"Airport Douchery" - (L-R): Alice Toohey, Sonora Chase, Jennifer Lee Weaver
In addition to creating her own work, Chase portrayed ‘Betty’ on ABC’s “Romantically Challenged,” worked with legendary director Martin Scorsese for a role on HBO’s “Boardwalk Empire,” and appeared on the NBC series “Chuck.” She was also seen earlier this year in Erin Greenwell’s 2012 Sundance Int’l Film Festival official selection “My Best Day,” which also won ‘Best Film’ at the Portland Women’s Film Fest. Chase is a graduate of the famed improv group Upright Citizens’ Brigade in New York and holds an M.F.A. in Acting from Brooklyn College.
I recently caught up with Sonora Chase to ask her about “Airport Douchery,” what made her want to create it and why she’s willing to share all the details in her blog.
HOLLY: Tell us a about your new web series "Airport Douchery".
SONORA: Airport Douchery is about all the jerks we meet in the airport - in one day. There are three episodes, all under two minutes, and we crammed as much jerky behavior as we could, with a side of revenge. Have you ever been the one people cut in front of over and over? Or when you get to your seat and someone has bogarted all the overhead bin space? Then you will love Airport Douchery - it's all about vindication!
HOLLY: Where did you find your inspiration for the project…was it from your own travel misery?
SONORA: I tweet my horror stories because they are shocking and then later, hilarious. But when people started re-telling my stories and I noted that I had a lot of them, I knew I had a series. The possibilities are endless, and I already had so much to work with. If you travel frequently then you know what I mean!
HOLLY: What made you want to venture into creating your own work?
SONORA: I got to NYC from L.A. and realized that only 13 out of the 213 TV shows filmed there. So I became inspired to learn to self produce because I am a creative person and that's how I think. I love what I do and I hope that other actors will join my parade - we have such great stories to tell. Also I saw that women's roles were often underwritten when written by men, because they are naturally writing from their own perspective and with their own experiences. I thought, stuff needs to be written by women; why not develop my own work? As creative people, it's just what we do.
HOLLY: What's been the biggest surprise during the project? What would you do different?
SONORA: The biggest surprise happened on set when I looked around and realized that we are an all-female crew. I hired people who specialized in comedy and as a sheer coincidence they are all women. We communicated so well together and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
HOLLY: You also write about your creative experiences in the blog "Actors Who Self-Produce".give us a little history about how you got started and why.
SONORA: I started writing "Actors Who Self-Produce" last January because, as Rosalyn C. Williams puts it, my skills became bigger than the opportunities available to me. More specifically, the internet is the new TV and I wanted my own channel. I find it appealing to use this mini TV to try out different characters and develop personas and future feature films and cable series.
That's my plan: cable TV and feature films.
HOLLLY: What's up next on your horizon? And, how can fans stay updated?
SONORA: My next series is Minerva Mingles, the misadventures of a cerebral, eccentric New Yorker who misapplies advice from her life coach and has to learn to think inside the box. It's the love child of Bridesmaids and Thirty Rock. So maybe I should change the title to Thirtyish Bridesmaids Rock.
Fans can always visit my website for updates:
www.SonoraChase.com
Thanks for chatting with me, Sonora!
And happy travels this holiday!
link to Watch “AIRPORT DOUCHERY” on YouTube beginning November 14th.
