THE CHOSEN INTERVIEW: Actress Elizabeth Tabish (Mary Magdalene). Hosted by Timothy Ratajczak.

[Music] on behalf of the chosen and against the tide media I want to welcome you to an interview with actress and producer and writer and director Elizabeth Savage who plays the beloved character of Mary Magdalene in this first ever multi season series about the life of Jesus Liz welcome thank you for having me believe me the pleasure is all mine Oh to you later to me you like Elizabeth Tabish wears a lot of hats in the movie business we'll go into that a little bit more later but most of the fans of The Chosen probably only know you as an actress so let's start there can you tell us a bit about your your childhood your background your ambitions your your education yeah so I I was always really creative my mom really supported of me and my brother being artistic and letting us sort of develop the areas that interested us the most and so my brother's a musician and when I was really young I started drawing and in fifth grade into middle school I started playing with cameras and camcorders I mean my friend Cammie we would like make fake commercials and we did little mockumentaries and I was fascinated with the idea of like editing and at that time it was all on these big bulky camcorders and editing was like through the VCR and the dream of being a filmmaker was so far away and I had no idea how how did actually like work on film or anything like professionals so I just kept playing with cameras as a hobby and then I you know I was in a small town in Oklahoma there wasn't that much to do so I spent a lot of my time reading and writing and there was a community theater called town and gown theater and I started getting involved in that and I think I think it's junior high and then doing theater classes and in school and into high school and then in college and it I kept thinking it was this hobby for most of my life and then finally when I was in college I was like I guess I'm still doing this I kept changing my majors I wasn't sure what I wanted to do between journalism English and theater we didn't have a film production degree so I just sort of mixed and matched the classes that I really wanted to do my professors were all really supportive of like me doing film projects for an English class or writing you know my own play in theatre so I was given this space and and freedom and support to really develop all the elements of art and and mediums that I connected with and so I got my my undergrad in film theory in film studies so I got to watch a lot of films and analyze them and then I got my masters in theatre and in directing so over the last I'd say really since I graduated from for my masters I've just been developing sort of you know what I want to do and it's um true mixture of acting directing writing editing camerawork photography I love it all well I'm good on you because you know people ask me I was a film major regrettably and I usually don't size people to general I think it would be far wiser to pursue the path that you did although I know the film thing wasn't an option for you but I do think it it would have benefitted me a lot more had I been in a journalism or English major and business why because movies are a business I've done more business classes I know that now you can it's a hard business it's a it's it's a difficult business because one it is a business and if you are more creative and practical you you really it requires both you can't just be this dreamer and like make things and not think about you know rent like I ran into that a number of times in the last decade and you learn as you go and and every time I think I'm gonna like give up or change or something something comes up the chosen being one of the most major events of like okay now I'm still I'm still doing this artistic path and pursuit which segues perfectly into my next question correct me if I'm wrong but it's my understanding that you were just about to walk away from the acting profession when the role of Mary Magdalene was offered to you what could say that you were born to play this role loves Mary Magdalene there was just like this this is what I've been wanting to play my whole life excited and yet you almost missed it can you and your toy I'm actually shocked I even I got the audition because I it was like a couple of one too many rejections that I had for commercial stuff and I was I was booking mostly commercial that year and it wasn't really like my heart wasn't really and I missed doing character-driven theatrical or TV dramas it had been so long since I had done that that I that I just was a little heartbroken over over it and I was like okay time to maybe grow up you know maybe it's time to do something practical and and so I I sort of just down on the whole thing so I emailed my agent I said I just stopped submitting me for a little bit I need a break I need to figure out what what I need to do next and I was just planning on finding something practical an editing job or in production or something like that and he ignored that request thank God and submitted me for from Lilith and Mary Magdalene and sent me the auditions and either side I read a publicist this is the role that I've dreamt of playing since I was a child like this is this is such a dream role and so the idea of like not getting that of like auditioning for something that I loved so much and then I was like okay if I don't get this Ben I'm definitely out but I went in and there was a special sort of feeling to the whole thing the lines were easy to memorize it came easy that accent or the dialect just sort of emerged my great-grandmother lived in Tehran and was Armenian and Italian so growing up and hearing that I pulled from that so it was a special character that I just sort of immediately connected with and so it was it was and and that's one of the more natural auditions that I've had didn't feel like I was forcing anything and then of course I waited for like two weeks for a callback I thought I didn't get it it's it's done and then the callback happened in Dallas was there and I read with Justin Overlander who was so sweet and we just all kind of cried at one point and I don't think the casting directors