Joni Mann on playing “Abby Wallace” in Melissa Vitello and Bryan Ricke’s Sound of Settling

Joni Mann studied dance in college and that was the idea from when she was young, that she’d be a dancer. That dream lasted a few years after school when Joni moved to NYC and danced in a few small modern companies.

But looking back now, she says “I wasn’t entirely fulfilled. You learn to express yourself completely in dance by using your body but the muscle of expression through communication wasn’t being utilized and I think that’s what I was yearning for. I’d find myself the happiest when I was making my friends laugh through silly movement or putting my body/face in odd positions to get a laugh. I drunkenly confessed to my college roommate that I wanted to be an actor and it was the most honest moment I’d felt.”

It took 6 years for Joni Mann to get into her first acting class in NYC because she had accidentally booked a role in a movie that had lines. Joni auditioned for the role of sexy VR robot with “dance abilities” (not a speaking role), she didn’t get the part. But her dance headshot got passed around. She said it like this; “I guess I looked like the sister of someone they needed to cast. The script called for me crying in every scene and I saw it as an opportunity to test the waters. I got myself to cry on set through what I guess now was sense memory but didn’t quite know how actors get themselves to stop crying. I guess this curiosity and feeling of “Oh wow this is a masterful technique, similar to dance” gave me that first actor bug moment of wanting to learn more.

indieactivity: What acting technique do you use?
Joni Mann (JM): I really enjoyed my time studying at AMAW (Anthony Meindl Actor Workshop). I feel like I really learned how to be comfortable with putting myself fully in the moment of the scene there. It was cathartic, and I really learned a lot about myself in the process. I learned how shy I really am! How I could use my nerves and hesitation in the character and fully embody everything I was feeling in that moment and use it to my advantage. I come back to this idea a lot when I audition. Lesly Kahn has also been a useful tool for breaking down a scene and understanding what directors/writers want to see. It’s been so helpful to understand the little nuances of script writing- the in between moments. What are they not writing here, but what should I infer and if I can understand that, we suddenly speak the same language. I use sense memory but try to use it sparingly. I think it’s a useful tool but I also feel like experiencing emotions/situations repeatedly can be desensitizing. I most enjoy just being present and connected when I work, because turns out, what feels good in every-day life also feels good when I’m in a scene

The Official Trailer for Sound of Settling written and directed by Melissa Vitello and Bryan Ricke

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How did you get connected to the project? Did you have to audition? If you did, would you still have got the part?
Joni Mann (JM): I had just moved to LA from NYC and my manager/Agents couldn’t rep me in LA so I was starting over. Honestly, it was great to have a fresh start because it pushed me to learn the system out here and look for projects I liked on my own. I got a job at a casting office so I was able to see a lot of the work being done in LA and suss everything out to see where to begin. I came across this breakdown for S.O.S. and I really enjoyed the fact that the script seemed super honest and real. Nothing put on, just a raw breakup story. I auditioned and really enjoyed chatting with Melisa and Bryan (director/producer team) about the role of Abby and felt connected to her in many ways. I really don’t enjoy auditioning, but when I do, it’s usually because everything lines up. The role fits, I like my report with casting + directors and I feel no pressure to “get it”.

 Let’s take this project you did; how did you prepare for such a role: the cast, the physicality, the terrain, the climate, weather and the demands of the project?
JM: This was my first lead role with 120 pg script, dialogue on every page and we were scheduled to shoot 10 pages a day in 12 days. I still have this script and it is highlighted, dog eared, covered in food, wine, and I wrote in every possible margin/white space. It’s a reminder to be that scared, and work that hard each time. I would go on long walks with friends to memorize. I realized I needed to be moving and memorizing to get it to stick. I kept a journal of Abby’s past, and experiences. I did everything I could possibly think of because it was just such a huge project and I was so new to it all. What I realized was all that prep and craziness helped so much on set to just forget it all and be in the moment.

