Acclaimed actress Meredith Thomas opened up about her “Slow Food” comedy, “Save the Wedding,” future projects, and submissions for the Emmy Awards this year.
“Last year, through a charity I created called FYC Independents I was able to provide a platform that helped lead to eight Daytime Emmy nominations and one win,” Thomas said.
“I am very excited to be in consideration personally for the first time in daytime this year,” she said. “I am particularly proud of my role as the mayor in the children’s program ‘Toby Goes to Camp’ as it was originally written to be played by a man. With kids and teenagers engaging in media more than seven hours a day, children’s entertainment has a power like no other to influence young people’s perceptions of the world and what is possible. As the expression goes, ‘If she sees it, she can be it,’ whether it be a mayor of a fictional town or Vice President of the United States. W.C. Fields famously said, ‘Never work with children or animals.’ I clearly don’t follow that advice as both of my roles in performance consideration are filled with them.”
Thomas continued, “The ‘Toby’ that goes to camp is a real white lion cub and then there are the real rats from the program ‘Jackie & the Rats.’ ‘$TACK$’, in consideration for Outstanding Daytime Fiction Program has neither animals nor children but marks one of the few times I am producing something and not also acting in it. Producing is a whole other animal especially on this one. ‘$TACK$’ wrapped just 46 hours before California went into pandemic lockdown last year.”
“The writer and director Gerald Webb and I have been working together in various capacities in this business for over 10 years. We started out as actors with the same agent and now a dozen projects later, I am proud to be one of the producers for his directorial debut. Gerald is being considered for outstanding directing and writing and our editor, Jeff for Murphy is in consideration as well. Three of our performers are also in consideration, Mark Christopher Lawrence (“Chuck”, “The Pursuit of Happyness”), Daytime Emmy winner Diahnna Nicole Baxter, and Calvin C. Winbush (The Electric Company),” she elaborated.
On her future projects, she said, “I have a couple of television movies coming out soon. I can’t tell you too much as both of them still have working titles. I can tell you that I play a midwife in one and a mother-in-law from hell in another. Both are directed by the fabulous John Murlowski and cast by the equally fabulous Paul Ruddy who also cast me in ‘Toby Goes to Camp’.”
She opened up about the Hallmark movie “Save the Wedding.” “I was in the middle of the Lifetime movie ‘Dangerous Medicine’ in March 2020 when we stopped shooting because of the pandemic,” she said. “Once our industry determined it was safe for the production of movies to shoot again, I started shooting Hallmark Movies Now’s ‘Save the Wedding.’ It completed before I even went back to finish ‘Dangerous Medicine.’ It was a welcome relief getting to shoot a sweet romantic comedy as a break from the drama most of my Lifetime Mom’s face and the drama the world was facing at that time. It was also lovely working with the trailblazing holiday movie director, Jake Helgren for the first time.”
Thomas had great words about working with actor Travis Burns. “Working with Travis Burns is always fun. He keeps things professional, but light on set even when he’s playing darker roles. He also has a great range as an actor. He went from playing the bad boy tying me up and stalking my daughter in ‘The Wrong Boy Next Door’ to a sweet boy-next-door type who helps my daughter tie the knot in ‘Save the Wedding’,” she said.
“’Slow Food’ was by far one of the most challenging experiences I have had as an actress,” she admitted. “Imagine creating a project where you don’t ever get to physically meet your director and co-stars. All of my acting was done alone at my dining room table in front of a green screen while communicating with the cast and crew via Zoom. Thank goodness we had a wonderful director, Myra Mazar, and an amazing crew who made it look much easier than it actually was. My respect for those working behind the scenes has been intensified after having to worry about lighting, camera, sound, hair/make-up, wardrobe, props, craft service, continuity, and know my lines and act at the same time.”
On the greatest lesson that acting has ever taught her, she said, “There is an improv game called ‘Yes, and…’ where players must start every sentence with ‘Yes, and…’. It trains the actor to avoid rejecting other actors’ ideas and find a way to go with the flow. I used to use this concept when I did stand-up comedy as well. I would imagine the whole set as a game of ‘Yes, and..’ with the audience. Soon, I started to imagine life as just a big game of ‘Yes, and…’. In life like the game, just because we say ‘yes’ doesn’t always make things positive or produce the outcome we wanted or expected. It acknowledges ‘what is,’ keeps me present, and builds from there which keeps me going with the flow.”
“Lifetime, Hallmark, and holiday movie fans are the best,” Thomas concluded. “I really appreciate their enthusiasm for these genres. I love connecting by Tweeting along with them when a new movie comes out. It seems like the fans have just as much fun watching them as we had making them and I love that. I am also grateful for the support of my FYC Independents charity and Primetime Emmy campaigns over the last few years. Their excitement and encouragement are felt and truly appreciated. Of course, some of my favorite fans are the people in this business who I call my ‘repeat customers.’ Like many of the professionals mentioned in this article, my career would not exist had they not enjoyed working with me and continue to invite me back to be a part of their projects!”
To learn more about Meredith Thomas, follow her on Instagram and Twitter.