or Dallas but me and Justin were crying in the scene and and I think Dallas stopped me in the middle of the scene he was like all right that's enough we've seen it and then that's either really good or really and then on my drive back I got a call from my agent saying I booked it which was which never happens you never find out that that quickly so yeah it felt like it was meant to be meant to happen it almost sounds like God knew what he was doing here even if Elizabeth tablished it was a nice surprise besides I want to talk a little bit about the character of Mary Magdalene now besides Mary the mother of Jesus and Martha and Mary the sisters of Lazarus Mary Magdalene occupied a very special place in the life of Jesus and I'm not referring to those bizarre theories that I won't dignify by name her special place is that God allowed her among all the disciples to be the first to discover the empty tomb and as we all know in Jewish society women were regarded as unreliable witnesses and were forbidden from giving testimony in in court what a remarkable honor for Mary Magdalene to be the first to say I I have seen the Lord after his resurrection and not sine and Peter or John the Beloved Disciple now you said plain Mary Magdalene was easy in a dream but it must have post somewhat of a challenge oh yeah because either you either strongly identified with the character or or you had to do a lot of research I strongly identified with both Lois and Mary and I when I say it was easy it wasn't easy but connecting with her what was effortless to sympathize with her I think to feel and recreate her pain for the before I connected with that really easily and then of course being cast in it was this type of renewal for me so her shift and transformation from Lilith into Mary like I felt the pure joy of that from getting passed from being able to play her so that normally wouldn't have been as easy but because because of the actual situation of like playing it it was it was it was right there for me like this this immediate experience of a feeling redeemed of feeling renewed because of the chosen so it sort of fulfilled itself in some way well I was deeply affected as I'm sure a lot of fans were by the the exorcism scene in the Chosin in which Jesus delivers Mary Magdalene from the seven demons [Music] hi I didn't know my name I says the Lord who created you and he who formed you fear not for I have redeemed you I have called you by name [Music] you [Music] and during Nicodemus unsuccessful attempt at an exorcism I was immediately thrown back to William Friedkin's The Exorcist in which father marrying attempts to deliver the little girl played by Linda Blair from demonic possession I don't know about you but the Exorcist is probably the scariest movie I've ever seen or probably ever built I can't yeah I've seen images of it and I think I saw it like the first half on TV once I'm like I can't finish this film I think I think they did a wonderful job in the chosen of not well while I was in the makeup chair getting the Lilith's makeup on they did like extra veins and blood and everything it was it was dramatic Dallas came in and he was like just just a reminder like this isn't a horror film so we're not trying to scare anyone right nothing over-the-top nothing so theatrical so so when I went into that scene with Nicodemus it was it was more about being in so much pain and turmoil and I really try to focus on more physicalities of you know you have to do it so many times groveling around on the floor so I tried to just kind of hone in and focus on like repeating the same actions for each take so so editing you know work and just kind of focusing on sort of animal pain like deep deep pain instead of getting too caught up in what Hollywood has portrayed exorcisms and possession to be which is over-the-top scary and meant to horrify I think the chosen is not meant to horrify it is meant to show redemption did a good job well the interesting thing is is that when Jesus shows up and actually releases you from from the demons it's like he puts his hands on you and suddenly you're healed and it's so simple and yet it's so more much more effective than what you're describing with the violence and frankly I have to give you a lot of credit for portraying a a possessed person without using Linda Blair as a has a template just follow the script to lots of growling and kind of yelling and yeah I try not to think too much about about that and even you know the end of episode 1 of the successful exorcism I tried not to overthink that as well because you don't want to over dramatize something that like doesn't have to be like that chase a change of heart if someone is transformed and their fear and their shame and guilt and past is washed away in an instant that's all internal like you wouldn't see that you feel it him holding her at the end like that is a beautiful image of just like suddenly she's protected and loved and can feel loved and has lost all the pain she's been clinging on to and I think I think the powerful thing is people watching it now of seeing that and then experiencing that themselves of course it's not going to be big and dramatic you just it's internal you can't show that you you feel it that's a good point the the internalization is and I'm certain that as an as an actress it's harder to do that but it's it's much more effective when you when you do it that way um since we know that Mary Magdalene will be present at the crucifixion and the resurrection oops I just gave away the ending sorry no I didn't know that are you prepared to continue your role as Mary Magdalene if it's if this role is more than just an acting role it means a lot to me it means a lot to see the audience responses and how moved people have been and and them reaching out and like I'm on board with with it until the end I think the writing is special I think the whole production is special it is the project to that got me back into acting and and has renewed my my joy for acting so it's it's it would be too you know special to to ever not do you know yeah and I think they would be missing out on a good thing if if they ever let you walk away so let's let's hope this keeps going forgive me I always ask