Elle Jae is a multi-hyphenated artist, known as more than an actress, but a “creator and performance maker.” She’s behind the successful one-woman stage-play JUNIOR which sprouted the equally celebrated screenplay. Elle Jae’s accolades include winning multiple Best Actress Awards at the Deep in the Heart Film Festival, Bronze Lens Film Festival, and International Black Film Festival Nashville. JUNIOR was nominated for Best Short Film, Best Narrative Short, Best U.S. Short, Best Drama Short and Best Cinematography, winning 2nd Best International Short Film in India, Best Editing, Honorable Mention and Juror’s Choice. We caught up to discuss her upcoming drama series ‘Public Relations’ and Love in the City of Angels an original all-female Web-Series based on real-life experiences.
Hi Elle, thank you for granting the interview. Congratulations on your career to date. How did you get into acting?
I always credit my mother for introducing me to the world of acting! She is a lover of old black-and-white films, and one night at the tender age of eight, my mother slipped in a VHS tape of Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte starring Bette Davis. I didn’t know what Bette Davis was doing, but I remember saying, I want to do ‘that thing’, I want to do what she is doing! From there my interest peaked, however, I did not join Drama Club until my sophomore year in high school. Before Drama Club, I was an athlete, and during an annual physical I was informed the base of my spine was slightly curved and could potentially worsen, leading to the official diagnosis of scoliosis. After much consideration, I decided to leave the track team and needed an extracurricular activity to fulfill my evenings. Naturally, my first love of extreme curiosity took shape leading me to join drama and I never left—I earned a BA in Theatre Arts from Alabama State University and an MFA in Acting from Penn State University.
You created a successful one-woman stage-play, JUNIOR, which spawned into an award-winning screenplay. Please share the synopsis with our readers?
JUNIOR is about a mother’s journey toward a new normal after her teenage son is murdered by an off-duty police officer. The story takes place on the morning of his funeral as she recounts loving memories while humanizing his existence as a smart, funny, good kid in which the media attempted to vilify. Stripping away the stigma that this cyclical violence only happens to families of a specific demographic, I purposefully wrote this family to have substantial financial means and careers deemed acceptable and essential to society. To prove the harsh reality that regardless of where you live, if your skin is brown—you are a target! The title of the story is a direct connection to our ancestors. When a man bores a son oftentimes he will affectionately lend the same name—I know women in my family who have done the same with their daughters. So titling the story JUNIOR was intentional—to clearly state that it is our children who are being slain!
How did you come to write JUNIOR and, secondly, did any of its numerous accolades come as a surprise?
JUNIOR was created as my thesis in grad school. At the top of my training in 2013, I was informed that one of my final projects would consist of a monograph—I had the option to either create an original project or select a piece of work I connected to, develop it, and perform. On August 9, 2014, Michael Brown was murdered with his body exposed, lying face down on the hot concrete for four hours, and as a mother, this cruel-primitive showcase of animalistic behavior struck a chord with me and ignited a voice to create. After months of in-depth research and reflections on my personal experience as a mother of a brown-skin girl, daughter of a black man, wife to a black man, and sister to a black man—the story of JUNIOR was created. From the success of its one-woman stage play, filmmaker Pearl Gluck approached me and stated it should be a short film. Her creative and talented eye as the Director and vision of capturing the story in one-long take to make it difficult for the audience to look away—is credited to her.
JUNIOR is my first original project, the first performative art I’d ever written so I was and am still honored and amazed at its recognition and accolades. I did not seek to make this story leave the 35-seat black box theatre in which it was first performed because I felt this was a very specific story-happening to a very specific group of people. But as a human-mother-artist I saw the universality of pain that any mother could feel if her child(ren) were brutally taken with no justice, however, I specifically wrote the story for theatrical value. With that, I am forever indebted to Pearl Gluck for seeing the value in its message to make it into a short film. This collaboration worked out so beautifully because we both have the same dream and hope; that this piece will help shift the narrative of those who have turned a blind eye to the consistent injustice and killings of unarmed black and brown men and women at the hands of the police! JUNIOR is available to stream on KweliTV.
You have multiple BEST ACTRESS Awards but which of your achievements are you most proud of and why?
Well, I am very very proud of the Best Actress awards for sure. It always feels amazing to be recognized for a talent I’ve worked so hard and long at, but to answer the question, the achievement I am very proud of is The 2017 Trailblazer Award presented by my undergraduate Alma Mater. This award means a lot because I’ve always credited the Alabama State Theatre department to the start of my training as an artist—not just an actress—but an artist! This recognition from my Alma Mater is the equivalence of receiving the much-needed words of affirmation from a loved one—so it sits high above the rest.
You’ve graced the stage in distinguished roles such as Phaedra (Title Role), Macbeth (Lady M.), Julius Caesar (Portia), and Birdbath (Velma) to name a few. What has been your most challenging and rewarding role to date?
