A Name to Remember

Sometimes things (and people) in plain sight are seemingly difficult to find.

Vanessa Parise just happens to be one of those people who has been working steadily as a director in Hollywood and is ready to be seen and take that next big step.

New York born and Rhode Island bred Vanessa Parise grew up idolizing Broadway stars. With parents who were creative in their own rights and not averse to taking risks and following dreams, Vanessa Parise spent her adolescence beneath an compassionate roof that allowed for the cultivation of her passion for acting.

Many a youthful summer spent in Community Theater learning and honing a craft coupled with the undeniable drive to become an actress eventually landed her an invitation into the highly acclaimed Circle in the Square Theater School (a New York City based accredited theater training conservatory).

Simultaneously, she was accepted into Harvard Medical School.

Certainly not the worst back up plan if the whole acting thing doesn't work out. But being spoilt by choice can be a precarious situation, especially as a teenager determining the path of her life.

"It wasn't quick decision; I eventually asked Harvard if I could defer medical school in order to attend theater school." She explains, "If theater school wasn't as intellectual or as satisfying as I needed it to be, I didn't want to do it as a full time vocation."

Harvard agreed to the deferment and Vanessa Parise found great fulfillment from Circle in the Square in both an academic sense and as the creative nourishment for which she had been searching.

"I felt alive in a way that I'd never been: they taught lessons I still use today like 'be in the moment,' 'feel as much as you possibly can,' 'trust your instincts,' and 'be sensitive.'" She recalls, "It was a heightened and amazing time."

A dreamer with her feet on the ground, Vanessa Parise fully embraced the harrowing truth that trying to be a successful, working actor would be a more difficult and certainly a more risky path than becoming a doctor.

Harvard allowed her to defer enrollment for the next 10 years as she paved the way from New York City theater school into the entertainment industry in Hollywood, California.

And sunshiny Los Angeles welcomed her with the same frigidity it typically offers so many of its ambitious inhabitants. She laughs, "I definitely thought I'd come to Hollywood and just start working because I had done my training and I was good, but I quickly learned I didn't want to wait for auditions."

Reluctant to sit for weeks, months, or years before someone else made her dreams come true, Vanessa Parise decided to make her own movie. And a surefire way to land a leading role is to write, produce, and direct your own film.

"I made two independent features that I did everything on and created for myself because I really wanted an opportunity to have a good acting role."

It was during the independent filmmaking process where Vanessa Parise learned that her enjoyment for directing surpassed that of acting. And as an actor turned director, she was armed with access to knowledge some directors simply do not have; Vanessa Parise already had the actor's perception, a kind of in-the-trenches immediate rapport and understanding.

"Coming from an acting background it [directing] happened organically for me. Every actor has their own way so I like to know what that is early on and then I try to create a safe space for them to do the best job they can do, to be the most vulnerable, and to feel safe to take risks and bear to suck."

"That's what I provide and from there I help with whatever their process is, as much as they want me to: help prep, help them use their imagination, if that's what they're using; I'm there to give them a little nugget, if they so desire."

Her ultimate directing aim is to achieve a powerful reality within a preconceived world.

"There are two components for me: one is the overall visual experience, creating the world that feels cohesive and appropriate for the material. I love when there's a unique looking vision specific to the story and within that, I love performance.

"That's what pulls me in. I want to be on the edge of my seat not knowing what's going to happen next because the actors lead me to believe that they don't know what's going to happen next because they're totally in the moment and they're being truthful and real."

"You have to collaborate and hone in and say yes and say no. You're not taking everyone's advice, but you have to hear it all and shape it yourself."

After directing two of her own features, Vanessa Parise began to receive other directing opportunities from outside sources.

"When you're first starting, you want to create your own opportunities, but it's also important not to stay in low-budget films; I think it's important to get into the system."

The studio system in Hollywood is vastly different from that of independent film. Great stories can and have come from both platforms, but typically 'the system' refers to film and television shows being produced by major studios.

"Studio projects are appealing because they are associated with bigger budgets and far-reaching distribution; however, the ultimate decision is not always in the hands of those telling the story, but those writing the checks.

Independent films generally operate on very limited monetary resources, often non-union, with a nominal chance of being seen; their true appeal lies in greater creative control.

But working on bigger studio projects is the big leagues; it's a set way to gain notoriety and possibly land that next big gig. Each and every person working in Hollywood is operating underneath his and her own brand; they themselves are that brand, and it can best be recognized by working in the studio system.

Vanessa Parise touches on a recent focal point in Hollywood that is gender inequality and the #MeToo movement, "Part of the problem is that women are doing everything outside of the system because we're smart and if we can't figure a way in the system, we'll create it ourselves outside the system."

As far as on goings in the system she says, "The thing I keep hearing is, 'We want to hire female directors, we just don't know them.'"

She continues, "There's a lot of good talk about it, so now the challenge is to turn that talk into action and the question is how to do that?"

In an industry that makes big money by pleasing audiences, and a worldwide audience that craves original material and different perspectives, the answer seems to be in plain sight, everywhere you look in this beautiful melting pot called Los Angeles.

"Obviously we have to hire more women and minorities and put them into more leadership positions to make this happen." Vanessa Parise further explains, "I don't think men are intentionally not hiring women; they're just hiring people they know and feel comfortable with, but we need their help.

"We need men to hear us and see what's happening and help us make things more equal because that will be better for everyone. We need the help of these amazing men in the field."

And this is not to say that anyone wants anything handed to them simply because they want it.

Vanessa Parise expands, "One, you have to prove you can do it and, two, you want to make sure you can deliver when given the opportunity because that's how we're going to keep getting more and more work. All of my female director friends and I talk about how we have to over-deliver, work harder, make sure that everything we do is really top notch because there's no room for anything less or we'll get booted quickly."

In this regard, Vanessa Parise is walking the walk, leading by example: a female director that all aspiring directors can look up to and admire.

"I hope I can lead by example and it won't be as hard for others to come after me. The work is just so amazing and so satisfying. It's all the things I learned at Circle that I want to incorporate in my life. [The work] forces you to trust your instincts and allows you to be with creative people who are all connected because they want to say something the rest of the world relates to."

As for her own inspiration, "I love Lesli Linka Glatter, Greg Beeman, Agnieszka Holland, Nicole Kassell, Carl Franklin, Patty Jenkins, Jill Soloway; too many to mention!"

"I think if people hear our names enough, they'll remember us when it comes to hiring a director."

Having recently completed the highly rated TV movie, The Simone Biles Story: Courage to Soar, Vanessa Parise is slated to direct more episodic television in the near future, but plainly stated, "I would love to direct a television pilot."