this question a lot of audiences mistakenly assume that because a particular actress appears in a Christian series or movie that the actress is in real life a Christian what assumption if any should an audience make when they see actors and actresses playing biblical characters or people of faith and conversely should a Christian actress play a bad person or an unsavory character on screen I'm asking you this because you play Mary Magdalene who comes to Redemption on screen but it's clear that she led rather in on the holy life off screen um your thoughts about that well I think with this specific character they do a good job of showing that she doesn't want to be living um an unholy life before she needs Jesus she is traumatized she was attacked she carries fear sorrow grief pain with her and those states keep leading her back to bad decisions like drinking like suicidal tendencies or thoughts or self-defeating and self-destructive behavior so I think I think it has shown a lot of forgiveness and mercy to her to this character which I think teaches us like people do bad things it doesn't make them bad people and usually people who self-destructive aren't aren't doing it because they're bad they're carrying pain and so I think it's important to release judgment or assumptions of why people do what they do because everyone's on their own journey and their own journey with finding the truth and that looks different for each person and and it takes some lesson in a book to learn it and it takes others an entire lifetime of mistake after mistake to learn it so we can't judge each other on our lives or behavior because you don't know where someone is in their journey toward finding the truth and so when it comes to actors playing particular roles one it's our job we chose this job and it does take a sort of sacrifice of living a practical sort of normal life to explore and portray a variety of lives a variety of characters and choices and behaviors usually you know if if someone's playing a character in a Christian project they must connect with it so you can probably assume that they feel something with that but the important thing I think is what the audience takes away from it how you connect how it affects you how it changes you how it brings you closer to your face and then the flip of that if the NAT if the Christian actor is playing a villain again the reason we act is to explore and understand the human condition and the human condition is not bright cheery joyful all of the time humanity is complex and buried and stories and storytelling requires going into the depths in order to find the light it requires go you know exploring pain and and fear and grief and you know bad behavior sometimes to show Redemption that Redemption and that love and that relief of all of those things means so much more after you go through through the pain and I think that's maybe why even the Lilith and Mary's story has resonated with a lot of people if life is just perfect for someone you know they can go along and and not really think much about the need to be saved so sometimes I think it's our our dark fears and and pain that actually lead us to love I need truth and and we're forced into seeing like what is important and it's it's taking care of each other it's loving each other it's forgiving each other's forgiving ourselves I was one way and how I am completely different the thing that happened in between with him and it's connecting with God in your own way not in a way that somebody tells you how to do it like it's important that we find our own journeys so when it comes to acting and that's that's each actors journey and when it comes to audiences you know it's it's important for you to take what you take from it that's that's you know the whole purpose is for viewers how how heartbreaking and how if I rarely ask follow-up questions but I must ask this Oh how heartbreaking and depressing is it for an actress to get a role to play a character that you're pretty sure you're gonna be embarrassed by later and it has nothing to do with you and you're torn between taking the job because you need to work and having to be selective about the the types of roles that you want to play in front of a camera I think you learn as you go especially for women there aren't that many good characters written especially 20s into 30s age range it's getting better I'm seeing that it's getting much much better but if you dream of being an actor and that's that's you know your passion there are limited opportunities sometimes and you know I think it is very easy to just to take opportunities because they're the only ones it's actually why I started getting a little bit more focused about filmmaking and directing and writing because I was getting very disappointed I was having to turn down a lot of auditions because I did I was I was tired of reading you know these scenes that were either really vapid or inappropriate or I just didn't want to adding that into the world and you know I I think it's kind of up if that is a problem for actresses I think it's important for us to be the ones that change that because no one's gonna do it for us we have to write our own stuff we have to write our own stories and the characters we want to play so the the bright side of that is it inspired me to start directing and writing but you know when you're young you just want to work and you get paid for you know a character or role that you wouldn't normally want to do but it's you know you got to pay the bills or you gotta you think that it's going to help your career you're advised to take it by by agents or you know there's all sorts of pressures for actors and actresses but it's it's up to us ultimately and that's what I've learned it's like you have to be willing to say no if you don't agree with something and it took me a little while to realize that even with like commercials sometimes like I've turned down some things that I don't agree with their policies and so I'm not going to represent them you know but I think it takes a little bit of age and experience in the charity too to figure that out and find out where you stand on certain things well you segwayed perfectly into my next question because now I want to