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RP - Thank your for taking the time to talk to us about your show. Let’s start with the important things. I know you have a famous show business background MH - (laughing) Well I come from a show business family, that’s for sure.. RP – Well, for starters, your father. MH – Yes, my father is Jerry Hardin, well known character actor. My mom is Diane Hill Hardin who’s been in acting for years and now she’s teaching in New York and is a coach. RP – I guess the question we always ask is: When you were a little kid, did you always want to be an actress? MH – I did! I tugged on their sleeve until they finally let me go on an audition. They had a secret plan that they would let me go on ten auditions and if I didn’t get something they would sort of ease me out of it. Except I got the first thing I went on. RP – Was that "Thunder" ? MH – No, the first thing I went on was a commercial for Peak Tooth Paste and then I did a show called "Cliffwood Avenue Kids", a syndicated show for kids that was sort of based on "The Little Rascals" and that was the first theatrical show that I did. And then Thunder came along. RP – And you were about ten years old when you did Thunder. By that time, you were a seasoned pro; you didn’t have any butterflies and you probably weren’t afraid of the cameras anymore? MH – I don’t thing I was ever afraid of the cameras (she laughs) RP - really? MH I always thought it was fun. I found it very easy and fun, and I actually enjoyed it at that age. RP – Did you ever have a mentor or some actor that you saw and said "I want to be like her" or maybe someone that inspired you? MH – When I was a little girl I idolized Judy Garland and Barbra Streisand. RP – Now that you’re a bit older, do you look ahead and say maybe, "When I’m 95 I want to be remembered like they remember - - - - " who might that be? MH – Gosh - Well I think Judi Dench has a pretty amazing career now as an older woman. There’s a lot of women like that. Cate Blanchett has some amazing opportunities. Glenn Close is great because she sings and dances and acts – of course Meryl Streep is always wonderful. There’s so many out there that are doing wonderful things now. I hope that there will continue to be more and more diverse and exciting roles for women. Like Helen Mirren said when she won the Emmy that women make up more than 50% of the population and I think it’s important for there to be more women’s voices out there. I’m hoping I’ll be one of those. RP – Well, certainly besides acting, behind the scenes there definitely seems to be a strong movement by women. You’re a director now. MH - I am! I just directed Adrian’s show (Strip Search) and I just directed a feature film. And I’m actually in the process of cutting right now. RP - And that film is called "YOU" MH - That’s right. Y – O – U. RP – And your father’s in it. MH – My father’s in it. My mother’s in it. My two daughters are in it. My husband is in it and my friends are in it Joey Fisher, Amy Peitz, my very first boy friend who’s now a director and a writer Don Michael Paul plays my brother and also my very good friend Allyson Mack is in it. It’s a real passion piece with lots of heart and lots of love. RP – I have to ask you – how does it feel directing your father and mother? MH – (Burst out laughing) Every body asks that question! I have coached both of them, just like they coached me for certain auditions as I got older, so I kind of have directed them before. It was definitely interesting. There were moments when I had insights into them as professionals in a way that maybe I didn’t have before when I didn’t have the opportunity to be sort of hands-on in that situation. But they both handled it very gracefully, I must say. I’m sure that as a parent – and older parent, it might be a sort of nightmare to think about your daughter directing you. They both were great about it and didn’t seem to mind. RP – Any secret thoughts on your part about "Payback Time" as you directed them? MH – (Laughing) That’s funny. I think the basic thing about making a movie on an extremely low budget like I did, there’s really no time to think of anything other than getting the job done. You can’t indulge any feelings of frustration. anger or concern or pettiness in any way. It’s mostly like petal to the metal – nose to the grindstone thing, and that’s what you’re doing. RP – In addition to that you have this little hit that some people watch sometime called "The Office"? And you’re certainly a big part of that. MH – That’s true! It’s a great show and it’s something like the 13th pilot of my career and I’m still amazed and in awe that it’s a big hit. I think 9.1 million people watched our premier show two Thursdays ago, and we won an Emmy for the best comedy, so I’m still waiting for someone to come and shake me and wake me up. But at the same time I feel like "it’s about time!" RP – I guess everyone pays their dues, and now it’s time to start collecting a little bit? MH – That’s true! I think it is. RP – Are there any plans to make a more permanent relationship between your character (Jan Levinson) and the character of Steve Carell (Michael Scott) on the show? MH- You know, we’re sworn to secrecy on the show, so I’m not at liberty to discuss anything about forthcoming episodes. But I can say this, I think the ride will get bumpier and will certainly continue. RP – Strip Search, the theatre piece you are directing is a totally different thing! How did you get into that? MH – Adria Tennor and I met at a writing class – a one person show writing class at UCLA about ten years ago and she liked what I was writing and I liked her work, and the teacher was doing a private class outside the school and she invited both of us to that, which we both took. And then we just kept in touch and I think we both liked each other’s writing style and I was sort of floundering in terms of where I thought the direction of my show was going, but she persisted with hers and developed this wonderful show that she now has, so she called me saying she had this new show and would I like to direct it. And that was that. RP – Obviously it’s been well accepted. You’re doing a second run starting October 11. MH – Yes. It was really well received. People seem to enjoy it. It’s charming, it’s sexy, it’s sweet and it’s go a lot going for it and