ANNE ZANDER

Actress, Writer, Comedienne: London-based, American-born.

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French feature film role

In five days, I will be on location in Algeria for my first shooting date on Lyes Salem and Dharamsala's new feature film.  

I studied many of his interviews (nerd much?) before our initial Skype meeting last December, and I'd like to think my ability to quote him in casual conversation totally landed me a role in his film.

I am very excited.  More to follow.  In the meantime, here is Lyes.

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As Valerie Solanas in Whore.

Photography by Fred Watkins.

Actors: Anne Zander, Alexa Brown, Marcia Brown, Berri George

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As Jacqueline Nearne in All Hidden.

Photography by Antoine Foulot.

Actors: Anne Zander, Marcia Brown

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As Mary Shelley in Mad Women. 

Photos by Marouso Marinopoulou.

Actors: Anne Zander, James Naylor, Alexa Brown

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Reviews for 'Mad Women'

Playing through 13th October at 7:30p.m., Portobello Pop Up Cinema, London: Tickets

Backstage Pass ✭✭✭✭

... the female actors were all excellent, especially Alexa Brown as Virginia Woolf and Anne Zander as Mary Shelley, who both brilliantly portrayed the struggle between levity and darkness that each woman faced. The grief-stricken Mary Shelley railing at God for the cruel and unfathomable loss of three of her children was particularly powerfully done, and very moving.

...I found Mad Women a complex, creative and challenging evening’s entertainment, which provided a fresh look at the work of four important female writers, whilst questioning how ‘madness’ can truly be defined.  

A Younger Theatre

Shelley was played by Anne Zander, who transmitted the essence of her genius skilfully, her fascination and eventual fury at nature was prevalent and moving...

Barefaced Theatre is an exceedingly creative company that teems with imagination, intellect and realism. Not only does it explore fascinating people and ideas, but it tells their stories in unconventional ways that have been replaying in my head since I saw it.

Views from the Gods

Taunted by her madness in the personification of both her children and her famous creature, Zander is manic, but brings a fantastic energy to the stage in everything she does.

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Appearing as Mary Shelley in Mad Women, Jacqueline Nearne in All Hidden, and Valerie Solanas in Whore.

Barefaced Theatre's season of 3 new plays, this October. 

(Full information in previous post.)

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A Significant Role: A Season of 3 Plays

Barefaced Theatre presents three new plays -- 'Mad Women', 'All Hidden' and 'Whore' -- to be performed in repertory in London, 4th - 31st October 2012.

Film by: Nigel Doylerush

Actors: Alexa Brown, Marcia Brown, Berri George, Anne Zander

Book Tickets (£10): Mad Women, All Hidden, Whore

Donate

A Significant Role - a season of 3 new plays in repertory.

By Barefaced Theatre 4th – 31st October 2012

Portobello Pop Up, 3 Acklam Road, London, W10 5TY

(Times vary – performing most nights.)

Barefaced: Fresh New work, from fresh new faces.

A London based Theatre Company focused on producing ambitious and accessible theatre that invites audiences to expand their imaginations, employing a ‘theatre style that subverts audience expectations and questions the world around us’. Barefaced focuses on strong storytelling, strong physicality and strong women’s roles, both on and off stage.

And following on from the amazing success of the Portobello Pop Up’s various film festivals and screenings, Barefaced are now going to be taking over the homemade digital Microplex cinema, nestled under the Westway, for the whole of October. It makes the perfect setting for

Barefaced’s first repertory season, as they will be experimenting with both video art and animation throughout all the productions.

This project revolves around three new plays: Mad Women, Whore, and All Hidden. The season focuses on women who have helped themselves and have strived to succeed in what they were good at. These are going to be immersive, innovative and provocative pieces of theatre.

