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thepermanentrainpress · 3 years

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THE PERMANENT RAIN PRESS INTERVIEW WITH ZENIA MARSHALL

Filipino Canadian artist Zenia Marshall has been acting in the B.C. film industry for the past six years, including a series regular role in UP TV and W Network’s Date My Dad. The Vancouver native returns to the screen in young adult mystery drama One Of Us Is Lying as Keely Moore, a series based on Karen McManus’ 2017 novel. Marshall has been performing from the age of four, having honed her craft on stage, set and in the studio with her own original music.

You star as Keely Moore in One of Us Is Lying. What can you share about your audition process?

For me, it was just a good old in-person audition (before covid times), two years ago! I was so excited to hear it was a book and dived in reading right away the day before my audition! I had almost forgotten about it (as we actors need to do to keep sane) and I was eventually called back to callbacks nearly 2 months later. I met the amazing Jennifer Morison there as well as a few of our lovely producers. Jennifer worked with me in the room and upon leaving, I bumped into Jess [MeLeod] who was auditioning for Janae and we caught up. Then I ended up getting a call from my agent about booking it!

Tell us about Keely and the preparation you did for this character. Aside from reading Karen McManus’ novel, was there any other source material (other films, series or characters) you found inspiration in?

A lot of Keely came naturally and I ended up donating a lot of my myself to her. However I did find some confidence and charm inspiration in Shay Mitchell from Pretty Little Liars and Alice Greczyn from The Lying Game TV series since I felt like Keely embodied more of that nice popular gal confidence and charm than I ever thought of putting on for myself haha! I had also found a ridiculous amount of inspiration from making my own Pinterest board for her with both her charmed Cali popular life, friend circle, and also her less than joyous times there. I fleshed out memories for her there with the relationships she had in the show.

Keely is described to be half Filipino. We know this was a special character for you personally, and in terms of Asian representation in film/TV. Tell us about what it’s meant to you, and your present thoughts on diversity on-screen based on experience?

Keely was the first Filipino character I had ever auditioned for out of 7 years of auditioning and she is the first I had been honoured to get to play on screen. It was so special for me to have read the book in preparation and spot how she was specified to be half Filipino because it never hit me how much I hardly saw Asian representation in mainstream media and especially Filipino representation until that moment.

I feel that since the beginning of Hollywood, we’ve been so used to the absence of BIPOC communities being represented on screen that it hardly occurs to many people what we’re missing until we see it. Or for others, we grow up consciously aware that we had never felt represented on screen and it had harmfully impacted the way we felt about ourselves and our own ethnicity and cultures. Either way, representation and diversity is incredibly crucial for so many communities.

In my own small observation, since Keely, I’ve seen about 4 more Filipino auditions come in over the past 2 years whereas the years before that I had never seen a single one. It’s definitely progress. Quite typically I used to only see broad “Asian” casting calls get sent out but the character’s last name or [the] story would specify a very specific unique country that would evidently not be anywhere near or alike my own. And it felt like on screen the only diversity we’d get around to seeing was a big continent like Asia (with so many countries and cultures) being boiled down to only 2-3 main generalized countries. Even though I know this was a very old habit of Hollywood and mainstream media to break, and we still have a long way to go, I think we’re getting closer every year to more diversity and representation in many communities and I hope we continue to see more.

Did you find any similarities between Keely and yourself? How about differences; what challenged you with her?

I honestly initially brought a lot of myself to Keely - there was a point where it felt nearly impossible to separate certain qualities. I think people overall perceive us to be very similar in our bubblier attitudes and demeanors but she’s definitely more than meets the eye. There’s an unexplored strength in her and I felt close to her in trying to explore that myself in both her and my journey. Some differences that were challenging though were some of the shallower differences. I never felt like a popular homecoming queen type at school like Keely. I was a lot more of a dork than her - up to now especially haha! I always think it’s funny when I get into characters that I think are cooler than me. I wonder if I actually have business playing them cuz I never think of myself that way!

Keely is introduced as Cooper Clay’s girlfriend, so you shared many scenes opposite Chibuikem Uche (as Cooper). Tell us about the dynamics between your characters, and what viewers can expect. Also – what was it like working with Chib as a scene partner?

