Canada has many talented actors, writers, producers, and other content creators. To help our industry grow, we would like to introduce you to some of those talented folks who have managed to capture that magic on screen.
This week, we spoke with Vancouver actor, writer, producer, singer, and commercial pilot, Teresa Riley.
HNMAG: What editing suite do you work on?
Teresa Riley: Actually, I’m using Final Cut Pro for the first time.
HNMAG: What was the previous one?
Teresa Riley: Well, before I had generally gone to my editors offices and sit in the room with them, so whatever they were using. I would just tell them the edits I wanted.
HNMAG: Where did you come from initially?
Teresa Riley: I grew up in Medicine Hat, Alberta.
HNMAG: When did you leave Medicine Hat?
Teresa Riley: Oh, a lifetime ago.
HNMAG: When you came to Vancouver, were you interested in film and television?
Teresa Riley: I’ve always been, as long as I can remember, movies and music were my thing, but my dad kind of pushed me into becoming a pilot.
HNMAG: You’re a commercial pilot?
Teresa Riley: Yes, I got my aviation diploma and commercial pilots license, then I came out here on the premise of looking for a flying job, but it was kind of half hearted because I was trying out for bands and doing background work in the film industry. After about a year of that, my dad said “You have to finish! You have to get a job!” and I was too young to fight him on that.
HNMAG: Right.
Teresa Riley: I ended up going back to Medicine Hat and getting my flight instructors rating and then I thought OK. This could be my vehicle to get out of Medicine Hat…my waitressing job equivalent ha ha. And I guess it worked.
HNMAG: How did your TV series Jaguars come about?
Teresa Riley: There are really talented actors in Vancouver. I was at Matthew Harrison’s Actors Foundry and another actor in my class put on a film making class, and had us write a 10-page script. I ended up writing a pilot episode of a series about a female pilot. I got so much positive feedback, so I decided to jump in and make it.
HNMAG: Right.
Teresa Riley: All these super-talented people started flocking to it because film people just want to work and do stuff. I always had this idea of writing a script about a female trying to become an airline pilot.
HNMAG: Yes, that’s your world.
Teresa Riley: My idea was to do a TV series, and I came up with the first episode. Instead of going on vacation, I thought I’d just shoot it.I t was difficult but fun and a huge learning curve. It turned out really well. I love creating things.
HNMAG: Right.
Teresa Riley: Then I thought, let’s try and make this a series, and we did the whole pitch thing. A show Bible and all that stuff. I re- edited the short and then I added some narrative, and I shot a couple more scenes, and we made it into a web series. It was pretty cool and it won some awards. We pitched it in L.A. The series never got picked up. The web series did, however. It’s out there somewhere although I haven’t seen any money haha.
HNMAG: Was that a large expense?
Teresa Riley: I can’t remember what the actual cost was but we qualified for UBCP ultra low budget status which was under 40 grand at the time, I think.
HNMAG: Now you’re fully immersed in film and television as an actor, producer, writer, and a director.
Teresa Riley: I’m trying.
HNMAG: Does being a real pilot help you in film & TV?
Teresa Riley: A very extreme example was for a commercial. They were looking for a real female pilot, and when I went to the callback, the director was there. He said, “Everybody said you got to get Teresa Riley in here. She’s an actor who is also a licensed commercial airline pilot”. I also credit the discipline it takes to become a pilot transfers into the discipline it takes to make a film happen.
HNMAG: Was that a union commercial?
Teresa Riley: I don’t think so, no.
HNMAG: That was before you were in the union?
Teresa Riley: I’m not in the union.
HNMAG: Oh, but your series was union, even though you’re non-union.
Teresa Riley: Yes.
HNMAG: Do you play a musical instrument as well?
Teresa Riley: I play a little bit of guitar, but I’m mostly a singer, and I write a lot of songs. I’ve released six albums.
HNMAG: What’s your genre of choice?
Teresa Riley: I have a band that’s about to put out an album. It’s kind of 80’s and 90s-influenced dance rock. It’s kind of electronic but with real guitar.
HNMAG: Like a mix of EDM with a rock edge to it.
Teresa Riley: That’s an accurate description.
HNMAG: Your music changes over time?
Teresa Riley: For sure. It depends on what’s happening in my life at that moment.
HNMAG: Are you writing a new script?
Teresa Riley: I wrote a feature and it’s called Fly Girl. It’s set all over Canada. It’s nominated for best screenplay at the Women’s LA Film Awards.
HNMAG: You submitted it as a screenplay for a contest?
Teresa Riley: Correct.
HNMAG: Are you working on anything else?
Teresa Riley: My latest short is doing the festival circuit right now. It’s called Swing Wars. We follow “ruthless swing dancers as they compete with each other to get to the world championships”.
HNMAG: How long is that?
Teresa Riley: Thirty-three minutes and four seconds.
HNMAG: Seems like it could be a full episode instead of a short.
Teresa Riley: It’s kind of funny because we were going to just shoot over a weekend and do a 3 minute proof of concept. Everyone was so gung-ho and excited about it, that it just grew…people kept volunteering their time.. the ideas kept coming. The script ended up being 35 pages. We can’t have a 30-minute proof of concept; no one’s going to watch that, so I just made it a short film.
HNMAG: Is the dialogue improvised like a Christopher Guest Mockumentary?
Teresa Riley: We had a script, so they didn’t have to improvise, but I encouraged the actors to improv. One of the lead actors was brilliant at it. I’d say 85% of his stuff was improv.
HNMAG: What’s his name?
Teresa Riley: Matthew Graham.
HNMAG: Why did you come up with a movie about swing dancing?
Teresa Riley: I’m a swing dance teacher, which is why it was on my radar. We had a whole bunch of people who knew how to actually dance as background performers.It was beautiful. A lot of people from the local swing dance community came out to support us. It was a fun experience.
A pilot walks into a bar, which was more of an airport lounge. She passes through because she’s on her way to an audition. Her schedule is packed, as she has a live show where she’s fronting a band after that, and the next morning she’s teaching a swing dancing class. This isn’t a joke, it’s a slice of life for Teresa Riley. You might not even grasp the full life of Riley, as Teresa also writes, directs, produces, and edits movies…she can also do comedy improv. We don’t know what Teresa Riley will surprise us with next, but if we learned anything, we should not be at all surprised.