Mad Women examines the perceived madness of Mary Shelley, whose sensational personal life and loss of her children found release in her novel Frankenstein; Emily Dickinson, the 19th century American whose poems reached far beyond the confines of her reclusive life; the utopian feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman, plagued by depression, whose story The Yellow Wallpaper highlighted the horrors of confinement for women termed ‘mad’; and Virginia Woolf, the modernist genius whose own demons would eventually consume her. (Running time 2hrs 15mins excluding interval)

All Hidden is a brand new play that charts the stories of two courageous women; Eileen Nearne was an SOE during the Second World War and Sophie Walker works as an intelligence officer within MI5 today. The play conjoins the worlds of these female spies. Alongside this one act play, presented as a double bill, will be the Scratch Beneath Festival, exploring what happens when new artists scratch beneath the surface of their potential to bring new ideas out into the world and present them as a mini show. Including, First Night by Pete Maxey, Halb – Welt Kultur: The life of the Weimar Girls performed by Stephanie Hampton, Postcards from Medea by Jose Gandia, The Lemons, written and performed by Lowri Jenkins plus Celyn Ebenezer performs her eerie one-woman show. (Running time 1hr 35mins excluding interval)

Whore is a re-imagined version of Barefaced’s previous play Whore. It is a bold, daring insight into four of history’s most interesting prostitutes. Meet Theresa Berkley, a 19th Century Dominatrix, Marie Duplessis, a famous French courtesan, Polly Adler, a New York 1920’s brothel madam with heavy links to the mob, and Valerie Solanas, American prostitute turned Warhol assassin. (Running time 1hrs 10mins)

During the Interval there is a cash bar, where wine will be supplied by Griffenwell Wines – serving both red and white wine £4 per large glass. www.griffinwell.com

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Extract

In the first of what will surely be many collaborations between myself and director/editor Stella Scott, we devise and create 'Extract'.  

Examining the cyclical nature of love and heartbreak, 'Extract' captures a moment in time as a woman decides to leave her relationship and start over.

I spent a very loved-up afternoon sitting between Jason and Alistair Donegan (my onscreen boyfriend in this piece), being flattered (as Sophie), improvising, and ultimately creating the recording that represented the happy days of Sophie and Jack's relationship.

Allen Della-Valle was our generous and professional DOP, and Adam Asnan our fantastic sound recordist/engineer.  We all crammed into Stella's flat with loads of equipment to shoot this piece, and thanks to everyone's input, we came out with a piece I'm very proud of.  

It was a massive learning process, and after many revisions and one reshoot, we had to let the film exist as it was, even with some imperfections.  I look forward to the next one!

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ESCAPING MY NIGHTMARE, final project, BA in Makeup and Prosthetics at LCF

Makeup, prosthetics, costumes and photo editing by Miki Lai.

Photos by Suzi Ovens.

Actresses: Anne Zander and Leah Cooper

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Stills from Something Light shoot in York with Front Lawn Films.  

Directed by Daniel Atherton.

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Future Cinema Presents: Top Gun

Footage from the interactive event in September 2011.

As part of Future Cinema's weekend event, California Classics, a disused outdoor space at Canary Wharf was transformed into the California boardwalk setting of the double bill of Top Gun and The Lost Boys.  

I joined a cast of 50 actors to inhabit and bring to life the worlds of the film, and to draw the audience into the stories.

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Photos by Miki Lai of London College of Fashion.

Part two of prosthetics prep: Hand Casting.

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As Ms. Blanc in The Other Guy

An award-winning student film I acted in last year while living in Scotland.  I appear at 2:10.

The Other Guy from The Learning Centre on Vimeo.

One of two French-speaking roles I played last year, my scene as Ms Blanc was great fun to shoot.

Unfortunately, most of it ended up on the cutting room floor due to time constraints.  As the scene was only loosely scripted, I drew on my experience as an English-language assistant in France and wrote up a French lesson plan on the future tense.  The Bellshill Academy students who made up the cast and crew improvised right along, and we had a great time on the day.

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More stills from 6 February Sonata shoot.

Photos by Mustafa Boga.

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Stills from Sonata - photos by Mustafa Boga

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Still from Sonata - photo by Mustafa Boga Cast: Anne Zander and Alistair Donegan, DoP: Holly Cocker, Sound: Adam Asnan, Writer: Anne Zander

This month I directed a short film called Sonata which was conceived and developed by Anne Zander and I. We shot the one scene in my living room...

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New Full-Length Photos

James Deverell contacted me back in October about taking some headshots for me for use in his portfolio.  I currently have some brilliant headshots done by John Cooper up in Glasgow, but I asked James if he would do some full-lengths for me, and he agreed.

We did the shoot in Hyde Park on a beautiful -- if crisp -- November day.  He's done photo shoots in this location before and found some really great backdrops to use.

An ode to my Chicago Dance Mob days.