Chib!! He is such a pal whose work ethic, intelligence, and mindset inspires me so much. He’s a wonderful friend and a very deep soul. There’s those friends that you feel like you grow a little more around like a plant. And conversations with him makes me feel like I’ve grown a few more leaves. Cooper and Keely have such a beautiful dynamic and friendship. The duo is always set out to protect each other and be there for one another - guardians of each other's secrets and supportive to the moon and back regardless of who’s in the room. I feel like mentally and morally, they’re almost always on the same page and that’s what helps them click so well.

What can you tease about Keely’s journey throughout Season 1?

Keely’s journey throughout Season 1 is very quietly emotional for her. Having feelings for someone who will never have them for you is tortuous and having been in a vulnerable space from her last relationship, she is definitely in a quietly emotional chapter of her life despite being a fairly open hearted person. She really protects those she cares about and is loyal to nearing a fault. She only wants what’s best for everyone and feels so guilty if she can’t do that for everyone. She learns a lot about being her own person away from those she depended on. For a fairly unsuspecting seeming person, she has a lot of lies saved up and secrets hidden away. You have to tune in to find out more!

For potential viewers on the fence about tuning in to One of Us Is Lying, what would be your pitch to them?

5 students walk into detention, and only 4 make it out alive. The one killed was a big problem when he was alive and now he’s a bigger problem dead. Everyone is lying around the clock to keep their reputations alive and secrets safe. Who killed him?

Jennifer Morrison directed your pilot in Vancouver, she’s fantastic! What was it like working with her?

I was in awe of Jennifer!! I was enthralled to get to see her work. Especially since it took many years in my career to see a woman in general get to steer the ship in a very man dominated career. I adored watching her work. She is so incredibly talented and set the tone for an amazing project. She is an absolute boss and was also very kind. As an actor, I really appreciated how she was able to connect with actors and help work on our characters together. From an actress of her caliber, you can really trust her with your performance and notes that go past the technicalities. Everyone on set loved her and spoke so highly of her. I only hope we get to work together again someday!

To have the author Karen McManus visit the set as well, it must have been special because she has always voiced her confidence in this cast to bring her characters to life. Did you have any opportunity to speak with her?

I did - she flew to Vancouver during the pilot to visit the set and meet everyone! Karen is so awesome! She’s such a brilliant queen. She’s also so incredibly encouraging to the cast and writes us such heartwarming messages once in a while about the show and her kind faith and belief in us. She’s so amazing and so sweet. It always means so much to hear from an author themselves who is allowing you to bring their characters and universe to life.

You ended up filming the majority of Season 1 in New Zealand, before wrapping in Toronto. Take us behind the scenes – what are a couple of your favourite memories from filming (including you celebrating your 22nd birthday abroad!)?

Some of my favourite memories were those that I was able to make with some amazing cast members whom I had been able to grow so close throughout shooting. From movie nights, museums, Sunday brunches, hiking, the caveworms we saw, etc. And on a personal level, I found a love for travelling on the trip - especially in the city exploring Auckland’s volcanoes and the sunsets and views from up there. It was breathtaking and definitely a highlight of my trip. For my 22nd birthday, some of the cast had gone to an escape room and we’re happy to announce that as a team we had gotten out successfully with less than a minute on the clock haha!!

Did you get to sightsee? Any recommendations?

I definitely did between shooting! So grateful that my job was able to take me two different places! I would definitely recommend the Ruakuri cave and Waitomo caves (glow worm caves) in New Zealand (They were so beautiful and the worms were very well behaved.) The hikes and beaches are a must there - especially Muriwai beach where we were able to get a full hiking day in! And of course Niagara Falls when we shot over at Toronto - that was absolutely breathtaking!! (Make sure you do the Behind The Falls tour and the Boat that cruises up to the falls! And make sure you take pictures before you get soaked!! Please learn from my mistakes!)

The ensemble cast is so talented! You’ve shared a lot of fun photos from set, did you all click immediately from the first table read in Vancouver?

Everyone really knitted together well during the pilot in Vancouver - so many awesome personalities and hilarious peeps on the team! I feel like we’re all so different from one another yet we click so well. We definitely turned into a family in New Zealand. I’m so glad we were able to spend the time together because it made being away from home so much easier.

You and Jessica (McLeod, who stars as Janae Matthews) are both from British Columbia. Had you known each other prior to being cast in the show? Had you known or been familiar with any of the other actors and their work?

