We recently connected with Nora Kaye and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Nora thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.
I love all my daughters differently! Each project is a deep learning experience that then becomes a foundation of knowledge for the next. Building blocks… or as I’ve always preferred, Lincoln Logs.
However, one of (see what I did there?) the most meaningful projects I’ve made is The Cosmos Sisters, my first feature film that is almost ready to meet the world!
Whitney Uland and I, co-founders of Hysterical Women Films, originally envisioned making a film called Chickago in April 2020. Then the pandemic hit and, like so many people’s plans, Chickago had to be put on ice.
However, out of the embers of Chickago (I know I just said ice and now I’m saying embers, but go with me), Whitney and I dreamed up a new movie. A movie that we could make at that time in the world. A movie with the heart and humor we were so desperate for.
The Cosmos Sisters is meaningful to me because it feels really earnest. We shot it in my childhood home, with a fantastic, small cast and crew, in 10 days, using music made by my sister and Whitney’s husband. We were scrappy and problem-solved and learned on the job. It’s the project that really made me feel like I am a filmmaker. And I still love it, through the production, the edit, the color correction, and the sound mix. We made something I believe in and I cannot wait for it to meet the world soon.
Nora, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am a writer, filmmaker, performer, and co-founder of Hysterical Women Films, a production company dedicated to inclusion and representation, striving to produce film and television that is as complex, honest, weird, funny, dark, and intricate as the people behind them.
I got my start playing the titular role in a kindergarten play adaptation of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I continued to pursue acting through college and conservatory where I was always cast as the kooky old grandmother. However, some of the experiences that most shaped my creative sensibility were the self-produced shows I did with my college sketch comedy troupe No Offense and theater ensemble Woodshed.
After graduation, I took this work ethic and passion for creating independent work to New York where I started exploring more mediums, such as television and film. Since then I have co-created an award-winning pilot (Hysterical Women), a dark comedy about gender inequality in the workplace, developed content for Hooked Media, was a contributing writer on The Hating Game, starring Lucy Hale, workshopped my original play (Baby Goes Down), created comedic podcasts (Big Pasta Podcast) and written original pilots (Ruck & Bollocks).
My mission is to continue to make, and support work, that explores the messiness of friendship, humanity, and food…specifically pasta. We are all just entangled noodles looking for the sauce, aren’t we?
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
NOTHING. Turn back. If you can do anything else….
I’m kidding. There are so many rewarding parts of being creative: the people you get to collaborate with, the art you get to luxuriate in, seeing your point of view articulated in whatever medium you choose, etc. etc.
But I think the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is sharing the way you see the world with others and finding moments of universality. And you can feel it when it happens. Perhaps it is a laugh, or a sob, or someone continuing to think about that play or song or picture or scene or shot. Maybe it even made them feel inspired to make something of their own.
Those moments of connection are what it’s all about for me.
Have you ever had to pivot?
Life is full of pivots and divots. Especially in a creative life. And what I have been trying to do is embrace the pivots and also know that you always have the option to pivot back, if you want.
I came to New York absolutely sure that I was going to be a “capital A” Actor. However, when I wasn’t being brought in for roles I was really excited about, I went back to my foundation of self-produced work and started making web series. And that pivot to self-produced work has allowed me to make a lot of the work I am most proud of.
Or, during the pandemic, when most productions were halted, I dove into writing and developed my portfolio of original pilots and specs. Creating pieces that have allowed me to really hone my voice and point of view.
The pivots can be difficult because I’m a gal who loves a plan. But sometimes you have to pivot from the plan (I hope someone is playing a drinking game for how many times I’ve said pivot) because these PIVOTS often teach us to grow and stretch as creatives and people. Embrace the pivot I say!
Contact Info:
- Website: norakaye.com
- Instagram: @nokaye
- Twitter: @NoraLKaye
- Other: IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm9365718/
Image Credits
Rigel Harris Allison Houser Whitney Uland Jake Swain Jake Swain Tasos Katopodis Zach Bokhour & Whitney Uland Whitney Uland Lindsey Dresbach