I know it’s been a little while (my vacation in LA delayed things somewhat), but I’m back with yet another dynamic actress from Nick Belial‘s exciting, upcoming thriller film, To Avenge. This time, I am presenting the beautiful and vivacious Barbara Barry, who has been cast in the role of Jeanie, and I am exultant to highlight this proficient, young woman who fascinated me considerably in our recent interview.

RH: Barbara, welcome to the cast of To Avenge, and thank you for making the time to speak with me today.

BB: My pleasure. And thank you for reaching out, Ruth.

How did you get started in acting?

Shirley Temple, basically, to sum it up. I have blonde, curly hair, and when I was four years old, I started watching her movies, and I watched them all of the time. I begged my mom to put me into acting and dance, which she did. When I was six, I was in my first musical. So I’ve been doing it ever since then, and it is just a part of my life. It is who I am.

Since you’ve done so many stage productions, has it been through community theater or school or both?

Essentially, you name it, I’ve done it. I started off when I was little doing community theater. Then in late high school, I got into my first professional theater show. I was in the cast of Legally Blonde at a theater in Philadelphia. And it was then that I realized this was what I really wanted to do. I actually got a paycheck for this! Oh my gosh!

That is just so cool, Barbara! I am very familiar with that musical, and that’s a great way to begin. I love romcoms like Legally Blonde. I’m a huge fan of the Hallmark Channel, as is Nick.

Yes, I do know about his love of Hallmark. In fact, when I first emailed Nick about casting, he was watching a Hallmark movie, and he asked if I was in this movie. He was certain the lead actress was me, but I had to assure him that I wasn’t. I guess he thought I looked a lot like Megan Park.

Oh, yeah, I can kind of see the resemblance. So after high school, did you go to acting school?

My plan was to go to a four-year college and study musical theater. But the day before I was supposed to go, my mom said, “Barbara, I want you to try acting. Take a year off and see if anything comes up, and if it doesn’t, you can go back next year.” This was the day before I was going to move in, and my mother was telling me not to go to college! {laughs} She is definitely supportive. Plus, I wasn’t completely sold on going anyway, so I was very receptive to her suggestion. So I didn’t move in the next day, and I went online and applied to a bunch of theater things. One thing led to another, and someone who was kind of managing me at the time here in Philadelphia suggested that I go to study at Stella Adler. So that May, at the age of eighteen, I packed up my bags and moved to Los Angeles by myself.  I got my training at Stella Adler as was suggested, but I also studied at The Groundlings School, which is an imrov school. Stella Adler had more of the serious, dramatic stuff, and The Groundlings was my chance to do improv and comedy, which I also love. I felt like both schools together, though opposite, gave me a really good foundation.

So how long did you study in LA?

The actual course I was taking took a year and a half, but I was in LA total for about four years. I was doing so much theater while I was out there, which is funny because LA is such a film location. I really wanted to do film, and I knew I was good and could act. I had learned to be on film in school, but I hadn’t been auditioning for film. I got involved with a group of friends who had done a web series before, and together we created our own web series called Breakfast Conversations. This was in 2016, and I was producer, star, and co-writer. You can still find it on YouTube, and I like to call it a comic-strip style web series. The writing is very much like something you would see in the comics section of the Sunday paper.

So what brought you back to Philadelphia?

I was fortunate enough to book a tour of a musical that toured through New Zealand, of all places. Ironically, it was called America’s Hit Parade. That brought me out of LA, and when that ended, I didn’t have a lease to go back to in LA. All my stuff was in storage, so I was like, “Mom and Dad, can I move back with you to save some money before  I go back?” And that’s where I am now.

How did you get connected with To Avenge?

I went on Film.org which is a Philadelphia-based website that features local film projects. I saw the posting for To Avenge on there, and I absolutely loved the theme of the film. So I basically wrote a fan-girl email to Nick, “I love the theme of this movie! Can you please let me audition?”

What was the audition process like?

Well, the first thing we did is Nick called me and we talked on the phone for like three and a half hours. We talked about the parts available and the premise of the story. I really connected with the story. So he sent me the script and wanted me to read it because he wanted to make sure it was something I wanted to be a part of. I was actually at my family’s beach house in Cape May, New Jersey, which is ironically where one of the scenes of the film takes place. I ended up reading the script four times that weekend.  A few days after that, I met up with him to audition, and I read the sides for Jeanie. I read it a few times, and we talked for another three hours. And a few days later, he emailed me, saying he wanted me to join the cast.

So you mentioned how you really connected with the premise of the film. What was it that resonated with you about the story of To Avenge?

I would say just the way the justice system treats Vera and her situation. Lots of things stood out to me. The way the doctor doesn’t really care about what happened to her when he’s examining her. She’s just another number, another patient. The way the detective is trying to get information from her without caring about how this situation happened and what she is going through. Again, it’s just business for him, and he treats her as such. I get what Vera is going through. I’ve been in a somewhat similar situation where the man doesn’t really get what’s going on. They’re just trying to do their job and get the facts with no personal interest in what the woman involved is feeling. That is definitely my favorite part and the part I connected with the most.

It is rather unfortunate that things like that still happen in this day and age. You would have thought that we would have moved past all this with the current focus on the Me Too movement, but it still goes on and people get away with it.

