CINEMATIC REVELATIONS: INTERVIEW WITH ACTRESS MANUELA THIESS GARCIA

Friday, November 5, 2021

INTERVIEW WITH ACTRESS MANUELA THIESS GARCIA

Today I have the immense pleasure of welcoming a very special guest, actress Manuela Thiess Garcia, to CINEMATIC REVELATIONS for an interview. Manuela has acted in several motion pictures over the years including BUCKSKIN, CHANGES [my review of the film can be found here] and TERROR CIRCUS. In this interview Manuela will be discussing her part in CHANGES, acting, theatre, and her passion for photography, poetry, and writing.

Welcome to CINEMATIC REVELATIONS Manuela!

Athan: When did you first realize that you wanted to be an actress?

Manuela: I started studying acting at around age 22. I had actually had a bit of an aversion to acting before that as I did not want to enter my parents’ profession. But perhaps because I moved to Laurel Canyon, Hollywood rubbed off on me in spite of myself.

Athan: Where did you study acting?

Manuela: I studied method acting with Estelle Harman for several years and Guy Stockwell after that before joining Ralph Waite’s L.A. Actor’s Theatre.

Athan: What did you find most exciting about the experience of making CHANGES?

Manuela: Truthfully, I had a mad crush on Kent [Lane], and that certainly made working on the picture titillating. In addition, it was my first film and that made every moment a new and exhilarating experience.

A day that was more than a little exiting was when I had to walk into the ocean to drown myself. I had nearly drowned in the ocean as a teenager and I was terrified of the waves. That was a helicopter shot and so there was nobody down there on that rocky beach but myself. Plus it was freezing in Big Sur (I think it was February), and I had to do the scene several times in clothes that were soaking wet. I was glad when that day was over.

Athan: Your performance as the loving, sensitive Bobbi in CHANGES, who makes a decision which irrevocably changes her life, was excellent. For you, what was the most demanding, but emotionally satisfying segment of filming CHANGES?

Manuela: When I had to cry. I hadn’t cried in my personal life in years. To conjure those tears took some doing, especially in front of the whole crew, but it felt really good to have been able to do that.

Athan: Have you kept in contact with any cast members and crew from CHANGES?

Manuela: No, I have not, though I have occasionally tried to google one or two of them to see what they were up to.

Athan: CHANGES was directed by Hall Bartlett, also notable for films such as ALL THE YOUNG MEN, THE SANDPIT GENERALS, and JONATHAN LIVINGSTON SEAGULL. What was it like being directed by Mr Bartlett in CHANGES?

Manuela: At the time, I was young, self-obsessed and foolish and had no idea what a truly extraordinary man I was working for. Hall struck me as an all round decent human being and he was kind to me, as he was to everyone, but I had little appreciation for the talent he had and what a true artist he was and continued to be. Nor had I been aware that he had graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard, which I only found out when I read about him in the Wikipedia.

Athan: You have worked on the stage in various productions years ago, also writing several plays. What for you most stood out when comparing the theatre, and film?

Manuela: My mother started out to be a stage actress, and she had had a love for that, which I think prompted me to want to try it. It’s really impossible to compare the two mediums. Stage acting requires perhaps more agility, for if you forget a line, or someone else does, you have to be quick on your toes and work around that. But there is also a lot of repetition of the same script over and over, even given the small variations night to night. In film acting, you have to let your emotions show in a way that stage does not demand, and although you sometimes have to do retakes, the action moves much faster. And for closeups, there is no cheating allowed.

Athan: You have been a photographer for many years, your photos capturing both the beauty, and different facets of cities such as Barcelona, Spain, Cologne, Germany, and Paris, France, to name a few examples. What is it that you find most exciting about photography?

Manuela: I wrote a poem about that, I think I posted it on my website. In photography, you can capture a split second in time. I often feel like a thief, though I rarely know what I actually stole until I get home and have a chance to review what I shot on the computer as I shoot digitally. That keeps it adventurous and exciting for me.

I find by studying the faces of strangers (for I shoot random people on the streets more often than not), I get more understanding and compassion for our misbegotten species with all its flaws and imperfections.

As for scenery, the sky and the circumstances constantly change, so like with expressions, capturing of a moment in time that will never repeat.

Athan: Your website features poetry and writing pieces by you, dealing with a number of themes, especially your thoughts on life. How does poetry, and writing make you feel?

Manuela: Writing, whether in journals, small essays, one act plays or poetry, has been a great emotional salve for life wounds I would otherwise not have had a chance to allow to heal. I highly recommend it as a therapeutic tool for anyone working through emotional distress. It has a way of putting confusion into a more rational perspective. Also, by sharing those experiences with others, there is a kind of cleansing, and a way of ingraining into my subconscious what I have learned and continue to learn each day, for the journey doesn't stop until we stop breathing, once and for all. What happens after that remains a tantalizing mystery, does it not?

Athan: You have also taught in the California Department of Corrections, and as a Suicide Prevention Counselor. What it is that you found most enriching with these challenging, but rewarding positions?

Manuela: At the Suicide Prevention Center I only worked as a volunteer counselor for around 8 months, and I had to quit when I started to get too many nightmares, specifically about callers which worried me when they hung up, which they did once in a while. But it helped me get insight into my own suicidal impulses as well as later when I worked in the CDC to be able to recognize those potential impulses in my students.

I worked for the California Department of Corrections for 15 years, and I loved that job. I have never been good with bureaucracies and I riled against the administrative aspect of of the job, but I was fond of my students (for the most part) and of my fellow teachers. It was kind of like being stranded on an island together once those bars clinked shut.

I learned a great deal about crime and punishment and the counter productivity of the American penal system. The experience has given me an appreciation for the Restorative Justice model of corrections. The U.S. had more people incarcerated per capita than any place in the world. Think of that. The land of the free and the home of the brave?

Athan: Do you have any upcoming projects of which you would like to tell readers?

Manuela: I have another local exhibit coming up and my husband and I just opened a gallery here in Guanajuato featuring my photography but other local artists as well. In addition, I am working to finally gather all my poems and put them in a book. I will keep my website updated. If you are ever in Guanajuato, come and share a coffee with us at our gallery. And thank you, Athan for taking an interest in my work and asking me to participate in this interview.

Thank you so much for your time today Manuela, and for the insight you have provided into the art of acting, CHANGES, cinema, theatre, photography, poetry and writing. It has been wonderful having you on CINEMATIC REVELATIONS. You are welcome to return whenever you wish.

Manuela Thiess Garcia links