"Flower #5" from the Dining Room segment of FLOWERS, actress Kara. A. Christiansen.

 

Ronnie Sortor:  What’s your favorite movie?

Kara A. Christiansen:  Hellraiser 2 Hellbound, love the old school fx.

 

R.S.  How did you get involved with FLOWERS?

K.C.   I got involved with FLOWERS when my good friend Makaria contacted me asking if I wanted to audition for the dining room scene. Phil sent me the script, I was intrigued. After rehearsing for a bit with Makaria I auditioned for Phil and got the part.  FLOWERS is the first and only movie I have worked on so far.

 

R.S.  I was very impressed with your performance from the first time I saw Phil's raw camera footage! I saw in some of the old Facebook posts some info on your local Halloween endeavors & performances so I take it that horror is in your blood?

K.C.  I have been acting in the haunted house industry for seven years as an attraction manager. I train actors to scare people safely and effectively and manage an attraction throughout the season. This is where I met Makaria.  She is a ten year vet. My horror acting experience comes from haunting hundreds of Philadelphians every year. When I read the script for my scene in FLOWERS I thought to myself "This is perfect for me, its like walking into a scene at a haunt, no lines distract you from the gut wrenching images, just visceral agonizing performance"

 

R.S.  Some of the other actresses had behind-the-scenes production duties that they got credited for. Did you find yourself recruited to help as well?

K.C.  My behind the scenes work was limited to promotional stuff, by the time I got involved in the project there was nothing that was not already covered other than making and distributing flyers and posters. So I did that, Makaria helped me distribute them on South St. and such. I promoted the film at all my vending events and social media, we have a lot of friends that want to see it.

 

R.S.  This one's more of an observation than a question, kind of anecdotal from my perspective I guess but feel free to offer your thoughts.. Your character suffers onscreen more than any of the others! Such intensity! Phil insisted that absolutely no raw sounds be heard and it was a shame to lose your voice. I tried to be sneaky and leave in a bit of your heaving during the vomiting shots, but he caught it and insisted they be removed. Dang! Phil always intended that your Dining Room scene be the most visceral. The one that makes the audience sick! How'd you cope with all the eating? For the readers, can you describe what that was like? 

K.C.  The dining room scene required mental and physical preparation. I rehearsed by myself at home and did not eat much before the shoot. There was no way I could eat all that food but I did plan to eat some of it. I had no back story to go on at that point so I imagined the character as a former model that battled an eating disorder. Trapped in her own personal purgatory, not accepting the fact that her life has ended, still trying to escape.  It was not until we filmed the flashbacks at the end I even knew my character was a hooker. I did my own costuming in that scene I felt like I had already shown enough in the dining room and I think it off set Krystle's nudity in the scene pretty well.  Shooting the eating scene was not easy. There was a lot of ravenous eating and then Phil would yell CUT! Makaria would come out with a trash bag and I would spit out the food I didn't swallow. No actual vomiting ever occurred, I paced myself and drank the fake wine in between.  The food was not very good, most of it was straight out of a can, cold and flavorless. I went to town on the roast chicken though, that was my lunch that day. It was careful to eat the banana in a way that it would not resemble a blow job. 
The only thing about the final cut of that scene that bothered me was the fake wine. The bottle has a yellow label yet the wine is red. Any wine drinker knows yellow labels are white wine. I thought the movie was going to be in black and white so I didn't mention it, thought I would be considered an "amateur". Its just kinda funny now. 
I did not feel queasy after wards, just very sticky with chocolate and corn syrup blood, covered in dirt and earthworms.I think we had a few beers even.

 

R.S.  Another couple of questions that I ask everyone: Do you still keep in touch with the other FLOWERS girls?

K.C.  I don't keep in touch with the FLOWERS actresses much, just Makaria who is my close friend and I will occasionally see Anastasia at burner parties. I almost went to Burning Man with Ana and Tanya, but that fell through for me, I couldn't take off work.  I catch up with the FLOWERS girls on Facebook mostly.  Makaria and I worked together on NYE, she was my dance partner in my 3D art installation I created at a huge burner party.

 

R.S.  Do you have any stories from the FLOWERS set that the readers may be interested in?

K.C.  My death scene was harder to film then I expected. Being strangled by someone with no stage strangling experience is a little nerve wracking. But it worked out. The fear was pretty real.  Kind of a nightmare come to life.  The disappearance in the exile scene looked good, I was afraid my posture would be awful, but why would one sit straight while watching their death anyway?  That entire scene with the flashbacks worked well, giving the viewer a glimpse into the life of the characters before the movie ends.

 

R.S.  Last questions: What's next for you? Are there any other movies that you're working on?

K.C.  What is next for me? I am actively looking for more fun and horrific acting roles and artistic projects to work on. Hoping to fill my spring and summer with vending events, screenings and festivals...