The most challenging role was that of Phaedra. When I performed this very complex character set in the classical Greek era, I was young and did not have the magnitude of life experiences needed to deepen her with rich layers of versatility, vulnerability, and authenticity of a woman scorned by the faith of the Gods. I plan to reprise this role for film and adapt the language with modern understanding set in the beautiful country of Egypt.
My most rewarding role to date is that of Velma from Birdbath. This is a very challenging character to tackle-and I find it interesting that I was first introduced to Velma in undergrad (again young and green to life) yet had the opportunity to perform her again in grad school (now a grown woman with a child and husband) endowed with real-life experiences of abandonment and feelings of hopelessness. When I initially performed Velma in undergrad, although young and green, I connected with her immediately. This was the role in which my mentor at the time informed me that I was a BEing actress—a term, which means: Mortal existence in a complete and perfect state lacking no essential characteristics. The young-ness and greenness I speak of was my inability to grapple with my childhood in which I buried in hopes of re-birthing myself for the better. I connected to Velma because of her child-like state in which she resides and the innocence that was stolen by the cruelty of her mother. In grad school, I was more comfortable with the complexities of me-the uniqueness of my existence. So performing Velma at two different stages of my life was my most rewarding role to date. I also plan to adapt this story for film—it’s a story that should be told to show a convoluted relationship between a mother and daughter.
Upcoming projects include Love in the City of Angels, an original all-female Web-Series, and the award-winning Public Relations, an original drama series. Please tell us more about the projects and what we should expect.
Love in the City of Angels is a web-series currently in development about four girlfriends/sorority sisters and their relationships, which span over the course of twenty years. This series is based on my real-life experiences while attending an HBCU and the life-long bonds created. The packaging is complete—scripts and deck—once the world reopens and we secure producers and funding, we will be ready for production.
Public Relations the Series follows the story of Chelsea, a Celebrity Publicist, who is tested when her relation to the public is threatened. Learning of her husband’s infidelities spins this professional fixer into a web of damage control when her vendetta turns violent. The series will reveal the protagonist’s psyche; a woman who seems to have everything to lose yet cannot control her violent rage when wronged! In episode two, her tumultuous history as a victim of sexual abuse is revealed and unveils her tactics and need to “control the narrative” due to the way she was treated when her assault was reported. The proof-of-concept pilot is currently on the 2020-21 film festival circuit. The series Bible is complete and ready to go once the right studio comes along to produce the 10-part episodic.
Without giving to much away, Public Relations shows much potential. Congratulations on your well deserved BestTV Pilot nomination. The pilot episode was entertaining, thought-provoking, and left me intrigued to know what happens next. While the pilot episode makes sense of the publicist side of the lead character Chelsea’s persona, it doesn’t reconcile the other dimension of her personality. Creating a short pilot no doubt involves weaving in stories, engaging characters, plots, and scenarios that will keep an audience wanting more, such as further knowledge of the protagonist. What is your approach to character development, writing, and finding ways to keep an audience and critics enticed?
Thank you so much for your kind words about our pilot—we are very proud of the project and confident in the entirety of its potential. The “what if’s” in life inspire my writing. When I hear/witness/imagine a situation, I always start with the question that can have multiple answers, a question that allows the character to live authentically: What If?
I also pull language and inspiration from the women in my family. They are vulnerable, innocent, and truly the sweetest women you could ever meet. It is because of those qualities that make them so desirable, with that, if you cross them the wrong way, they will cut you quick! That essence, that core of purity is where every female character I write starts from and based on the circumstances her response will always have layers of trauma connected with its effect.
Your dream project is to produce an original docu-series based on the research of Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome by Dr. Joy DeGruy. How close are you to making this dream come true? I strongly believe in speaking things into existence, so thank you for asking about this project to further align my dreams and hopes with the universe. Hopefully, someone will read this and kindly connect me with Dr. DeGruy. I was introduced to her work in grad school during my research phase of writing JUNIOR. Her effortless expression on the black experience and its direct connections to the unhealed trauma we’ve experienced is a fascinating revelation. My team and I have a pitch ready to go—but out of respect I want to speak with her: gush over how much of an intellectual admirer I am of the research and thank her for the time, energy, and work toward this study. I strongly believe once this information is exposed to the masses, necessary healing will take shape.
So what’s next in the pipeline?
As COVID takes shape and threads itself into the current fabric of society, I am working diligently on staying as creative and mentally healthy as possible. Currently, I am writing my first feature film, HOUSE HUNT. The story is a horror-comedy about a family of four visiting an open house only to never leave. Once I complete the script I plan to shop it around to see if a studio bites.
Where can readers find out more about you and your projects?
My website is www.ellejaestewart.com
IG: ElleJaeStewart
Twitter: ElleJaeStewart
Images courtesy of Elle Jae Stewart
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