As one of the cast on the project, how did this ‘choice’ work for you?
Joni Mann (JM): Each moment we were filming was a different ‘choice’ I guess. I felt pretty overwhelmed and so my goal was to just be in the moment and just go with what I was feeling. I think the moments that I had a harder time getting into a scene were when I would try to get to a place (emotion) instead of just allowing it to come.

How do you create the character from a script into a person?
Joni Mann (JM): I realized pretty early on with the script that although I hadn’t been through exactly what Abby (my role) was going through- getting cheated on with your best friend and boyfriend (thank god) I had felt betrayal and heartache. I tried to not focus on the sadness of that – because Abby would then otherwise just stay in bed (been there for sure) but what is actually driving her to get out of bed and why do we want to see that or care. I really loved her story,so it wasn’t hard to find out why I loved her on set and tried to just showcase that in “creating her character”

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What part of the story challenged you when you read it? What drove you to get on the project?
JM: I think what challenged me with the script most was that I didn’t want Abby to become a martyr for most of the film. I didn’t want to give the audience no reason to watch her whine and be sad but in reality, we see her actually fight more throughout the film. I loved the script, start to finish. I’m a child of the 90’s, and a major ron com fan so this was quite literally a dream to be a part of.

Explain one creative choice you took on the set of this production?
JM: Melisa and I spoke the same language. So much so that when she was directing me sometimes no words were even used. She would give me a look. This was pretty incredible given that we had never worked together before and it was the beginning of our friendship but we both quickly could read each other’s minds. It’s a good recipe to have for quick moving indie film sets for sure.

You’re not new to indie films. What do you enjoy about the work that keeps you working?
JM: Creative freedom! They always seem to be more of a collaboration and I really believe that’s when the best art happens or has a good breeding ground to grow.

How did you collaborate with your cast members from scene to scene?
JM: I felt really lucky to share scenes with everyone in the cast because it gave me a sense of the film as a whole even before it was finished. Each actor was so unique in the way they worked and their general personalities. Ty Trumbo is truly a sweetheart and reminded me so much of my younger brother who I’m close with so I do remember it being really hard to get to a place where I hated him in the scenes. But, once again I realized that that wasn’t even the case in my character it was a pretty layered feeling of love, hate, resentment, and longing for Abby’s ‘Kyle’.

What did you take away from the film production?
JM: This was my first lead in a feature so I can safely say I took A LOT away from this experience. I felt like it was the acting Olympics for me just because I worked so hard leading up to it and stressed constantly, then it was so intense and so fast. I remember vividly the first day on set. Leading up to this point I was a big ball of nerves but something about starting that day let everything release. I go back to that feeling often when I’m prepping for work or have those “just booked” nerves. It keeps me in check and reminds me really why I’m doing all of this. Leading up to that moment of bliss and feeling like “ok, this is what I love to do, let’s just play now”.

What do you like most about the director, and his/her collaboration with his/her team?
JM: Melissa and Bryan worked so well as a team themselves that it resonated throughout the entire set. They set the tone, and the tone was to have a great time in this experience of creating something together. It really helped that they were super precise on how they saw the story in their minds and had spent a lot of time dreaming up the script. When all the pieces were there in place to actually make the thing- it fit.

What is next for you?
JM: Well, during this pandemic I’ve learned to be a professional self-taper. I have another indie film called ‘splinters’ that was in the circuit before Covid-19 and a recurring role on Quibi network called ‘Agua Donkey’s’. A really fun job came up for Netflix that I’ll probably shoot in Sept. but this moment in time has been a major revaluation on how I spend my time and how I come to terms with a job where I don’t know when I’ll work next. I now have to be ok with not knowing any sort of future for my work. There are a lot of painful things happening in our nation and across the globe and all of it has been leveling,

What advice do you give actors regarding what you learned on the project?
JM: The work will come. Great projects are out there. Make sure when the time is right, that you find good people to represent you that align with your goals. Take breaks, go outside, see your family, live your life, and try to be well rounded because it’ll be the greatest proponent of work. On S.O.S I learned that the challenge of working on indie films is what excites me. It gets you out of your head because there simply isn’t enough time to be a brooding actor. Everything is pretty raw and I personally love the look of that on film.

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