Mariah Mannae is a talented actor, writer and producer. She speaks to Justin Flynn about her current and future projects, which include a role in a movie with a star-studded Aussie cast.
After nearly a year abroad, Mariah Mannae was drawn back home for an acting role on an upcoming Australian drama film.
The 26-year-old from Lara is currently filming for the movie ‘Love, Tea & Epiphany’ alongside Frankie J Holden (Underbelly, a place to call Home, Blue Heelers), Dennis Coard (Home and Away, San Andreas) and Carolyn Bock (Wentworth, Offspring).
Leaving a London winter behind, Mariah will play the role of 20-year-old Stephanie in the movie as it centres around three different women during different stages of their lives.
Stephanie is the daughter of one of the main characters played by co-director Davini Malcolm.
“She’s amazing to play,” Mariah says.
“We’ve been cast as mother and daughter before so we have that chemistry and it helped us to be able to bounce straight into it on set.
“Our characters go through a lot together on set. We had to have a really good bond and relationship.
“It’s (the movie) an exploration of love, humanity and the exploration of oneself.
“It’s a really beautiful film to be working on. They are faced with decisions on art, loss, love, grief.”
With an all-female camera crew, the film is expected to hit the festival circuit sometime next year before being released for a general audience.
“The first day of filming I was really swept up by Frankie, Davini, Dennis and Carolyn and just to see the body of work behind them all,” Mariah says.
“I’ve grown up seeing these actors on TV and then to be in a room with them and to learn from their craft was such a masterclass in acting and being on camera.
“I lost my voice as soon as we started filming. Everyone was making me honey and tea. Frankie said ‘you need vitamin C’ so he brought me an orange to set.
“The love that I felt surrounding me when I arrived was very much what my character Stephanie feels in the film.”
Mariah has also been working as a producer on the film for about three years now.
She has read very early scripts and been involved in the casting process so the production is personal for her.
“I’ve seen the way it’s grown,” she says.
“They’ve been working on it for eight years. I want to do a really good job for them.
“Everyone in this production is doing such an incredible job from the director of photography to the make-up, it is a work of art.”
Going to school at St Anthony’s in Lara, it seemed Mariah was always destined for a life in the arts.
“I booked my first job in the industry in the theatre when I was eight years old,” she says.
“I was kind of a shy kid. I remember my mum telling me I could either do ballet or basketball.
“I really wanted to do basketball which seems so ridiculous because I’m five foot four. I would have been very bad at it.
“I went to this ballet class and really loved it. Two years later I auditioned for the Australian Ballet School and I got in and then four weeks later I booked my first gig with the State Theatre. It all unfolded from there.
“I always loved the ballets that were story focussed. The first job I booked was Stanton Welch’s Sleeping Beauty.
“You can imagine being a kid behind the State Theatre – the set is this big fairytale and you’re stepping inside of that.”
There are several strings to Mariah’s bow – acting, producing and she is currently writing on a TV series called Magic Land.
So which does she like best?
“People ask me that a lot,” she says.
“I think sometimes people would love me to be one thing, but I love to be so many different things. I don’t think I have a favourite.
“I realised that I loved being involved in the creative process that wasn’t necessarily being in front of the camera.
“I really like learning about the characters and how that’s crafted before being given to the actor. I’ve always been Interested in writing and producing.”
But while writing and producing has its own rewards, it’s acting that creates that internal buzz.
“It’s so fun to transform and try things,” she says.
“Actors have an incredible opportunity to experience life from so many different perspectives that not everyone gets to do. Anytime I do a role I feel changed and transformed by the character.
“I just love acting. The buzz on set and seeing the characters alive, there’s no other feeling like it.
“On the outside it probably appears as such a glamorous industry, but there’s so much work involved.
“Being on set, theatre and film are very different. You have to be very patient and connect and use your instincts.”
Mariah will head back to London when filming wraps up in a couple of weeks.
A “jam packed” year awaits with filming projects coming up, more writing and more work on the TV series Magic Land.
But above all, it’s storytelling that Mariah is always drawn to.
“Whether it’s acting, writing or producing I want to tell good stories,” she says.
“I think you can do it all. I really want to be one of those creatives who isn’t limited to one thing and can push the boundaries and do different projects and do different roles within those projects.”
While Mariah is currently stuck between the two worlds of London and Geelong, there’s one thing that she will always love about ‘home’.
“The community,” she says.
“Once you’re from this place everyone looks after you. There’s that family culture.”
