Dani Pagliarello is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, and director based in Toronto. She is the first woman recorded to play the titular character of Bertolt Brecht’s “The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui”, a role that landed her a My Theatre Award – Best Actress Nomination. Her film and TV work include roles in The Handmaid’s Tale, appearing alongside Elisabeth Moss, and Mrs. America with Cate Blanchett. Since establishing her own production company, Food n Money Productions in 2016 and she produced the web series “Food n Money” and most recently, “Shitty Roommate”. We had the opportunity to speak to her about her latest project.
Hi, Dani Thank you for granting the interview. Congratulations on the making of series. Please tell us more about the plot and what we should expect.
Shitty Roommate is about a rage-aholic who finds a roommate, and maybe, her first friend ever. The series evokes the gritty, woke, and “nasty-woman” hilariousness Broad City audiences have enjoyed. Expect physical comedy and censored body parts.
You created and star in the series. How did this project start?
It started with the character. It was perfect to set the show in Toronto with its ridiculous rental market which inevitably leads you to have roommates well into your ‘adulting’ years. Please God: may they flush, and not do too much cocaine at 7 am.
You’re the first woman recorded to play the titular character of Bertolt Brecht’s “The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui”- a role that landed you a My Theatre Award – Best Actress Nomination. Please share your experience being nominated and how it’s impacted on your career?
Playing Arturo Ui with an amazing cast changed me forever- the nomination didn’t change a thing.
Please tell us about your company Food n Money Productions and the type of projects we should expect in the future?
The comedies I write are very much character-driven. I’m very into writing series. There’s a gap in the market for women leading sets. Thanks to inspiring women like Lucia Aniello (Broad City) and Katja Blichfeld (High Maintenance) we’re finally reaching a critical mass in filling the void. By producing and financing my own work, I have been able to experiment and find my voice as a creator and show-runner. It’s also been an advantage in building a creative team, ie. having half of our set days with an all-female crew. It takes an extra few emails to find that woman who’s a sound recordist, a colorist… I’ll uphold that standard with all of my future productions.
Do you have anything else in the pipeline we can look forward to?
Yes! I’m very excited about my next show EVIL HAGS which is about three typical 20-somethings living in the big city. Give or take a century or three. Oh, and they’re Witches. The second show in development is TEEN EARTH. It’s premised on a group of teenagers who are stranded on a dying earth, having to think of ways save it, whilst battling teen problems like puberty and self-identity.
So where can we keep up to date with your activities?
Follow me @danipagpag & the series @shittyroommateseries on Instagram! SUBSCRIBE to www.youtube.com/DaniPagliarello to watch my two series (Food n’ Money & Shitty Roommate), and sketches I make with friends + comics.
Photography- Zachary Duchin (Main image) and Andrew Johnson
About Author
