless it's scheduled, there's not a time that you're going to be around the full cast because on any given day like you're only going to see the people that are on set with you in that moment.

There are entire characters, entire actors that I didn't cross paths with that I would see at craft services table getting snacks that like I never actually worked with them. I don't really know them and then there are others that you see consistently that do become your little tribe and sometimes it's a smaller set of people than you would have expected. I mean this is a very large ensemble show about a small town and the way that they all interact but then Isaac himself only interacts with a few of them. His world is mostly the restaurant and so if they're not in the restaurant I didn't see them.

[14:27] Chris Medlin: Gosh, I'm thinking at least from the outside this feels like such a different experience than being in an ensemble of a theater show would be. You know being an ensemble you're all in the same space you're sort of relying on each other you've got this group of people going through an experience to tell a story together and then in this you've left your home you are playing a sort of loner character and your scene work isn't even with the entire company. Did it feel wildly different from your theater ensemble experiences or did it really just feel like a different window into the same room? They're definitely in the same realm I think. Most of my experience in New York is as of being a swing.

I was one of the OVC swings for Mean Girls and that's a very disconnected experience. You make your tight-knit bubble with your other swings and your understudies but you have to be able to make genuine stage choices with the people that are there every day doing it and so in the same way that I built a little tribe as Isaac in the world of people he interacted with there is a full company of people that is one big family even if you don't see them. I think the isolation of playing a loner character also away from New York is that we filmed mostly in the Atlanta area. I actually am from the Atlanta area no family lives there but I'm very familiar with the layout of the city where things are like I showed up day one for filming and already had a favorite coffee shop already had a favorite place to get drinks already had a favorite park to go run in like I already had a familiarity with the bubble that I was going to be in for the three four months that we were filming even if the familiarity wasn't with the actual people I would be working with.

[16:04] Chris Medlin: How else did your experience as a swing and covering roles really prepare you for working on the show? They definitely go hand in hand again with swinging with covering principles being in an ensemble along with tv film work you have to make your strongest boldest choices as quickly as you can in both situations you're going to get notes you're going to get adjustments you're going to get things to work on things that you can improve things that did improve that they're saying you know congrats that's great but the timeline is different when it's staged you're going to get those in a rehearsal space you're going to get those the day after when it's on a tv set you're going to get it immediately after you say it and have to make the adjustment so that they can film it which is then permanent the skin has to be thicker and faster at the same time to make the adjustments for a tv set they need great work out of everybody and they need it fast it's not a an eight hour rehearsal to learn and stage a number which is very lucrative and great to have that opportunity to really delve into the material that way but you have to be able to do the same amount of work within a much much smaller window for tv and film and you may get to run your lines offset while they're getting the camera set up but like that's it you have to instantly adjust to like tones and choices and what do you need so that I can help you act more honestly in your choices what do I need from you like it all has to happen simultaneously and much faster you have to show up like certain in your choices of course but you have to know that the moment you say that line that it's probably not going to be what they want and they're going to make adjustments and you're going to have to be okay with that and then again be able to show up with a bold choice with the adjustments instantly it is about being certain that what you're doing fits into your own character's art but then also knowing that someone above you with a better eye of the story is going to know how to navigate that a little more clearly for the viewer it all goes back to storytelling and being sure that everything is honest and feels natural.

[18:01] Chris Medlin: One last question what are you looking forward to most about the show finally airing this is my first tv role and so it's a little weighted but it's a lot about growing up and not seeing people that looked like me or had storylines that I could relate to or made choices that I could justify as an adult realizing that I could be that person is something really special to be able to realize that like with hard work and perseverance I will hopefully be able to be someone that I would have needed when I was younger to see someone that is somewhere in the gray area and is mixed race and southern and like has all of these facets that I have as well and see them done so specifically is a little out of body and a little overwhelming and that could be the fact that we are in a shelter in place order and I can't see anybody I don't even know how to anticipate the actual show coming out just because it does feel so out of body to do something over the course of three months in the fall in a different location with people that you just met hoping that you built a family with those people walk away now all of our hard work is going to be visible to one the world but two also us like we don't get to see what our work looks like as you go it's a little bit like waiting eight months to see a video of yourself on stage over a year ago it's twofold very overwhelming also feels like the only way to close the chapter and move forward as well.

[19:46] Mo Brady: Special thanks to Chris Medlin for sharing his stories with us today. The Ensemblist was produced today by Jackson Klein, Anna Alfied, and me, Mo Brady. There are two great ways you can be helping The Ensemblist right now. One is by leaving us a rating and review on Apple Podcasts and the second is by becoming a Patreon member which you can do at patreon.com slash The Ensemblist. Please follow us wherever you listen to podcasts whether that be on Spotify, on Apple Podcasts, or at Broadway Podcast Network home bpn.fm and make sure you're following us on Instagram. Thanks for listening guys until next time.