“Don’t you just wish they could stay small forever?”

I have so many answers to the question: why did I make this film?

I had been acting for a while and before I knew it, I was dying to create a world instead of always acting in someone else’s. I was also simultaneously thinking I would write a scene for my own acting reel. When Audra Uresti and I started brainstorming ideas for our reels, we came up with the idea for Twinsies and had quite a few laughs before we said, “imagine if we made this into a short film?”

So we did. We imagined it. And then we wrote a script.

All of the actors in the film had been classmates of mine at the Carol Hickey Acting Studio in Austin, TX. I knew they could act. I had seen them do it effortlessly week after week, month after month. I desperately wanted to work with them and give them roles that they didn’t typically get to play. I had seen them act in dramatic pieces but I wanted to see if they could get weird. And they did. They got weird and I was there for it.

I would say this film is a true work of friendship. While everyone involved in this project is a friend of mine and Audra’s, we wanted to be as professional as we could. So every actor got paid. The people who pitched in and helped work as crew got paid. They weren’t paid much, but we wanted to show that we valued their artistry and help. This film is a lot of firsts for a lot of people, and we’re so happy to have provided an avenue for all of us to dip our toes in the waters of filmmaking.

During the pandemic shut down, we followed what made us laugh and created Twinsies. When things started opening up again, we all felt comfortable filming and implemented the same precautions other film sets were taking for their productions. We all wore masks the entire time, except for the cast when the camera was rolling. Waivers were signed, checklists checked. Instead of doing traditional craft services, we opted for individual tote bags that were labeled and filled with every option that would have been on the table. We also tried our best to stick to a six-hour work day with one hour free for lunch. I wanted to minimize stress as much as possible. I can confidently say that no one got sick.

I imagine there will be two responses to this film: People will love it or people will be left feeling really uncomfortable but won’t stop talking about it leading to all of their friends coming to see it! Win win.

I hope Twinsies leads to bigger projects. I was so lucky to have my friend Steven Buehler involved. He really turned our vision into something greater than we could have hoped for. I’m so proud of him.

We held our Cast and Crew screening (private screening, of course) at the Austin Film Society. Getting to see my actors watch themselves on the big screen will be something I’ll never forget. It brought me so much joy.

I’m proud of everyone and so thankful they said yes to Twinsies.

I hope you will “please say yes,” too.