talk about the Elizabeth Tabish on the other side of the camera and that's producer the writer and the director and for those of the viewers who don't know you're the co-founder of me net productions which is based in Austin which has produced a number of short films and a very wide range of genres one of the short films you produced and directed is called Mother's Day which garnered you a number of awards and best narrative short in Chicago Best Director Best Actress at the grapevine Film Festival Best Short at Lone Star Film Festival first we should make it clear that if you search for Mother's Day on on the internet and and want to look at it we should we should advise you that it contains some mature themes and it may not be appropriate for all viewers but having said that the movie does deal with issues that are as relevant today as they ever were can you talk to us a little bit about Mother's Day how did film come about and why was it so important for Elisabeth Tabish to be the director and the producer well it was written by Janet Travis Janet and I were in some acting classes together a couple years ago and she always mentioned her she her wanting to write a story about her childhood and how it affected her her life and over the years as I will write it I want to read it let's let's do this and so I one year two and a half I think years ago or two years ago I was on a roll and I just I started producing directing a number of short films and I was just doing one after the other exploring different female archetypes and empowering female characters and and all these different film genres and then she came to me sort of near the end of that and she said I think I've got a script for you and so she came to me with it and I read it and it was heartbreaking but also there was a really sweet redemptive quality to it it was trying to understand emotional abuse trying to understand where it came from why it happened and how to forgive it and move on from it and so we set it in a different time period just to sort of keep this distance from it being semi autobiographical it's not fully but it was inspired by behaviors from from her childhood and it you know it goes back a couple or the generation before to reveal generational abuse and how it's cyclical and how how it affects families for generations and how to end it and also like forgive it and and sort of start anew so there were seams in it that were really sweet to me and I also you know we shared the script with a number of people and then we made and we shared the film was the number of people and so many people kind of came forward saying this happened to me or this happened to my mom or this happened to a family member or you know people were really moved and we were surprised by how many people were directly affected by it so we realized this is this is an important story to tell to show how this happens more often than anybody realizes and that you're not alone if you're a victim of this that there are so many other people men and women alike who have been affected by it and and so it just it has become an audience favorite partly I think because of that and partly because it's in this very vintage Alfred Hitchcock sort of style so it's a little removed which I think makes this subject matter a little bit more palatable but we've been really proud of it and we've been we've been touched by the people that have have come forward about their own stories it the film sort of has a happy ending at least your your kind of hopeful that yeah thanks I think there's some forgiveness and and at least understanding in it and I think that's important to show why her mother was emotionally abusive to her that must have been like opening up a giant box of pain on the set for some people well Janet was incredible and in it and also just in in writing and I think it took a lot of courage to do that and to share her sort of vulnerable experiences and I think there was there was some something therapeutic about the whole thing and I think that's what film storytelling and art does for for people who have these stories that they hold - and and it can sometimes shape their lives in negative ways instead they they use it to share their their experiences and realize that they're not alone in it and also make something beautiful from it and I think that's why we're all really proud of that one it is a very good film and I do recommend it and having watched several of your films it appears that you enjoy playing with time Mother's Day takes place in the 1960s we samavaya takes place in the 1920s the darlings takes place in the 1980s now here you are playing a character in biblical times so period films are notoriously difficult to make and yet that seems to be your preference I love them I'm a nerd / I love it so much as a filmmaker I have a certain I don't know if it's just like the way my grandmother's decorated their homes or their outfits or whatever but I have like this nostalgia over mid-century everything I love picking out the Wardrobe and the props and finding the right location I love cinema from the sixties and seventies and there is a quality to the film there's a the film grain the Technicolor the really specific care in detail - every element because it was on film because it was expensive to shoot that I just I really love and appreciate and I like to sort of recreate and try my hand at trying to recreate some of that like the the darlings I did just so many post-production edits of trying to make it look like a VHS without it actually not being shot on on digital so it's just fun and even just like the quality of audio of changing it sound scratchy or something it's like an assignment you know it's it's like a challenge for me to see if I can I can do that but I also love playing as an actress in period pieces well the these little movies are like minor miracles because as I a period piece is really tough and yet every one of those films that I mentioned seemed really authentic so you you you really managed to to work a miracle their dedication it's clear that you enjoy it and that's the reason why I brought it up I thought this can't be a coincidence that she enjoys you know playing with time [Laughter] Dallas