MARIE WILSON talks LADIES OF THE LAKE and the INDIE SERIES AWARDS

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Exciting times this year for Marie Wilson who has been nominated for Best Lead Actress for her role as “Morgan Firestone” in the Indie Series Awards for the Amazon Prime series, Ladies of the Lake: Return to Avalon. Daytime drama fans will remember Marie for her roles on Days of our Lives, As the World Turns, Port Charles and General Hospital. The 10th Annual Indie Series Awards will be presented on Wednesday, April 3rd, 2019. Ladies of the Lake (Season One) and Ladies of the Lake: Return to Avalon (Season Two) are both available for viewing at Amazon Prime.

OT: Congratulations for your Indie Series Awards nomination for Ladies of the Lake: Return to Avalon.

MW: Thank you! I’m so excited for me and for all the actresses in my category. There’s some good talent there; and I’m so proud of them.

OT: How did you get involved with this series?

MW: Ken Corday (producer of Days of our Lives) wrote the book. I was on Days when all of this was in the works. Word got around. I saw Michael and Barbara Caruso (producers of Ladies of the Lake) at a Soap Opera Digest party. We hit it off and just clicked. Michael told me about the project; and I thought it was a great idea. We took it from there; and it was smooth sailing. Perfect timing.

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OT: “Morgan” is a very different role from Days of our Lives‘ “Summer” or As the World Turns‘ “Meg”. How did you prepare for this part?

MW: “Morgan” was different. She was a little more challenging for me because she has her walls up. She is very protective and closed off. She was not me at all (laughs). I tend to be very overly friendly. So I had to find out why she was like that. We all have many sides to us; so it is tapping into that one side of ourselves and relating to it. I had to discover why she is the way she is so that she was more understandable and easier to play.

OT: Not only did the ladies of Ladies of the Lake have an edge to them…but they were all so glammed up!

MW: We had amazing hair and makeup people. I can only speak for me, but when I came in in the morning, they had their hands full! (laughs) I am a jeans and tee shirt girl so being transformed into this girly girl was a lot of fun. One of the reasons I love acting so much is playing all of these different roles and getting to dress up. Michael and Barbie [Caruso] have a great eye and taste for the visuals. The whole series, cinematography wise, is also incredible.

SEE THE TRAILER FOR LADIES OF THE LAKE: RETURN TO AVALON BELOW:

https://www.imdb.com/videoembed/vi1840363801

OT: What is different about shooting on a webseries as opposed to a televised show such as General Hospital?

MW: The experience is a little different because of the cameras. On daytime drama, you have the set ups with three cameras at all times so it is easier to get a scene in one take. With the web series, you usually have just one camera so you have to do more takes. But this gives you more time to play and to try different things which is the fun part. Also with a web series, you have more time with the shoot as opposed to daytime drama.

OT: The Indie Series Awards are on Wednesday, April 3rd. Will you be attending?

MW: Yes, I am going to be there. And my daughter is going to be trophy ambassador so she’s very excited.

OT: Do you have to put a reel together for the Indie Series Awards similar to the process of how you would submit to the Daytime Emmys?

MW; Yes, there’s a form you have to fill out as well as a reel. And then you leave it up to the judges and say, “Okay, I hope you like it!”

OT: As an actress, what do you think is the most important aspect of performance to put on a reel for submission?

MW: I’ve gotten better at putting scenes together for reels over the years. In the past, I would put a scene together from start to finish, but people don’t have that much time to be pulled in. So I’ve learned it is better to submit the scene with a strong beginning right from the start to keep them engaged. But everybody has their own definition of what goes into a strong scene.

MarieWilsonLOTL2AZ — Arianne Zucker, Marie Wilson and Jessica Morris in *Ladies of the Lake: Return to Avalon*

OT: What other projects are going on for you that you are at liberty to talk about?

MW: I’m auditioning a lot for pilots. To the Beat 2 will be coming out that we will be filming over the summer.

OT: The first To the Beat is currently showing on Netflix. I just watched it; and that movie was a lot of fun.

MW: Yes, it’s a feel-good family movie which has a strong message for everybody.

OT: For soap fans, To the Beat is special because we have you, Eric Martsolf (Brady, Days of our Lives), Martha Madison (Belle, Days of our Lives) and Lily Melgar (Janice, The Bay) in the cast.

MW: That’s the great thing about shooting films with people you know. You already have a connection there that is easy to work with. And the audience sees that.

MarieWilsonTTB — Marie Wilson and Lilly Melgar in *To the Beat*

OT: So you tweeted that you have a blog called Tomorrow is Monday — See at: https://www.tomorrowismonday.com/

MW: The blog started out strong, but I have been sidetracked doing some other stuff. My daughter is going off to college this year, so I have been a little Mommy distracted. But I will be back on track again soon. I am enjoying the blog. It is my way of learning how to write. Also, I am sharing my experiences with people; and hopefully people can relate to my perspective…a coming together as a family with everybody sharing their journeys together. Maybe we can also change perspective. Everybody has a perspective about Monday that is “Oh my God, it is awful!” But why can’t we change our perspective about Monday? Why can’t it be a fresh start that is exciting instead?

OT: What advice would you give someone who hopes to start a career in acting?

MW: Get involved in as many projects as you can that excite you and gets to your heart. If you are not passionate about something, it shows. There is so much theater happening in Los Angeles right now; and it is getting better and better every year. So get involved in theater; or be on set as an extra just to get a feel of how things work with the pace of shooting and what goes on. Branch out from there. One thing will lead to the next thing. And that’s not just for acting, but for everything.

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