Classic Couple Academy

Short film Tea stars Michael Gandolfini as Nicholaus Steep a lonely Circuit-Shack employee who gets stung in the throat by a hornet while rehearsing to ask the girl of his dreams out on a date. Anaphylactic shock ensues and soon boy and dream girl are thrust together in a meeting no one could have planned. Olivia Nikkanen, Matt Van Orden and Zina Louhaichy also feature in the cast of this homage to a summer of youth in the 1990s.

Tea is showing on opening night of the 20th Annual HollyShorts Film Festival. See the HollyShorts schedule for details.

In advance of HollyShorts, we chatted with Tea writer and director Blake Rice about this charming film. Our interview follows.

F1: Tea is based on a monologue written and performed by Isaac Lee. How did you discover this piece?

Honestly, I just came across it on the web. It was just a really artfully done monologue about a guy asking out a girl who gets stung by a bee. I thought it touched on a lot of vulnerability and a lot of bravery.

I think specifically in shorts, you need those immediate targets for what you’re going through creatively. And if something gives you an idea that is the start of that web of additional thoughts for themes, for motivation, for additional characters, it’s worth pursuing. I saw this monologue and I could see the potential to be a very specific story and see a world building out of it.

Those themes of not only vulnerability and connection, but bravery in a specific sense, are fun to tap into. We all put on a brave face every day. You can be the quarterback of the team, or you can be the lowest on the social totem pole—both are putting on a brave face. It’s fun to unpack that and dive into it, and it spurred the whole idea for Tea.

F2: With that monologue as a jumping off point, why was it important to set the film in 1998 to tell your story?

As a filmmaker, I’m trying to grow and I’m trying to get better. When I was first starting out, I was always going big, trying to make a murder mystery, or a horror film or stuff I didn’t really have any command of what I was talking about. As I want to get stronger, I look at what’s personal. What do I know?

I’m from New Jersey. So back-of-house, New Jersey summer, where everyone’s pursuing bigger and better things in life—I know that world. I can go scout in that location and then I can develop off that. I think we all know those strip mall chain stores. It’s not glamorous, and the cast of characters that are in those spaces, especially when you’re growing up, you’re working with people from all different walks of life, and you’re kind of thrown into the mix of that. I just felt like it was relatable. I love the nostalgia in it.

It’s the 90s and our Circuit-Shack guy is desperate for connection and finding someone else he can be himself in front of and that world is daunting. After high school, being a guy not being able to talk to girls or anyone being so low socially, there’s something admirable, brave and interesting in what he’s doing.

With Tea, I like the viewer to ask: is this a comedy? Is this a drama? Is there someone tied up on the other side of this camera? What is happening? If you don’t put the audience in a place where they’re comfortable off the jump, you then have them in a dynamic shape. And then you can throw them into a little comedy. You can put them into a little romance; you can put them into a little thriller.  It’s fun to mold the story.

F3: How did Michael Gandolfini and Olivia Nikkanen come to the project? What was your directorial approach to working with them?

I met Michael first. Our producer Gabriella Piazza is an incredible producer, but also an actor. And she worked in The Many States of Newark with Michael. I was writing at that time, and we were thinking about who was right for the movie. Mike and I just became great friends, and I said, Hey, I might have something fun for you that’s a little bit different.” He read it, loved it and jumped all in. He gave everything to the role.

Here’s an example of how kind and trusting of me with the project he was. He came to every in-person audition and off camera was sprawling on the ground pretending to be going to the anaphylactic shock. I’m really proud of his performance. I’m proud of how we got the character there. And I think we touched into his sense of tenderness and vulnerability that is key to the tone and the mission of the movie.

And then Olivia, I couldn’t speak more highly of her. She auditioned, she came into the callbacks, and she went through the ringer on it. She also had worked with Michael before, so they had a very natural dynamic together.

She’s driving the plot. It starts as Michael’s movie, but it’s very much Olivia’s through the second half. Michael’s change is very, very apparent. He literally goes through a physical change; he dies and comes back. Olivia’s is way more realized and grounded. Thanks to her performance, we believe in this world and it helps ground out everything.

F4: You began your career in front of the camera as an actor. How does that experience inform how you work with cast and crew?

I always start individually with actors. I’ll write up a character Bible. This is what I think they did the day before. This is what I think their life is like. We answer some big questions. What are their goals? What are they missing? Why are they doing this and what’s their family like? And then I book one-on-one rehearsals and prep sessions with each actor, and we go through that.

When I bring someone on crew, I’m no longer the expert whether it’s costume design, or production, design, cinematography. We independently prep together without bringing in the full cast. And then once we feel like we’re ready, we go together, we break that ice and we’re up and running.

I always film a baseline where we are word perfect on the script, but I want to get that in two takes. And then I want to spend three more takes finding extra magic. We’re going to get what’s in the script, but I want to flex and try to get some extra gold.

F5: You also work in feature film. What about short film pushes or challenges you creatively—as a writer and director?

I love shorts. The challenge is you have to be tighter. You have to get these characters, you have to set up a scene, you have to give a backdrop, and you have to tell who the characters are in under a minute. And then you have to find the kicker. Shorts challenge you, especially from a writing perspective. You can’t waste a page, you can’t waste a line, and you need to be new and fresh. Shorts demand all that, and it’s made my writing stronger. It’s made my projects better and I’ve been able to grow quickly.

I love that you screen shorts with other shorts. Seeing a shorts block is such a different and interesting and dynamic form. It’s like if you went to a concert and you heard not one band play 10 songs, but 10 different bands play 10 different songs. And then afterwards, everyone debated which song they liked the best and which artists they connected with the most. I love the conversations that short films elicit with the audience afterwards.

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Watch the Tea trailer here.