At the Start: Looking Back on "The Hedgehog Dilemma"

The awesome crew and 2-person cast of “The Hedgehog Dilemma”

When I was just a junior in college - new to acting and eager to get as much experience as possible – I was lucky enough to get a role in a small student film for one of Drexel’s film exchange students.

Right off the bat, the audition was a very memorable one. I had heard about it from a friend of mine who recommended me to the director, Sarah Dervin, and managed to get me in the room. Not going to lie: I was totally unprepared! I had about one monologue in my repertoire at that point and I had been distracted by schoolwork in the lead up. However, when I walked into the room and met Sarah and Amy, I was immediately welcomed, and it felt like the type of space where I could really let go and be in the moment. It was only a few days later that I received the email from Sarah letting me know that I was cast in the role of Rosie.

That’s also when I received the script.

My first impression of the script was that it definitely subverted the romanticized “man pursuing woman” trope, which was quite refreshing to do as an actor since it went a little bit beyond the bounds of expectation. Additionally, I learned that my character was fully deaf and only communicated with American Sign Language (ASL). This was such an awesome challenge for me as an actress. I decided to go straight to my friend (who is fluent in ASL) and work through the signing line-by-line until I had it down with the fluidity of a person who did this pretty much every day. I practiced everywhere. The coffee shop, walking to class, waiting for the subway, etc, until I was fairly confident with it.

The actual shooting day was also rewarding.

We were filming on campus in one of the most traversed walkways that we had. It was a new experience for me having to completely ignore all of the activity and focus on the scene. There was also some self-consciousness from the stares we got from the non-film students walking by. But Sarah directed with such professionalism and care that, again, I was able to give myself the permission to focus on the scene and live in the moment. Seeing the final product was so rewarding knowing how much effort and care was put into it from everyone involved.

Overall, this experience was such an important one for me. Not only did I have to navigate new situations that I’ve never been in before, but I was surrounded by compassionate, accepting people who didn’t make it weird.

If you would like to see the full short film, click on the “Videos” tab above.

Keep striving!

xx Selma