NAJARRA TOWNSEND TALKS THE STYLIST

Interviewed by Culture Coast Talks editor Daniel John. Interview transcripts might have been edited for length and clarity.

After earning praise as a short film, 'The Stylist' has now been adapted into a feature. Was the hope always for the short to lead to a feature?

I knew that our director Jill Gevargizian always wanted 'The Stylist' to be her first feature and after the overwhelmingly positive response with the short, that feeling was solidified. Within a few years, Jill and her co-writers Eric Havens and Eric Stolze, turned it into a feature. After completing the script, it was with a producer for awhile while we worked on getting it funded. Like a lot of independent films, funding can be the hardest part. We were close to making it numerous times with various companies but eventually we took matters into our own hands and decided to crowdfund the feature.

Every person who contributed to our Kickstarter helped make a 'The Stylist' feature film a reality and we are so grateful.

Claire is a hairstylist who sometimes escapes her disappointing reality by descending into murderous madness, a story Jill created while working as a hairstylist herself. Maybe not what you want to hear about your stylist, but probably better still than small-talk about the weather?

I don’t think I ever actually asked Jill how she came up with Claire, the first time I heard her explain where the idea for Claire came from was during an interview actually. Obviously being a hairstylist herself Jill started thinking about how there weren’t any horror movies about a killer hairdresser and she couldn’t believe it hadn’t been done. Hairdressers are like therapists. Clients come and go and open up completely about their personal lives for the brief amount of time they’re in their chairs. Hairstylists learn a lot about their clients and yet are still also strangers to them. It’s a perfect job to get to know someone and be trusted yet still be so far removed from the persons actual life. Jill is also a huge horror fan so it was a no brainer to create a serial killer with a job she knows everything about. Thus 'The Stylist' was born.

Was it a no brainer for you to portray Claire again?

Definitely I was always on board for the feature if we had the chance to get it made. I wanted the opportunity to expand on the character and really dive deep into what made her into the person we see. I also haven’t seen many movies that follow a female serial killer and her own struggle with who she is. I personally wanted to watch a film like that and having the chance to play that role was a dream.

How did you first land the role in the short version?

I met Jill at the premiere of my film 'Contracted'. Shortly after we met she offered me the role of Claire in the short and had me do a scene from the script over Zoom to make sure I was the right fit, and that we had a similar understanding of the character.

She did not have you audition for her all over again?

No. After that, I was Claire. Jill talked to me and included me in all the feature preparations going forward. It was a great experience.

Going through the short already must have built a lot of trust between you two?

Definitely. Jill had so much trust in me and the decisions I made for Claire that it was really refreshing. And I had so much trust in Jill directing me through these intense scenes because of all the work we had done and conversations we had in pre-production. We would ask each other questions about why we thought Claire made certain decisions and compare our opinions. It all felt very collaborative. Because we have worked together a couple of times now and are also friends, we have total trust in each other.

Do you have a favourite scene from the movie?

I have a few, I don’t want to give anything away for people who have yet to see the film, so I won’t go into detail, but one of my favourite scene’s is towards the end of the film, in which our director Jill has a cameo. She did an amazing job and it was a lot of fun to shoot. I have also always loved the parking lot scene with Brea Grant. Every time I read that scene in the script it brought me to tears because I felt so bad for Claire. It was the first scene I shot with Brea and it was freezing that night! So in between takes we would sit in a warm car and chat and it really was a lot of fun.

Did you bring anything new into the character this time?

I had some of her backstory developed from when I shot the short and a grasp on who I believed she was. But a lot of the original backstory I wrote for her changed and evolved with the feature. I filled out her life and memories a lot more and spent a lot of time journaling as Claire. Plus I took the chance this time around to actually do a bit of hair training as Claire is a hairstylist. So being able to actually feel confident doing hair while acting was something I wanted to achieve for the feature.

While she is doing these vicious acts of murder during neon-lit nights, she isn’t necessarily all unlikable, in a weird way?