Jenkins the creator of The Chosen has always had a very clear idea of the stories that he wanted to tell in the way he wanted to tell them he hired you as an actress but he surely knew that you were also a writer and a director and a producer just like him any tension there was Elizabeth I wish the actress ever attempted to put on her writer or director hat during during the callback he mentioned we were chatting and he was like I see on your website that you your filmmaker and also that you're inspired by 60s and 70s European cinema and as I can he goes me too so I knew I was like if I was going to be cast I knew that like his style and directing style would would be fantastic because that's just the best era cinema so there was there was a an immediate trust there on set I think I think there was when one of the first days that I was shooting where I to take and they were requesting that I do something really specific to like shows a sign wound on my side and I kept forgetting to do it and my request I'm like can i watch playback it was sort of like I guess so like actors usually don't want to watch playback like I knew I was like as I need to think as a director right now I was like something technical and it helped me just sort of figure that out so I usually if I do that it's usually to sort of direct myself if I know that I'm not hitting a mark or not doing something right but Dallas piston is so intuitive and and nuanced you know he doesn't spend a lot of time like over explaining anything he'll just say like one simple thing and it'll kind of get me on the track that Becky envisions for the scene so I trust him I whatever he says well you know it's it's easy to especially have to seem like the final product it's easy to just put my director mind aside when we're filming well the directors don't normally let the the actors see the plate yeah I'm surprised that he made that concession to use and we've all heard the horror stories about Barbara the great Barbara Streisand who would be the actress in the movie but she was constantly telling the director what to do and so either the director would quit or she'd get him fired you got my you're hired who ever get to be the biggest Barbra Streisand yeah I mean in addition to everything we've already talked about you are also the co-founder of the Austin art house film festival which is now in its third season yeah thank you it is the mission of the festival to spotlight work from filmmakers across the world who defy conventions champion art and challenge audience expect that's how pretty tall order interesting and amusing that you name the various prizes after noted filmmakers like Stanley Kubrick and Maya Deren this is really going to be an inside reference but meshes of the afternoon was one of the movies that I grew up on when I was in in film school and people I've never seen it won't get the reference but yeah and also one of my favorites Dario Argento can you can you tell us a little bit about the Austin arthouse film festival why is this Film Festival different from any of the other festivals not only in Texas but across the country yeah so most boom festivals that I've gone to I you know the the shorts that they select are all I don't want to say standard because it sounds negative but just you know sort of straightforward filmmaking and storytelling but you know my undergrad was in film studies that I watched a lot of experimental and analyzed types of experimental films and genres and surrealism absurdism there were so many wonderful classes that I there was just a plethora of filmmaking styles that I just had not seen in a while there is still art house cinema in the world Hollywood still produces I mean 8:24 just quite a bit of art house cinema but I was just wanting to see independent filmmakers do that so I wasn't sure where to find that where to watch that and so my friend and I just sell marine who knows we were talking about what we were wanting to see in Austin and what we felt was sort of missing from the film scene and from the festival scene there are really experimental artists theater musicians but like we just felt like where is the experimental film so we tested about one year just to see what the response was going to be we opened it up on film free way to filmmakers across the world and we were so amazed like what came back to us so I think the first year was like about 200 submissions they were all short films all over the world some of the most artistic visionary beautiful films that just blew us away so really we were excited to share them at the af-s cinema which is our house and mother Richard Linklater created in Austin and the turnout was great people loved it our audience was really responsive so last year we did again and we were like well maybe that's all that's been made of our house it was like we we had even more submissions and so we're realizing there are these incredible artists who are masters of their craft of their cinematography of storytelling that are really unique in their filmmaking styles because I think you know not knock anything but the things we watch are pretty formulaic you have a certain type of story it's the hero's journey even in TV there's like a way a set way to tell a story to keep people's interest and so these were just refreshing to be like well this is just a three-minute sure that meditates on on an emotion or a vibe or you know there it's made not to sell it's made not to make money it's maybe because this filmmaker was so connected to it they needed to share it so we've been we've been so impressed with everyone's work and we're slated for January 2021 for our year three and we're accepting submissions now on some freeway / Austin our house Film Festival and then because of the quarantine we've decided to do a film quarantine 48 hour film contest last weekend weekend of April so I think April 24 through 26 we're opening it up to everyone anyone who's not a filmmaker wants to be a filmmaker already a filmmaker to make an arthouse short in 48 hours according to the prompt that we're gonna share on the 26th and then we've got got to cash prizes $250 for the jury award which we'll choose and then $100 for the audience favorite so we'll be able to share