Congratulations on your role in Nellie Bly! Can you tell us a little bit about the part? Also, how did you prepare for this and other auditions and for being on set? In Nellie Bly I played Nurse Grupe, a sadistic nurse in a women’s lunatic asylum in the 1800s. Grupe is part of a group of three nurses that carry out the orders of the head of the hospital, Matron Grady. Grupe is the meanest of the lot and does everything that her boss tells her to do, no matter how depraved. I initially auditioned for Matron Grady, which I prepped for days, and I was called back for Grupe with only a day’s notice. I felt underprepared for the callback because I had less time, but when I walked in the room the director Karen Moncrieff was so fantastic and just let me play. As a theatre performer, I’ve often felt restricted by the camera and having to stand on a tape line on the floor and only one actor to read with. Much of the time I feel like I’m in a straitjacket at film auditions. Karen Moncrieff was the first director who said “don’t worry about where the camera is or the reader or the tape line – you just do your thing and we will follow you”. This totally released me and I think I did the most fun audition of my life. I left the room not even caring if I got the part or not because I felt like I was given permission to be free and do what I wanted. It was very empowering. I took that spirit of freedom to the set and just stayed open to my fellow actors, the creativity of the director and stayed true to my instincts.