Sapna Gandhi, 'Indigo Lady'

Ms. Sapna Gandhi

British born Sapna Gandhi grew up all over The States, speaking five languages, singing in a musical group called Cosmic Kids, training as a martial artist, and balancing classical ballet with Bollywood (among other cultural conundrums). It wasn't until after graduating from Saint Mary's College of California with degrees in English and Women's Studies, that she realized her passion for acting and went on to study at The American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco.

Ms. Gandhi has played a slew of ethnically ambiguous characters, including an Iraqi farmer's wife, a Columbian boxer, an Indian bride-to-be, and a Puerto Rican cop (to name a few). Her favorite stage roles include Harper in Angels In America, Prudence in Beyond Therapy, and Susan in Do You Want to Buy My Brain? As a member of the groundbreaking Jump! Theatre in San Francisco, she wrote, produced, and starred (as an actor/singer/dancer) in the moody, mixed-media production of Terminally Female: A Cabaret. She also appeared in a few features and several short films, including starring in ifilm winner, Thou Art That, before migrating to Los Angeles.


Sapna Gandhi most recently co-starred on NBC's Awake, can be seen in the upcoming Indie cult feature, Dust Up, and stars in the performance art film, Indigo Lady, which has its premiere screening in Madrid, in August 2012. 

Ms. Gandhi's own short film, Once It's Taken Shape, (co-written and co-starring Chris Frederick) is presently in development, and she is redefining the term "short" with her comedic series, 12 Second Broad Strokes (in development with Amanda Lipppert and Elan O'Connor). She is also writing the psychological thriller, Stain (with Andy Gates).

Sapna Gandhi is Editor-In-Chief for We Make Movies, as well as a columnist, event coordinator, and DIY actors’ advocate.

Presentation, style and format

Format of Indigo Lady

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Nena Sylvia St. Louis 6:12 PM (11 hours ago) to Sapna, Diana, Rebecca, tyler, indigo ladies, i now have a very clear picture in my mind as to the presentation, style and format of the movie. i have been exploring and experimenting, and came up with 4 videos that have the format that works for what i want to do: "performance art videos - silent montages exploring the performance of simple acts in familiar, stripped down settings - formalistic presentation, multiple sensory and emotional layers." possible settings: Violet's sewing room, Flavia's house, a gazebo (for Violet), an empty diner on the highway (Russel's mistress), a prison visitation room (Indigo), a small empty Catholic Church (Violet), a barn (Indigo), a coffin or under weathered floorboards for the Great Great Grandmother, Flavia, etc. these are coming off the top of my head, but most likely the settings would all be based on/lifted from Tyler's drawings, except for the interview with a reporter that each of you will have. i am seeing the movie as about 50 minutes long, divided into scenes that all begin with a drawing and dissolve into a scene complete with actors, props, etc., - it is likely that the actors playing the action scenes will speaking extras, one of whom would be a "doppelganger" of the main character that the scene was about (i.e., Violet's argument with her husband about the husband bathing/dressing Indigo; Russell's telling his mistress that he was getting married; the murder scene, inter alia). i would really appreciate your watching at least one of the videos in this Vimeo Album:https://vimeo.com/channels/insideoutoutsidein. this is the format of your movie. while the presentation is very formalistic, each one of your beats will involve a main frame monologue completely improvised by you based on the story facts and a memory/sensory/emotional secondary monologue. this will definitely be a chance to knock yourselves out as actors. R, i will work with whatever time you have available - we'll talk. once i have clips of each of your monologues, and a "drawing come to life" clip, i will make a trailer and begin soliciting funding.

Diana Slampyak's Development of the Character, Violet Milazzo: First Interview

sylviatoyindustries

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First set of interview questions
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sylviatoyindustries Lewis	Sun, Nov 20, 2011 at 2:34 PM
To: Diana Slampyak
interview questions for Diana/Violet I was so excited I could scarcely wait to get dressed and go into town.  But my mother came into my room wearing a narrow, lavender linen shift.  Her crazy black curls were pulled into a thick pony tail that stretched her white face across thin, flat cheekbones and slanted her eyes - YOU HAVE BLACK HAIR, BUT THERE'S NO DOUBT THAT YOU'RE CAUCASIAN; YOUR DAUGHTER IS DARK, NOT AS DARK AS THE PORTRAIT OF HER GREAT GREAT GRANDMOTHER, FLAVIA MILAZZO; IN FACT NOONE WAS SURE THAT FLAVIA MILAZZO WASN'T A DARK INDIAN, A MIXED BLOOD NEGRO OR AN ARAB, EVEN THOUGH SHE SAID SHE WAS SICILIAN AND SPOKE ITALIAN - DID YOU DYE YOUR DAUGHTER'S HAIR BLONDE WHEN SHE WAS A CHILD SO NOONE WOULD QUESTION WHETHER SHE WAS CAUCASIAN. Violet   Are you helping her get dressed, Blackie? WERE YOU UPSET THAT YOUR HUSBAND WAS DRESSING YOUR TEN YEAR OLD DAUGHTER? Indigo   Mommy!  Mommy!  I look just like Flavia Milazzo. Violet   Are you? Blackie   It’s her birthday. Indigo Mommy!  Daddy says I’m a princess. Violet Don’t you think she’s old enough to dress herself? Blackie Jealous of your own daughter?  Or me? SO WERE YOU JEALOUS OF YOUR DAUGHTER OR YOUR HUSBAND, OR WAS THERE SOMETHING ELSE. Violet She’s old enough to dress herself. And then Mommy smelled Daddy’s fingers; and Daddy shook his head - WHY DID YOU SMELL YOUR HUSBAND'S FINGERS.  But Mommy got hysterical anyway.  She always got hysterical if Daddy and I were alone - WHY DID YOU GET HYSTERICAL WHENEVER YOUR HUSBAND AND DAUGHTER WERE ALONE.  It took her an hour to calm down before we could leave the house - HOW DID YOU "CALM DOWN": JUST CHILLING OUT, DARK ROOM WITH A CLOTH ON YOUR FOREHEAD, HOT TUB, DEEP BREATHING, YOGA, ROSARY, ASPIRIN, SEDATIVE, DITCH WEED. -- sylviatoyindustries