Yes we have!! Jess and I first met when guest starring on the TV series Van Helsing together! (She was amazing as always on that show). We ran into each other at the callbacks for OOUIL and as soon as we saw each other there we were both like “OF COURSE!!!” when we found out who each other was reading for! She’s such a brilliant actress and beautiful person and friend. There couldn’t have possibly been anyone better for Janae than her!

Who was the most likely to be caught at craft services on-set? How about the cast member who took the most naps? Funniest cast member? Most likely to be caught singing in-between takes?

Naps? … well I will say that Barrett had captured a photo of both Karim and I hunched over our lunch table napping so we mighhht possibly be the guilty ones haha! Funniest cast member? There’s two pairs - Barrett and Mark + Martin and George were the best comedic duos for sure 😂

Ever since the pilot was filmed, there’s been dedicated fan support on social media. What has this love and dedication meant to you?

I’m so grateful for the support from fans! It means a lot knowing the fans of the book know the characters so well, have been sitting with their own visions of the characters for so long - they know the original universe of OOUIL the best and for them to like what we did is the best seal of approval we could ask for!!

What are some memorable comments or fan made content you’ve seen?

Personally, seeing the support from the Filipino community has been so incredibly special! As someone who is half Filipino myself being able to play Keely - a Filipino halfie too, I’ve been receiving so many heartwarming messages from Filipino communities around the world. I’ve never been able to represent before in that way and hearing from those who that means a lot to means even more to me than I can express. To be a small part of that is just so heartwarming and I’m so happy it means this much to others out there as it does to me.

You’ve been busy, because you are also building a career as a musician! Tell us a bit about your background in (and love for) music, because we know it originated from your parents.

Yes absolutely, my love for music does come from my parents - my mom is a singer and my dad is a drummer (and my sister is a guitarist)! My earliest memories were watching my mom rock out on stage in a Tina Turner wig and stilettos. Seeing her make so many people happy out in the audience and being immersed in the rocknroll life made it impossible to feel like there was anything else I wanted to do.

I started singing and songwriting at a young age and didn’t start writing anything nearly okay till high school. I did piano for 5 years til I knew how to navigate it for writing songs and I played the alto saxophone from grade 7-12 in band. I was also in vocal jazz, chamber choir, and concert choir at my school. Huge music nerd haha! I also worked on a few small musical runs here and there throughout high school. It was only shortly after high school that I started slowly putting my original music catalogue to life - co-producing with my super uber talented friends and recording whenever I can in between acting!

You’ve performed alongside your mother as an Ariana Grande tribute artist. What’s your favourite Ariana song as a listener, and then as a performer?

I have so many favourite Ariana songs! But my top few must be “Dangerous Woman,” “Into You,” “Moonlight,” and “Breathin.” For performing though I love to personally sing “God Is A Woman.” But “7 rings” is so fun to perform with the audience singing along! (“I want it, I got it!” haha!)

You currently have 2 original singles released, “Heaven and Hell” and “Ain’t Like You.” What’s your process as a songwriter, and lyrically, how do you collect your thoughts?

Sometimes the melody pours out when I sit at the piano and other times the melody attacks me when I’m doing dishes, in the shower or when I was younger, at school and I had to hide in the bathroom to record it before it floated away. It almost always starts with freestyling melodies plus how I’m feeling in that moment and as I mumble absolute nonsense, some words and themes end up sticking!

I then fill out the song with the rest of the lyrics which depending on the story will come easier at times or prove more difficult at others. I then record a demo by myself in my bedroom and crappily produce it to try to find the song’s sound and character. Once I have a vision for what the song wants to be, I’ll send it off to my producer and work with them on what the vision is for that. Seeing it come together at this point is one of my favourite parts of the process.

You’re in the alt/cinematic pop realm in sound. Are you still experimenting with different genres? Who are some artists that have inspired you in sound and work ethic?

I love all music so much that it makes it hard to narrow it down to a specific genre plus I think I have much more experimenting to do before I find where I’m happiest at. I blame it on the thespian side of my brain for a lot of that since when it comes to writing, every song feels like a completely separate character that is owed a different story, style and sound. As a songwriter in general though, I will probably always experiment quite a bit, even if it’s not a song for me personally and may work better for someone else. As a solo artist, |Heaven and Hell| has been one of my fav sounds in the alt/pop realm though! I love the drama and ethereal cinematic nature of the song with the gritty guitar. I’m hoping to experiment more there!

