An interview with KIRSTEN BLOOM ALLEN and TIGRAN SARGSYAN | DR. ANTONIO | VMA 2022 | April Edition
The Covid pandemic has disrupted the lives of all of us, and some of its undesirable effects have emerged particularly in relationships within the walls of our homes. If for some people the pandemic has been a moment of reconciliation, for many others the forced confinement has exacerbated previous impatience and relational difficulties, leading people to exasperation and extreme gestures, such as divorce.
The project Dr. Antonio written, directed, and starring Tigran Sargsyan and co-produced by and starring Kirsten Bloom Allen explores with great irony just the scenario of a therapist struggling with a couple recovering from post-pandemic stress.
In a vain attempt to reconcile the irreconcilable, Dr. Antonio discovers that he is unable to deal with his own problems and, ironically, finds himself the victim of post-pandemic stress.
Dr. Antonio is a fun project that we had the pleasure of honoring here at the Vegas Movie Awardsâ„¢ in our April edition, and we're here today to talk about this hilarious project with Kirsten Bloom Allen and Tigran Sargsyan.
• Hello, Kirsten and Tigran, and welcome here to the Vegas Movie Awards™. First of all, congratulations on your achievements in our latest fierce competition! Would you like to introduce our audience to who you both are and how your career in filmmaking began?
(Kirsten) Thank you for selecting our film! I am a professional ballerina who has founded ARC Entertainment Company which is my creative concept for making ballet an everyday experience. Right before the pandemic, I was working with Tigran Sargsyan and another ballet dancer, Magnus Christoffersen on a music video. We were in such a great artistic flow when the pandemic hit, that we decided to lockdown together so we could continue creating new works with both ballet and film. Tigran and Magnus moved into my home with my family here in San Diego and we built a stage in my backyard. We began live streaming free ballet performances from both Instagram and Facebook and began writing screenplays.
(Tigran) I am a professional ballet dancer with both Los Angeles Ballet and ARC Entertainment Company. I also do improv comedy on the side and comedy has always been a big part of my life. As Kirsten mentioned above, we locked down together and continued creating films and dances together. Since I loved comedy so much and I couldn't imagine my life without it, I started writing short film ideas and taking online classes for comedy writing. My friends (Kirsten and Magnus) were so supportive that we made all those ideas come true and Dr. Antonio was one of them.
• Kirsten, you are both an actress in this project and a co-producer. How did the collaboration with Tigran and David come about and what did you like most about the project?
The idea for Dr. Antonio came from Tigran. He had a vision that was very clear from the start. He wrote the script and we all began rehearsing and improving the script. As a director, Tigran very much enjoys watching his actors' improv off of his written material. He gave David and me the space artistically to really find our characters and make them our own. This is the first time the three of us have worked together but I am excited for our trio to collaborate again.
Both Tigran and David are such natural actors. I absolutely loved being on set with both of these guys. The entire process was such a joy and there was so much laughter! I would call this cast a DREAM TEAM!
• Kirsten, this pandemic has made life difficult for all of us in many different ways, sometimes very bizarre. What parallels did you find between the script and your
own personal experience of the pandemic that somewhat helped you with playing the role of Lisa?
Well......I think all of us struggled during lockdown! I felt very connected to Lisa because she really loves her husband but also wants to have her space which was not an option during Covid. This is something I think we all can relate to.
• Kirsten, what was it like to collaborate with Tigran and David on an acting level and what were the elements that created a glue between you for the success of the project?
Both Tigran and David are such natural actors. I absolutely loved being on set with both of these guys. The entire process was such a joy and there was so much laughter! I would call this cast a DREAM TEAM!
• Tigran, in Dr. Antonio you address an extremely timely issue with great humor. Would you like to explain to our audience how you came up with the idea for this project?
The idea came up from the understanding of relationship dynamics between couples. Simply every person needs their own space to feel their individuality and do their hobbies which makes them happy. But still knowing all this, I kept hearing stories and news that the divorce rate was going up, because people were stuck together and were losing their social lives. So as a comedian I observed what was happening in that current situation and decided to shine a light on it. To understand that we all are passing through this together and also bring awareness that nobody is perfect. Not even Dr. Antonio.
• Tigran, what were the most satisfying elements, and what were the difficulties you had to face for this project?
The difficulty that I faced was actually the writing process. Since English is my third language I found it difficult to write everything correctly and how deliver it. However, since all of the actors were my close friends it made it so much easier to communicate my needs. I loved watching all of us improvise some scenes together and suddenly something new would come out. Now, one of the best moments was during the shooting process with Matthew Moore (Bill). He is my improv teacher and a great comedian. I decided to shoot a couple of scenes with the script and then let it be improvised since I knew Matthew’s amazing improv skills. Within five minutes or so Matthew kept saying hilarious lines after lines until the whole filming crew couldn't keep their laughter anymore to the point that our cameraman had to run out of the room to be able to laugh out loud.
• What are the things you learned with Dr. Antonio both as professionals and as human beings?
(Kirsten) Dr. Antonio teaches us to not take life too seriously. Even during a pandemic, we can find humor and humanity. It’s good to laugh and love.
(Tigran) It did teach me actually to follow what makes me happy. No matter what obstacles we face in life, it is important to remember that it is not the end, it is only a necessary challenge to accept for a better future.
• Do you have plans for your artistic future? Do you plan to work together again after the success of Dr. Antonio?
(Kirsten) We always do many dance projects together. We are planning to participate in several music festivals soon, and we have upcoming film projects that are currently in process. It is always a joy working with the DREAM TEAM!
(Tigran) Yes we do. We are such a great team and we are very open and creative. So when one
of us gets an idea we all are jumping on board and making it happen as best as we can. We are currently in the writing process of another short film along with many dance projects, so we have to find time for everything.
• Thanks for being with us today, Kirsten and Tigran, it has been a pleasure having you as guests for this interview. Would you like to dedicate your wins to someone in particular?
(Kirsten) I would love to thank your festival Vegas Movie Awardsâ„¢ for awarding our film in several categories. Thank you for this wonderful interview with us.
(Tigran) I would like to thank you for interviewing us and for this festival. It has been such a joy to see our project succeeding in amazing festivals such as yours. Thank you to all the people reading this interview and learning about us. I’m really looking forward to bringing on many more projects here!
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