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Sapna Gandhi's Development of the Character, Indigo Milazzo: First Interview

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First set of Questions - I will call you tomorrow
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sylviatoyindustries	Sun, Nov 20, 2011 at 2:32 PM
To: Sapna Gandhi
interview questions for SAPNA/INDIGO I was so excited I could scarcely wait to get dressed and go into town.  But my mother came into my room wearing a narrow, lavender linen shift.  Her crazy black curls were pulled into a thick pony tail that stretched her white face across thin, flat cheekbones and slanted her eyes - YOU HAVE BLACK HAIR, HAS ANYONE EVER TOLD YOU THAT YOU'RE CAUCASIAN; EVEN THOUGH YOU AND YOUR FATHER ARE NOT AS DARK AS THE PORTRAIT OF  FLAVIA MILAZZO; IN FACT, ISN'T IT TRUE THAT NOONE WAS SURE THAT FLAVIA MILAZZO WASN'T A DARK INDIAN, A MIXED BLOOD NEGRO OR AN ARAB, EVEN THOUGH SHE SAID SHE WAS SICILIAN AND SPOKE ITALIAN - WHY DO YOU THINK YOUR MOTHER STARTED YOUR HAIR BLONDE WHEN YOU WERE 18 MONTHS OLD. Violet   Are you helping her get dressed, Blackie? LOOKING BACK, DO YOU THINK THERE WAS ANYTHING STRANGE ABOUT YOUR FATHER HELPING YOU GET DRESSED WHEN YOU WERE 10 YEARS OLD. Indigo   Mommy!  Mommy!  I look just like Flavia Milazzo. DO YOU/DID YOU THINK YOU LOOKED LIKE FLAVIA, EVEN THOUGH YOUR MOTHER DYED YOUR HAIR BLONDE AND DO YOU THINK IT WOULD HAVE BOTHERED YOUR MOTHER THAT YOU THOUGHT YOU DID. Violet   Are you? WHAT DID YOU THINK WHEN YOUR MOTHER  GOT UPSET ABOUT YOU BEING SO CLOSE TO YOUR FATHER. Blackie   It’s her birthday. Indigo Mommy!  Daddy says I’m a princess. DID YOU REALLY BELIEVE YOU WERE A PRINCESS - IF SO, WHAT MADE YOU THINK THAT. Violet Don’t you think she’s old enough to dress herself? Blackie Jealous of your own daughter?  Or me? DID YOU/DO YOU THINK YOUR MOTHER  WAS JEALOUS OF YOU AND OR YOUR FATHER. Violet She’s old enough to dress herself. And then Mommy smelled Daddy’s fingers; and Daddy shook his head - HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN YOUR MOTHER DID THIS  But Mommy got hysterical anyway.  She always got hysterical if Daddy and I were alone - HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN THIS HAPPENED.  It took her an hour to calm down before we could leave the house - WHAT DID YOUR MOTHER DO TO "CALM DOWN": JUST CHILLING OUT, DARK ROOM WITH A CLOTH ON HER FOREHEAD, HOT TUB, DEEP BREATHING, YOGA, ROSARY, ASPIRIN, SEDATIVE, DITCH WEED. -- sylviatoyindustries

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Indigo Lady - casting memo

sylviatoyindustries 

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Indigo Lady quicktime storyboard - casting memo

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sylviatoyindustries Lewis	Tue, Nov 15, 2011 at 4:40 AM
To: Sapna Gandhi, Diana Slampyak, tyler cohen
http://vimeo.com/32135353 hey. so i combined the montage studies that i've been making for the last month with interspersed talking head of a reading of the original stage version script. there will be talking head clips in the movie (monologues of the main characters - i.e., Sapna/Indigo, Diana/Violet/Indigo's mother, Russell - that are improvised by the actors based on the script). but also scenes of characters in action; much of this will be green-screened. there will be a lot of montage, effects (visual & sound), etc., that happens on the editing table. but there will also be full-frame clips, probably at the beginning of each plot point. just so you know, i play the ghost of the great great grandmother, who never speaks, just haunts the montage at 50% opacity at plot points in the central character's throughline, wearing a black veil and looking somber. FYI, i am upping the mother's role in the movie because the conflict between mother & daughter is one of the story's strengths. i am going to wait and see what Sapna and Diana come up with in their monologues before i cast Indigo's father. nidal, i'm including you on this even though you haven't committed yea or nay. i am reworking the script that i sent you because i think the relationship between the detective and Sapna's character (Indigo)  happens too late in the story. i probably will add a different unattainable male character who appears early (in Sapna/Indigo's) childhood; and right now i'm thinking that character is probably a priest when he reappears in the story - probably as the intercedent between the detective and Indigo's husband's mistress. meaning, it is the priest who convinces the detective to investigate Indigo's husband's disappearance. steve, can you please watch this and think about playing Russell, the husband? nima, can you please watch this and consider playing the priest? rebecca, i will ask you about this when you drop by - but in case i forget, as is my MO, will you watch this and consider playing the mistress? -- sylviatoyindustries