We all are a product of our past experiences and upbringings. Claire is no different. I think the reason we can sympathise with Claire is because she isn’t an evil person at her core. She’s a deeply troubled person who desperately wants to connect with people, but doesn’t have the social skills quite worked out. You can imagine how hard it would be to want to connect with people, but also feel like everything you say and do is wrong. She just wants to be loved. And isn’t that what we all want.

How would you usually approach getting into a new role?

My process is usually very similar role to role. I start with reading the script a couple times. Asking the director if they have any backstory notes already written and if they have any other films or other characters from films which they think relate to the role. I then start a breakdown of the characters personality traits and their relationships with the other characters in the film. As well as their past relationships. I start creating memories for times in their lives I believe have a crucial impact on who they have become. I’ll do research on the job they hold and any interests they may have that are expressed in the script. I journal as the character and I make a music playlist that gets me in the right mood and headspace. Every character is different obviously so there is personalised research for each role but that’s the overall gist.

Is there any other past character you'd like another go at?

Surprisingly not really. The only character that comes to mind is from a short I did called 'Feeding Time' written and directed by Matt Mercer. I played opposite Graham Skipper and I would love to be able to do a feature version of our characters stories. I think it would be a lot of fun to make and to watch.

Why do you think people like to get scared at the movies?

It’s an adrenaline rush. A great horror movie experience is like a rollercoaster ride.

You did not necessarily like horror before entering the genre yourself?

The first horror film I did was when I was ten years old. So no, I wasn’t a huge fan of horror before that but I was also quite young. Seeing how horror films were made definitely gave me an interest in them and as I aged I found I enjoyed the genre more and more. While I’ve never been a fan of “torture horror” films, I love so many of the other sub-genres within horror. I definitely would call myself a horror fan now.

Great acting are often described as “fearless” but I would like to argue that the best character portrayals often comes out of actors having to face fears?

I feel like being fearless is only possible if one can face their fears! Great actors are only fearless because they are constantly forced to confront the dark sides of a character and of themselves. While one may be described as fearless that doesn’t mean that they were never afraid. They faced and overcame their fears through hard work and perseverance. So, I believe both sentiments are true.

Is it right 'Peter Pan' got you into acting?

Actually no. I think there are a few bio’s out there written by fans which are not all accurate. (Laughs) 'Peter Pan' had nothing to do with it! Although I do love Disney movies. I adored musicals at a very young age and my mom put me into a children’s theatre group called Showstoppers in our hometown of Santa Barbara, California. I did over twenty-nine productions with them and my love for performing was only intensified because of it. Once I realised I could do commercials and films as well, my choice was made. I think by the time I was eight I had decided this would be my career.

What did your parents think of that decision?

My mom was extremely supportive of me, she saw how much I loved singing and acting and completely helped me pursue all of the things I wanted to do. My grandma also played a big role in helping me pursue my career. I was never made to feel like I needed a backup plan because everybody knew how focused I was on making this my career. I feel very lucky that my entire family was always in support of my dreams.

How “old” were you when you left the theatre?

My last theatre production was when I was fourteen. It was a play called 'Cut' adapted from the book with the same name. I adored the experience, but was finding more and more that theatre took up so much time and If I wanted to focus on film it really meant taking a break from it. I fell more and more in love with film the older I got and never really looked back. That being said, I do really miss musicals and would definitely entertain the idea of going back to theatre to do one. We’ll see.

One of the first things you did in film was work with Miranda July?

Working with Miranda was great. She is such a creative and interesting person. I had a lot of fun on set and really loved all the other cast members. 'Me and You and Everyone We Know' was a great experience to have at such a young age. It really set me down a path of independent filmmaking and I will always be grateful to have been a part of that film.

Another interesting and more recent film was the very bizarre yet strangely captivating Charlie Sheen-comeback film '‘A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III’?

I had a great time! I only worked on the film for two days but everyone was so warm and welcoming. It was my first time working with a puppeteer and we had a lot of fun.

How do you plan to spend Halloween this year?

I loved Halloween growing up and I still love getting dressed up, watching scary movies and doing all things pumpkin. This year will probably be a little more simple but I will definitely include a scary movie marathon.