I think that for far too long, women have stayed on the sidelines and have chosen not to say anything. I really think that the way to get this to stop happening is to do exactly what Nick is doing. It’s all about putting the word out there. I believe it is our duty as a society to make everyone who needs to hear it have the opportunity to hear it. You and I hear it, but we aren’t the ones who need to hear it. It’s “Joe Schmo” at home who needs to hear it because he’s just over there sitting on the couch, and he has no clue this is happening behind closed doors.

I agree with you completely. And the timing of To Avenge is absolutely ideal too. Even though Nick said he started working on this before the Me Too movement was out there, now that’s all everybody is talking about, and it is the message of the film is so timely.

Exactly. And now more people are going to pay attention to the message of the film because of the Me Too movement. I think it’s great!

In fact, even though the Me Too movement was in full swing when he first contacted me, there was no personal connection for me because I didn’t know anyone who was affected. Now, I know a few people who have been affected, and suddenly I view everything differently. I think it’s great that Nick is putting this film out there for people who don’t have a personal connection to the movement. Maybe this film can help people make a personal connection to the issue by getting the message of the film out there.

And I think it’s double cool that Nick is a man and he’s putting this story out there. I’m all about women in film, but when a guy gets on board and speaks so passionately about this issue even though he hasn’t had anything like this happen to him, it just means so much to see that he cares so much. He is willing to speak out about a “women’s” issue, and I think it’s good to see men like him getting on board.

I agree completely. Nick is really great about supporting women in film, and when you see guys like him getting involved with the movement, I tend to think that means real change is coming. So I’m assuming that you haven’t worked with anyone else in the cast.

You’re exactly right. I haven’t worked with any of them. But I have worked with the director of photography that Nick is bringing on board. He filmed me in my first film thing ever. It was a student project music video, and I was the lead music video girl. As a result of that project, we became friends, and although we lost touch, we still had a social media connection. Then I was talking to Nick, and when he told me Joe Staehly was going to be the director of photography, I was like, “Oh my gosh!” I am so excited to work with him again.

Are you familiar with the “bigger name” stars who are attached to the project?

Oh, definitely! Mostly, I am a huge fan of Trailer Park Boys with Bernard Robichaud. I’ve also been a fan of Lauren Francesca‘s YouTube videos. I thought about how I would love to get to know her, and now I get the opportunity to be with her on the same project and actually meet her.

What are you looking forward to the most with portraying your character?

I like Jeanie because she’s a lot like me. Nick calls her mouthy and nerdy, which I definitely have aspects of. {laughs} And I also like the position she plays in Vera’s life. Everyone needs that work best friend. If you go to a job and you don’t have that person at work that you can connect with, I don’t know how you survive. In that regard, I’m very excited because I know Vera needs someone like Jeanie that she can talk to at work and will tell her that everything is going to be okay. The hardest part is to act like everything is normal when everything is not normal.

Do you have anything else upcoming that you can mention?

No other acting things as of now, but hopefully in the near future. Although I am writing a few things. You cannot predict what’s gonna happen next in the acting world, so that’s why I made that web series a few years ago. I have written a feature film, and I have a TV series in the works. I’m just trying to make it a point to write. I do that so that even when I’m not physically tasked with something, I still am working on my craft every day. And that keeps me busy being creative even during those times when I’m experiencing a bit of a slow down.

One other thing I can mention is that I am a musician. I sing and play both the piano and the ukelele. I am working on making videos so I can post more on YouTube. I did happen to write my first song ever, and that is something very exciting for me.

So maybe you’ll end up with an album in the works.

That would be awesome!

Eventually, your plan is to go back out to LA, right?

Yes, that is the plan. But for now, I’m just getting myself ready to film To Avenge and to get to tell this tremendous story that Nick has written.

There is nothing like conversing with an exuberant, skilled woman like Barbara who brings all the energy associated with youth coupled with an innate work ethic and willingness to be a team player. In the world of indie film, those qualities are essential to ultimate artistic success, and it appears that Barbara is prepared to do whatever is required to help recount a story about which she is decidedly passionate. In addition to Barbara’s tenacious pursuits in the area of acting, she has also continued to foster her love of theater, music, and writing. As one who is not easily deterred nor predisposed to rest on her laurels, she is effecting change and opportunities within her own life as opposed to merely going with the flow. Thankfully, she is not the characteristically entitled youth that inordinately exists in society today, and it is her zest and verve that will continue to sustain her during the meager times and enable her to be perceived as more marketable when opportunity comes knocking at her door.

While we await the filming date and release of what is bound to be a noteworthy film endeavor, I would invite everyone to visit Barbara’s links below and consider following her where applicable. Additionally, don’t forget to check out the links to the film itself and support it to the best of your abilities. Independent film is something that requires stalwart promotion and unwavering patience, and all those involved rely on the generosity of the fans as well as the general public in order to get the word out. In the case of To Avenge, this is a story that demands to be told on so many levels, and as the captivating, effervescent Barbara adds her giftedness to the incredible pool of talent involved, I persist in being impressed and grateful for the leadership of Nick as well as the loyalty of the entire cast and crew to such a felicitous project.

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