those the end of April we're excited to see what people can make in their homes in 48 hours well under normal circumstances yours truly would be interested in that but at my age I need more than 48 hours together I understand again I don't normally ask follow-up questions but you did say something that really made me think here I know the difference but the audience may not know the difference between an arthouse movie and what they see when they go to the Cineplex you sorta answered the question but can you elaborate on that or art cusses it's a big umbrella but it's it's film that is created not for profit not for not to sell tickets not to appease an audience it's usually a piece of film that's a little bit more challenging it makes you think it's usually typically has some social commentary to it but almost always in some form experimental in either its writing style or its cinematography or its acting it's meant to you know show that there's all these different genres and different types of stories to tell you know I think I think even just like you know using like surrealism or absurdism that might help you understand what what art house is I'd say like Stanley Kubrick David Lynch those are types of art houses homes that are a little challenging sometimes you walk away saying what did I just see why did I just see that or what does it all mean and and they're really meant to sort of like you know create conversation I was thinking more of Louis Bunn well and Salvador Dali the area of which not only shocking in its time I think it's still in common it's done and it is a social commentary if you will the layer of it you you will see that there was that going on so he's made some films that I still can't figure out but anyway that's what makes movies not everything has to be spider me that's the point that's the main point yeah so okay now we're at the point of this show where we answer fan questions yeah yeah and this is where the audience gets a chance to stop Elizabeth Tabish so the first fan question is what was your biggest takeaway from season one filming did you make new friends a new take on life did the experience change your world perspective oh it changed a lot I feel like I have had so mary but like life before the chosen in life after the chosen being on set was I mean I've never been on set for that long playing something that that people respond to about well so just the entire experience of being there and and talking to investors or fans or meeting at actors that come in for the day and them like already knowing the characters and already knowing me it was was surreal and so it all felt a little bit like a dream especially this last summer when you know the first four were already yeah and so we were filming the last four of season one its I've made so many wonderful friends all the disciples or they're just the sweetest guys and yeah it was it challenged me in ways that I didn't expect there were a lot of scenes especially in the first two episodes that I was nervous about doing and I wasn't sure if I could do them or pull them off or I was just you know doubting myself the entire time it's given me a sort of confidence that I've never had before that if I go into a scene because my heart open it'll it'll take care of it stuff I don't have to over plan or over do anything it's changed my method of acting dramatically and so that's that's been like a whole new mindset of just kind of giving control of my acting and just having more face in the scene and in the project and I can even see like certain scenes as I watch back I'm like oh no I was controlling that like I see it and I know now and my favorite scenes are when I don't know what I'm doing and I'm scared and it worked for whatever reason it works so it's it's changed my whole mentality about about acting and really the face that comes from from acting I know that's kind of strange but but the faith required for for doing these things and it's it's just also been beautiful to see people responding that's been incredible especially during lower maybe sadder moments of my life I see these people that reach out and tell me their stories and and how they were affected by the chosen and it just it connects it connects me to people I never would have known existed and and there are sweet stories in their hearts and it's become a community that I'm grateful to be a part of now you've already kind of answered this question already but only because you're a writer and I'm a writer we always hope that the actors are going to treat the script like the gospel and not you not you're a director so at least you know you have the luxury of being able to make sure that you stick to the writers script but a fan wants to know how much improvisation is in the performance and do you were the writers willing to to make adjustments to suit the actors or does that just not happen I don't remember any particular scene or line that that was improvised I think I tried to stick with the lines unless something feels weird saying like maybe switching a word or two I think that the goal for writers and directors in any sort of project it's just to make it as believable and realistic and natural sounding as possible so I never felt any sort of like resistance if something need to be changed but I don't think anything did I don't really remember as far as improvising anything the the main thing that I had no idea what to do was the failed exorcism scene with Nicodemus into script it was just like Louis groans practice well you're speaking as someone who's never before been demonically possessed so it wasn't like you could actually during the rehearsal I warned Erik I was like I'm gonna be at five percent like this is not what I'm going to do which I was giving him absolutely nothing to work with but I just I was scared and I didn't know I didn't know what to do and I didn't know what I was going to do I didn't even know how to curse for that at home like I you know but the day of it was just you just do it you just you know don't think about it and just all action no thought something like that I might add on that because this is a series about biblical characters I guess there's a certain you have to approach the characters