A few artists that have inspired me are Mariah Carey & Whitney Houston for their queen vocal skills, Tori Amos & Alicia Keys as a songwriter/pianist, Shura for her amazing production skills and sonic sound (I LOVE HER!), the band Metric, and U2 for their inspirational rock, introspective lyrics and reverby guitars (they always amp me up). Most especially the artist Aurora is such an AMAZING all around artist whose free spirited nature, purpose to express and connect so authentically with others and create amazing soul feeding music has given me so much to aspire to find within my own art as well. There are countless more inspirations growing up like Tina Turner, No Doubt, Lauryn Hill, etc. I can surely write an essay on this!

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What can you share about your upcoming music and the debut EP you’ve been working on?

My upcoming music and EP will definitely be a whirlwind of different sounds. I’ve been hoarding so much music for so much of my life and finally being able to release some, I’m trying to start with what feels closest to me right now. They’re all fairly introspective pieces - my own tendency of overthinking is basically painted across every song I write. We have a song about intimate soulful connections when exploring love and relationships at different levels, self love and perfectionism and society’s norms, everything unsaid in a relationship, etc. The sounds ranging from upbeat 80s influenced synths, tribal-esque darker vocals and twists, and some good ol’ good feeling alt/pop bops.

You are vocal about causes and organizations important to you, such as anti human trafficking. Tell us about why it’s important to use your platform to be involved.

Domestic and International human trafficking was first fully brought to my attention by a very close friend of mine through a play she had written about true events and the facts from the foundation she was working for. She had asked me to be a part of the table read. I had heard about this happening in other places in the world through mainstream Hollywood movies but it blew my mind that it was happening in the US and Canada as well. I was really confused as to why I hadn’t heard it being discussed much within my community and those that I followed. It’s such a difficult and heartbreaking conversation - I can see people get uncomfortable by the subject because it really is something so hard to imagine and talk about but I think that’s the reason that the cause can be often overlooked.

It’s also something we don’t get to see or hear about happen often on the news and if it’s out of sight, it’s usually out of mind so it felt so important to speak up about it whenever possible even if it’s on a platform as small as my own. Everyone has their own advocacies and I really hope that if it’s not this cause, that there’s something that everyone can speak out for so we can help each other be more aware of what’s happening in the world and the help we are only indebted as humans to give to others.

We love what you’ve said in a past interview, how important it is to love what you do as a performer but also having a beautiful life outside of the ‘public eye.’ Tell us about how you’ve found that balance, and how you stay grounded?

Thank you! I think I had to learn the hard way for sure. For so much of my life, I’d bury myself up in work and anytime not spent towards music and acting felt like I was completely unproductive and not moving my life or career forward. I have a very naturally pesky restless workaholic attitude. Once I dive into a project, I don’t feel like I can stop. But there’s a certain amount of time that passes by that you realize you can only live so much of your life like that. Burnout is real and depriving yourself of the small joyful things in life and things as major as relationships and friendships is not the answer to making your art or career any better. The opposite is actually true - the more nourished your life is, the more you can give to your art.

In two industries where so much of the control of your career lies in luck after all the hard work is done, no one can predict where you will ever end up and when the next time your “happiness” will come around due to a booking, size of project, gig, label signing, etc. So it becomes the worst place to define your happiness. There’s no use in starving yourself from the beautiful things in life. It’s the journey, not the result of the career that should be the best part. It is also the only thing that will sometimes keep you sane and grounded from the insanity that both industries work in.

Art keeps me sane from life and life keeps me sane from art. It’s so important to maintain a life outside of that as a good person, friend, partner, family member, etc. In the end, that’s really all that matters and I hope anyone aspiring to pursue life as an artist or performer allows themselves to focus not just the beauty within their craft but to focus as well on the beauty in life itself outside their art.

As a Vancouver native, what are your favourite places to visit or eat at in Vancouver?

SUSHI!!! Anywhere sushi… Pretty much literally anywhere sushi.

Our signature question – if you could be any ice cream flavour, which would you be and why?

I’d hope to be a scoop of salted caramel and a scoop of cookies and cream because those are my favourite!! Are we getting ice cream after this interview? I’m hungry now.

It was such a pleasure getting insight into Zenia’s busy but beautiful life, in addition to the scoop on all things OOUIL (a series that we cannot wait to watch!). To keep updated with her forthcoming projects, be sure to follow Zenia on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and visit her official website.

One Of Us Is Lying can be streamed on Peacock and premieres in Canada on the W Network on Wednesday, November 3.

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