Creator and actress Tiffany Phillips inspires audiences of all colors with her new original YouTube Web Series Ethnically Ambiguous; a hilarious comedy with serious undertones.
A California native, Tiffany moved across the country at 17 years old to study at the prestigious American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York. After graduating, she performed in several Off Broadway shows and traveling national tours. More recently, she wrote and starred in the critically acclaimed one woman show I Never Met a Jerk I Didn’t Like, which sold out theatre venues in Los Angeles and Off Broadway in New York. Audiences will remember Tiffany from her roles in numerous primetime TV shows and notable films including her recurring role as BNC News Anchor Angela Raines on ABC’s Scandal and playing a Native American Skinwalker on MTV’s Teen Wolf. She also portrayed the fictional 1950’s film star Cynthia Beckley in the award-winning film Daughter of Fortune.
Currently, Tiffany is capturing attention with her comedically true-to-life web series Ethnically Ambiguous, which she created and stars in. The story follows Lena Jordan (Tiffany), a light skinned African-American actress who looks anything but black. Her race is ambiguous and her life follows suit as she fumbles through the recurring question of “What are you?” and perceptions of who she “should be“, especially as a working actress in Hollywood. She fluctuates from one ethnicity to another with each role she plays, constantly conforming to be what the entertainment industry wants. The first season of Ethnically Ambiguous is available now to watch on Tiffany’s Nunoon Productions YouTube channel.
indieactivity : What made you want to create your own projects?
Tiffany Phillips : I wanted to take charge of my career and be in the driver’s seat. Unlike many other actors, I’m in a unique category that has worked for and against me. I want to put myself forward in the variety of races and ethnicities that I can play. I want the industry to see the ethnic and cultural range that I’m capable of portraying. If anyone in this industry has ever said to you “We just don’t know what to do with you,” then show them.
indieactivity : Explain your new web series, Ethnically Ambiguous?
Tiffany Phillips : Ethnically Ambiguous takes the audience into the subculture of the acting business, and modern society, where what you are and what you look like to play a role can be incredibly different things.
indieactivity : Where did you discover the idea?
Tiffany Phillips : I lived it! The majority of what I write is based on my life experiences. The more ridiculous the content, the more real it is. I’ve had some pretty hysterical scenarios that I’ve dealt with in my life and like the saying goes: Truth is stranger, and funnier, than fiction.
indieactivity : What were the first steps you took to make it happen?
Tiffany Phillips : I just started writing. I had no idea what the next steps were going to be but I knew I wouldn’t be able to move forward without a finished product. Then while I was hosting a film festival, I met two inspiring women, producers Kristi Anderson-Ornstein of JKO Productions – Kristi was also my investor – and Rosa Costanza of Seven Directions Productions who loved my content and stepped up to collaborate and embark on this journey with me.
indieactivity : Did you already have the cast set or did you have a traditional casting process?
Tiffany Phillips : Over the years of my acting career, I’ve been fortunate to work with some incredible talent who happen to also be my friends. I wanted to have a diverse cast not only in front of the camera but behind the scenes with a 90 percent female crew. Some of my featured talent include Paul Nygro, Kimleigh Smith, Anzu Lawson, Gillian Shure, and Ron Thompson who deliver some outstanding performances that will have viewers rolling!
indieactivity : During production, what scene was the hardest to shoot?
Tiffany Phillips : There was a restaurant scene that we shot outdoors and the sun kept moving. When it came time for my close-ups, I was completely in the shade. Our monitor wasn’t working either, which was fun. In addition to that, 48 hours before our shoot, the wildfires were wreaking havoc in L.A. and Ventura county. We lost two key locations, one was literally burned to the ground, which left us last minute scrambling to find new locals. Thanks to friends being gracious enough to lend their homes, we were still able to shoot. Even though the cast and crew members were impacted personally by the fires, they still showed up to set and did the work. Through it all, our team persevered!
indieactivity : How long did it take you to complete the project from beginning to end?
Tiffany Phillips : From a 3 day shoot, we ended up editing a 15 minute short and 3 to 5 minute webisodes. Inclusive of original music by composer Gene Micofsky, audio post-production, original logo, and graphics and editing, it took about 6 months.
indieactivity : How did you balance creativity and financial restrictions?
Tiffany Phillips : The only way to achieve a low budget project with high quality is because the whole team contributes. As a writer, my creativity is a solo process but as soon as I share my writing with my collaborators, I’m in a creative team that balances me and helps to achieve the work.
indieactivity : What do you hope audiences get from watching Ethnically Ambiguous?
Tiffany Phillips : I want to educate people on the complexities of race and prejudice while doing so in an accessible way that brings laughter and learning to the audience. We are all connected as a greater humanity, and now is the time to break down more barriers to understanding and I feel comedy is the perfect platform to forward this important social conversation. I also want audiences to laugh until they pee a little bit.
indieactivity : Anything you wish you could “do-over” on the project?
Tiffany Phillips : For the amount of time it took to prep for the first 3 episodes, I wish I would’ve had the funding to shoot more.
indieactivity : Any tips for other actors looking to create their own projects?
Tiffany Phillips : JUST. DO. IT. No matter how daunting or scary it may seem, no matter how little money you have, just do it. Start somewhere. If you have a great idea and you tunnel vision focus on bringing that vision to life, the rest will fall into place. If you don’t put some of your own time and money and your own content first, no one else will be inspired to take the risk with you.
indieactivity : Do you find it difficult to go between acting and creating?
Tiffany Phillips : Not at all. Acting is creating. When I’m hired as an actor, one of my jobs is to learn and digest someone else’s content so I can bring my own creativity to it.
indieactivity : If you could, what would you change about the business?
Tiffany Phillips : I would change the stereotypes inherent in writing and casting roles. I see the change I want where I’m not being typecast and elevating more opportunities for diversity in the casting standard characters where actors of color, from different backgrounds can be the hero. And that goes for actors who, by appearance, don’t “look” the part of a certain race, yet they are that race. Some examples of this; Rashida Jones, Lou Diamond Phillips and Vin Diesel. We live in a world where just about everyone is mixed with something and Black, Latino, Asian, etc. people come in all different shades with different features. Not every Latina looks like Sophia Vergara and wears red 24/7 and not all Asians look like Jackie Chan and know martial arts, etc. I would love to see that reflected in TV and film because that’s the real world.
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