with a certain level of reverence and maybe you've never had to do that before in your acting career or or have you um not like this no I was pleased with the way they wrote it where it's not so reverent that it's inhuman that it's like not relatable so I ever felt like it was a block to anything but there is there is naturally a reverence to it you want to protect it you want to honor it you want to do it right not just for the show or for the fans but for Mary you know for for this historical person so it's it's a delicate balance you don't want to be so precious with it where it becomes like this removed thing but I think the writing is there where it's it's human enough to not be too worried about them a fan wants to know and you may not have an answer this maybe you do it does Elizabeth Tabish have a particular favorite verse life verse from from Scripture have a few the verses and I'm you know I haven't studied the the Bible the way that you know a lot of people have I connect to Christ's teachings and there are a number that that speaks me the big one is loved one another as I have loved to you that's always this thing that I go back to and we all have to go back to like that's the main one when in doubt I know that you know in Oklahoma there was a lot of discussions about the Bible and arguments about the Bible and using the Bible to win arguments or using it to prove people wrong or you know it was sort of used in this way that that was sort of aggressive and I just remember always going back to like first things first like one love one another and then we can you know discuss the specifics of what Christ men but I think it's also important that you find your own connection with Christ's words and what they mean to you instead of someone telling you what they are going straight to the Bible and and what he taught and what it means to you and how you can apply it to your life is I think the most important thing that judge not lest you be judged is a big one and I always find that the most judgmental people are usually judging things in themselves that they're projecting onto others so it's just a revelation of like what there may be upset in themselves you know about so I think it's important to release judgment of others it's none of your business what other people you know where they are in their path the whole point is to love them and forgive them and grow together and I I especially love the kingdom of heaven is within and I think that is a really it's a really sweet message think it is connected to love in another I think the kingdom of heaven with is within the idea that that we can have love and and peace now and it's up to us to propagate that it's up to us to share that it's up to us to share our love and that can change you know our lives other people's lives that changes the world and I think there are so many interpretations of all these things but for me those those three are these sort of guiding points of when I'm a little lost or confused or hurt or something going back to those of you know release judgment of others love each other and know that like your there there is love inside and God is with you always even in in dark places always you know I think those are those are three things that Mary Magdalene herself might have agreed with so that was it I can exit there so an answer you sort of touched on this already but a fan wants to know other than acting have you done any singing or anything else in the performing arts I know you've been big in theater but is there a singing and dancing I say in the musicals in college and high school but I am NOT a singer I think Darien soon but my voice is not not a pretty one I took from tap and jazz in college as well but I haven't continued with this so it's mostly just your brother is his name showed up as a composer on at least one of your and member yeah he's got all of the musical talent in the family he's got he's very talented he plays piano guitar he writes other songs and sings as well so he can do that take the rings it's nice to see that the gifts were so evenly divided I tried I tried playing bass once and just don't my fingers hurt you also sort of answered this before but when you do take after take after take to get a scene just right how are you affected by the scenes when you when you finally see the finished product do you is there a sense of oh I wish I could have done better or jeez I really nailed that one oh it's mixed it's pretty mixed it just depends on the scene there were a lot of moments in episode episodes wanting to well actually no it was it was all very mixed there it was like one scene where I'm like yes that was I'm so happy with that and I'm glad they took use that take or you know they edited together maybe the best little moments and like it works but I am a harsh critic of myself so typically I'm like oh I wish I did that different I wish I did that better I wish I didn't make that face so I'm usually pretty harsh but there were a number of times with the chosen this is one of the first times where I've been like happy with the final edit of my performance but I think that speaks a lot to the editors and the final you know production and post-production I think they do a really good job with pacing and timing and their edits are fantastic it's like letting you live in a little bit of the world before moving on that last scene in Episode one I was very nervous about I didn't feel good about my performance and then seeing the Edit I was like okay they they took care of that they made that like really you know resonate well so whatever I feel like I'm lacking bad it or gloom fix a very generous of you to say that because you of all people should are aware that film is a very collaborative art yeah he has to bring something to the party it's not all about you it's about the the greater the greater good hold them yeah it's a good team so we're going to wrap things up here and so you you have the the full attention of the fans now I can only tell you that you are one of the most popular of the characters in the show so I know people are going to will have enjoyed hearing from you is there anything that you you want to say to them now that you've captured them it captured