[Watch the video interview on Youtube here]
Film Courage: You had a choice at one time between residency as an opera singer and then an acting apprenticeship?
Sheila Houlahan, Actor, Singer, Producer and Writer: Yeah.
Film Courage: Can you talk about the factors that went into choosing which way you chose?
Sheila: I had been trained to be an opera singer my whole life but I never really questioned if I really wanted it. I just assumed I wanted it. I was like Oh, people say I’m good at it, I must want it. There was something that drew me to it. It’s not like I hated the genre, I was like there’s something about this.
Then I took a film acting class and I did it for fun as a hobby with my roommate who is one of my closest friends and I just fell in love with it. it was like Ooh! Instead of projecting a story to a bajillion people and being like This is what’s happening, you’re talking here and you’re just existing because if you do more than exist you’re going to look bonkers on film as we’ve seen. All of a sudden it’s this intimate thing that only happens once and you’re never going to do it again.
If it’s opera or musical theater, you’re going to do that same role a kajillion times for decades, that becomes your bread and butter. You’re like Okay, it’s time to sing Carmen again. Film is the opposite. You’ve acted it once and then it’s there on your…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
BIO:
Sheila Houlahan is a Webby Award Winning Indian-American actor, singer, producer, writer and advocate.
Sheila played the supporting role “Paige Callahan” opposite Denzel Washington in the Warner Bros. feature “The Little Things”, which was written and directed by John Lee Hancock. She also has a role in the Michael Bay thriller “Ambulance”.
In 2021, Sheila was the executive producer for a feature film adaptation of Marsha Norman’s Pulitzer-winning play “Night, Mother” in partnership with Twitch.tv; this film was a “hybrid” film, mixing pre-recorded segments with live performance that was recorded and edited in front of a live audience. Over 8000 people watched “Night, Mother” live, and since then, the film has received critical acclaim and has been screened at 68 festivals in over 24 countries. “Night, Mother” has over 64K views on it’s flagship Twitch.tv channel and has been praised for its’ fresh, innovative approach to filmmaking winning over 60 awards including the Webby Award for Virtual and Remote Entertainment & Media.
Sheila is a Celebrity Champion for Project HEAL, a nonprofit organization that helps people suffering from eating disorders source affordable treatment options and pay for treatment. She is also an ambassador for Ability Magazine’s platform AbilityE, a casting portal that seeks to increase inclusion and representation of differently-abled talent and creatives on both sides of the table in Hollywood.
WATCH ‘NIGHT, MOTHER’
CONNECT WITH SHEILA HOULAHAN
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