Adria is really wonderful. RP – I was speaking with Adria yesterday and she mentioned some of her impressions as she was maneuvering the dances on the twelve foot pole on stage. Did you try dancing with the pole as preparation for this directing job> MH – Well, I actually took the class that she talks about in the show. RP – So you took the class also? MH – I did, because Adria kept telling me I should. Then I had another friend who told me she was taking the class and wanted me take it with her, so I did. But unfortunately I had another job and only took two classes, but I did some very basic and spinning around the pole which you learn very early on, and it’s a lot of fun and very freeing. I am a dancer so it feels like an another extension of my dancing. RP – Did that experience help you in directing the show? MH – I think that being a dancer helped. I didn’t really do the class long enough for it to sink in, but the dancing help because the dance on the pole was choreographed by both of us. I think that in my directing style so far I have been able to use the tools that we all have, and the show has a musical quality to it - a tempo, and that’s part of my dance background. RP – When you say you’re a dancer, were you trained classically? MH – I was. I studied very seriously with the Joffrey when I was thirteen in New York, and was a very serious ballerina and now I’m a jazz dancer. I still try to take jazz classes once a week. I still do that for my soul and my body. RP – So you are a dancer, a director, a film actress, a television actress – a theatre director and you’re also a singer! MH – I am a singer and a songwriter! Yes. I believe the bumper sticker "Born to Perform" was made just for me! I’ve been writing songs all my life. My mom says I wrote my first song when I was two. I don’t know about that, but that what she swears and I’ve been writing songs as long as I can remember. I have a couple of CD’s that can be purchased on my website which is http://www.melora.com/ . RP – I’ve seen you website and I really like it. Especially the pictures. MH – Thank you. They’re kind of cheeky and fun! RP – Are you that kind of person? MH – Ahh – certainly there’s a part of me that is. I think that that character that is my songstress personality was one I worked long and hard to find when I was in my early stages of being a singer-songwriter. I was trying to find a voice that was really mine and felt right for me; I did the "girl with the guitar" folksy kind of stuff for awhile, but that didn’t really feel like me and I always felt I needed a little more distance between me and the audience. A little more theatricality – a little more character and less of me just standing out there jabbing. I still think that’s my skill, really. I was walking through a mall one day and I saw this book, a Gil Elvgren book which is what all the paintings and photos are based on. He was one of the early pin up artists, and I just connected with it. I said – this is it! I’m a very visual person and as soon as I got home I pored over the book. When I got the pictures in my head, the songs just fell into place and the character was born and she just feels really right to me. RP – When people see the play, what would you like them to know at the end of the play? MH – What would I want them to know? RP - What would you like them to feel after they see it? MH – I guess maybe that everybody struggles and everyone is trying to find themselves or find where they belong and Adria’s struggle in this particular case is with her own sexuality – with her own sensuality – with her own womanhood and I thing that there is something really poignant about that. I think there’s something really charming and really funny and really universal about just being able to reflect on your own journey. For instance, where you’re going or where you come from or where you are now, depending on what stage of development the audience members are now. I think the show is good as just being able to see a mirror for the journey of self discovery. RP – Would you say the show is primarily directed for women? MH – Not at all! I think the show is sexy and fun and Adria has this ultra sweet faced, little girl next door type ageless face, but at the same time is very womanly and grounded and I think that will be very sexy and charming to men. Men and women who have seen the show together have talked about it, and the men have particularly spoken about the sexiness of the show – they have specifically mentioned that’s the heart of the show. RP – Do you plan on continuing work on the stage, either directing or acting after this play? MH – Absolutely – any opportunity that is creative. RP – Do you have a role that you consider would be the ultimate for you? MH – I’m working on a couple of things now. I’m working on a screen play right now with a friend who will direct and I will star in the movie. A dark, funny but poignant musical. It will be very strange and quirky. I’m looking forward to that very much. Also I like things that give me a lot of room, that’s part of why I like Jan in The Office. I feel like there’s something unique about her character. Also the people that I work with Gregg Daniels, Steve Corell, they give me a lot of room and that’s what I like. RP – Your ideal role in TV would be ? MH – Somebody strong, multi-dimensional – like a real woman. A lot of times women on television are very flat and one dimensional, so it would have to working with someone who can write women the way they write Jan in The Office. Just somebody who would be complex and exciting – sexy – flawed – hot – imperfect and struggling. RP – What would you like our readers to take with them after reading the interview? Can you finish the sentence - Melora is - - - -. MH – An artist! RP – That’s one of the shortest answers ever for that question. Is there anything we have not covered that you want to mention? MH - I would like
to mention my website so people can get to my music and I’ll be getting a
MySpace page started with several links The Office – to YOU (the film) to
Adria’s page – there’ll be a lot of places you can go. RP – Thanks for spending a little time with us. We look forward to your show at the ART WORKS Theatre from October 11, 2006 to November 19, 2006. For photos, CD's and more information visit Melora’s website at: http://www.melora.com/. |
