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Spotlight
Anessa Ramsey stars in the horror film The Signal, which played at this year's Sundance Film Festival. She takes a moment to share about her experience at UH and the film.
How did the School of Theatre & Dance prepare you for a career in entertainment?
No one is prepared for a career in entertainment! I would say that the friends I made while I was there have grown nearer and dearer to me as every day passes. And if not for them being there to listen to me freak out once in a while, I don't know what I would have done!
What's the biggest challenge you've faced in your career so far?
The lack of security. Not like I need a body guard sort of security, but not knowing where and when the next job is coming. For example, it's April now, and the next big thing I am working on doesn't shoot until August. I am still working the same jobs as I was before The Signal, and sometimes I feel like it never happened, you know? I have discussed this more than a few times with Signal costars. You just never know.
How did you get the role in The Signal?
Honestly? It was written for me. The Signal was something of a Cinderella story. We shot it for $50,000 in 12 days. True story. We weren't allowed to talk about it for a long time, but it's absolutely true. We were all friends, most of us had previously worked together, and making a feature horror film was something that was on the table for some time. Being that I live in Atlanta, the community here is growing faaaaast, but still relatively small. That said, we had a lot of resources at our fingertips. For example, we shot The Signal on an HD camera that cost something like $100,000. Most of the crew volunteered. Kraft services consisted of someone's family cooking for us. If I hadn't been cast, I would have been involved, nonetheless. I am really lucky that my friends thought I was talented enough to play the female lead. ...of course NONE of us thought it would turn into THIS. David Bruckner, one of the directors on the film, talked about submitting it to Sundance as an "offering to the gods". It only cost $1000 to submit a film, I think. We didn't know it would get in, then get bought for $2.3 million, and be in theaters all over the world!
How do you react when you heard the news?
I was cutting limes at the bar where I bartend here in Atlanta when I got the call. When our producer, Alex Montlagh, and another of the directors, Jacob Gentry, told me that we had gotten into Sundance, I immediately sliced my finger open.
What was the most important thing you learned at the University of Houston?
I didn't know what I wanted to do with myself before I came to U of H. I was a singer-dancer-choreographer-acrobat-gymnast-artist-piano player-actress. I happened upon the School of Theatre & Dance completely by chance. I just thought I'd take courses there until I decided on a major. I stumbled into an underrated, under exposed, talented and star-studded staff and department... and my jaw dropped. Probably to my parent's dismay at the time, I decided almost immediately that I was going to major in theater, minor in dance, and do it at U of H.
I was, however, surrounded by students who had been acting much longer than I had. So I took Acting 1 from both Carolyn and Dr. Berger. Same with Acting 2. And same with pretty much any course taught by more than one professor that may (or may not) be teaching a different method. Debbie Kinghorn taught me things about my speaking voice that none of my vocal coaches had ever expressed to me. Anne Ostrow at the Moores School taught me new things my singing voice could do. Brian Byrnes taught me things about my stature and my body that none of my dance instructors had ever touched upon in over a decade of dance training. I could go on, and on, and on. Instead, I will just state that I learned I was an actress. not that I wanted to be one, but that I was one. And I can't thank you enough!
What advice would you give to graduating Seniors?
I would give the same advice to burgeoning freshmen: You are in the right place. You are in a good place. Learn everything that you can from as many professors as you can, and keep those lessons in your backpack forever. They travel well.
What's up next for you?
I am playing an astronaut in a sort of futuristic space thriller...I am super excited!