me so much I mean they thank you for your support you it's been said a number of times by Dallas and a number of the cast that whatever you think we've given to you you guys have also given to us this is a symbiotic relationship of us sharing these performances with you and you sharing how they affected you with us and it's just been so meaningful and so beautiful to see that most projects you-you-you do and then there maybe go to it like a festival or two or they're on TV and forget about it but this has just been beautiful to see it like blossom into what feels like a movement people being connected to these stories and moved by them and and the fact that you guys are just sharing with us now how it's affected you it's just it's really special it's really different I've never expected to feel something like this or experienced something like this before so thank you for that and then also I've just you know the quarantine situation is is strange and we have to believe that it's going to end someday but during this time what I have found really wonderful is that this this might be giving us some space and time to figure out what's important to us and to use this sort of empty space and sense of the unknown to fill it with our gifts and your gifts and our love and I think this is a good time to explore your stories and your hearts and share you know see it try out new new things that you you never thought you would or could do try different artistic pursuits and the world can look a little ugly sometimes I think if you have a sort of kindness and love in your heart that I see from your responses I think it's important to share that with the world and to keep making it a beautiful place and I think it's it's up to people like you guys to continue to make it a beautiful place that post quarantine will be better than pre quarantine well thank you for saying that but I also might add that one can only binge watch spider-man movies sir so yes it's nice to watch something that is uplifting and I think you you're really nailed it there Elizabeth thank you so much for taking the time out of your really busy schedule to to talk to us and thank you for for all your great work thank you for having me this is really fun speaking thank you guys for watching and supporting the chosen and we're out [Music] hey it's Dallas and the creator of the chosen and yes Season one of the chosen is complete all eight episodes they're available right now you can look up the chosen in the App Store or Google Play and we're easy to find you can download it and be watching within minutes and in fact it's unprecedented technology you can connect to almost any device you have directly and you don't even need a subscription so I hope you check out season one of the chosen right now and it looks like we are recording I normally count myself in like a musician so that no one knows when to pick up so that's what I do and this is where the audience gets a chance to stop Elizabeth Tabish and if they are if they succeed then they can win a lazy boy recliner no no no lazy boy recliner no no no um thank you so much this made you an honor for me as you may have noticed I only have a face that's perfect for the radio but I wish I was sort of arm twisted into doing this but you know I got this is the third one I've done so far and all of them have been a blessing because I've gotten to meet people from all different perspectives and you are so complex I mean you really embarked the the whole filmmaking art experience yeah I like all sides of it I I just get bored easily that's the that's the big thing well I know there are some people in my world who would look at the Andalusian dog or measures of the Afghan what does this got to do with anything but you know one can't be too judgmental about these things yes everything is not for everybody right all right one of the more frustrating things about this side of the business is that people do have a tendency to be very judgmental about things and they like to put things into boxes here but you know point of art and film especially is to understand the human condition and sometimes that looks really ugly or really confusing but I I still think that it's a way to process the human condition and in so doing you know I think it it helps us evolve and grow and heal and understand others other's flights you know have sympathy for other people's lives even if it doesn't look pretty you know the fascinating thing about you is that this is filmmaking in general has been very therapeutic not much for me well if it's done it's probably aged me but that's a whole other that's all it is interesting to see that you've been able to work through some very dark periods in your life and and this is filmmakers really helped you it has filmmaking and acting him both just kept me trucking along helped me process you know what it is to be human as Woody Allen once said that his biggest thing about being a director and an actor was sometimes he he wanted to give himself too many close-ups knowing him it probably was a joke but so hey we're Facebook friends now we're in each other's lives and I don't want to lose track of you so I I sincerely wish you the best of luck I to see the next season of the chosen I'm also excited about the the Austin Film Festival and I'm serious I wish I had something I could send you but we're all in this weird frame of mind right now that if we were gonna make films in our home you don't I don't think you would want to know what would come from me it's well you're invited to try anyway well you know I'll I'll submit a film to you but I'll submit it under an alias I'll submit it okay ya rabbi Ellis hurt scarred and then you'll have no idea that that's actually me but no really Thank You Liz for being such a I've enjoyed watching you tremendously and I'm gonna binge-watch every single movie of yours and I know I'm gonna love them all so thank you so much I appreciate it thank you let's let's let's keep in touch okay thank you

Channel: Against the Tide Media

Views: 14,244

Rating: 4.9569893 out of 5

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Id: e4bQLYRl0Gg

Length: 73min 12sec (4392 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 15 2020