Kinderfänger Star Angel Theory Talks Turning Trauma Into Strength

Kinderfänger Star Angel Theory Talks Turning Trauma Into Strength

As Kinderfänger Season 1 wraps, Angel Theory spoke to CBR about her experiences as a hearing-impaired actress, creating a relatable story and more.

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Kinderfänger Star Angel Theory Talks Turning Trauma Into Strength

Crypt TV’s latest ongoing series, Kinderfänger is a terrifying take on the classic Pied Piper story. In this supernatural mystery-drama, hard-of-hearing/deaf music teacher Olivia is put to the test when her underprivileged students begin to vanish one by one, taken by the Kinderfänger, a dark entity that collects troubled young souls. Mysteriously, Olivia herself is able to hear the Kinderfänger’s call, and might be the key to stopping the monster for good.

Speaking to CBR, Kinderfänger star Angel Theory, the hearing-impaired actress who plays Olivia, discussed her experiences acting in and co-executive producing the Facebook Watch series. Angel broke down her inspirations for portraying Olivia and what it is that makes the character so special. She also talked crafting a relatable story, the kinds of monsters that make her reach for the lights and more.

Kinderfänger Star Angel Theory Talks Turning Trauma Into Strength

What was it that drew you to Kinderfänger on Facebook Watch?

Angel Theory: So I actually got the I got an email from my manager, who told me about the project and, once I actually got to read the script and learn more about it and sit down to talk via Zoom with the directors and writers…I just was like, “this is some good energy.” And that’s what I gravitate to. So, I knew I wanted to do it. It seemed like a fun project and something to step out of my comfort zone with.

And you have a co-executive producer credit on the series, as well. What was that experience like, starring in and executive producing the series you’re in?

Theory: So, I know this sounds like a lot, but while starring in it, I was able to actually give my two cents on things I felt weren’t realistic to my life as a hard-of-hearing person. I was able to tell the director or the writer, “hey, instead of having the phone vibrate and [Olivia] getting scared in the script, why don’t we use the phone flashing [instead]?” Because that’s actually what I use in my everyday life when I get notifications or phone calls. It also helped with the scare factor in the show, with the flashing lights and stuff like that just being unexpected. But being able to film at the same time, I was able to [share] things I felt would have made [the series] more relatable, more realistic, and they were very open to that, which made my job very easy. And it allowed everybody to pitch ideas in a family kind of way, where everything all came together into one big, beautiful, combination of a fictional story with some reality to it as well.

And that’s important, because often there’s representation, but the person embodying it has no say in how they’re coming across on screen. And this series is likely many people’s first time seeing a lead character that isn’t just hard-of-hearing, but Black and Queer, as well. What was it like for you to be able to embody this sort of thoughtful representation for people who might not otherwise have seen it?

Theory: It’s just as much of a first for me as it is for other people to see. It was a lot of firsts for me on Kinderfänger. I was able to challenge myself and put myself in a pocket where I could get comfortable wearing a dress and wigs — which isn’t normal for me. Instead of just taking directions and following everything in the script, I was in a position where I could share my thoughts and say, “hey, this this doesn’t really sound like something I would do or a person that’s really living this life would actually do.” And that made it much easier for us to navigate the script and the storyline so it could actually fit for people that’re watching. It’s not like, “oh, well, we’re watching a story where we have to just feel so bad for this main character” because of this, that and the third.

Instead, [Olivia] has so many different compartments, so many different things that make up her whole identity, where [viewers] can all relate to something about her. And it doesn’t have to only be, you know, the LGBTQ+ part, or the hard-of-hearing/deaf side or anything like that – it’s [Olivia] being seen as a human being with regular life issues and family drama. I feel like anybody that’s watching it, they can relate in some way or they know someone that went through the things that Olivia may have gone through, so when you’re watching it, it doesn’t feel just like a story that’s just made up.

It feels like, “this actually does happen in real life.” And it sets that reminder in people’s brains that, no matter if you see someone and they look put together and everything seems fine outside, you don’t know what’s really happening behind closed doors. I think that the show shines with that idea, with keeping people remembering that. I felt like there’s a lot of things that people can learn from it or be able to get deeper into the story and be more interested in it.

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Kinderfänger Star Angel Theory Talks Turning Trauma Into Strength

With Olivia, she’s really a great balance between scared and determined. She knows what she’s doing, but she’s also kind of shaky, she wants help, she doesn’t want help. She’s a very unique heroine. What were your inspirations in portraying her?

Just like with my cast members wanting to be more educated on ASL and the hard-of-hearing/deaf community — that I was able to actually like help with, along with my interpreter Caroline — there were some things that I wanted to know for myself. So, I went and asked people that I know went through mental and physical abuse and asked them, “how would you feel if you went through this and, you know, a guy touched you in that way? What would your reaction be or what would your body language show if you’re in a situation that brings you back to [traumatizing] memories?” That was a huge help [in portraying] Olivia.

And there were even moments behind the scenes, [like when] my amazing co-star Alex, who plays Wallace, touched me — Olivia’s — shoulder in a certain way and I had to stop and say — of course, I’m fine with it, we’re working — but I had to keep the idea open for the guys in the room and say, “hey, if she’s a female that was touched or assaulted in a very traumatic way, she’s going to feel a little awkward. Even if she’s cool with you, she’s going to feel awkward if you touch her in certain ways or if your body language kind of makes her feel a little [tense].”

Being able to remind myself of that and remind them of that helped us pay attention to these little cues that Olivia may show on screen where she might not be comfortable or she might not sign to certain people — just little things she does in her communications with others that’d be different based on how she felt about them. And these help bring this character of Olivia into one big ball of…just a lot, you know? [laughs] There’s moments where she wants help, there’s moments where she doesn’t want help, there’s moments where she finds that little bit of strength, but then she loses it very quickly.

And you see that progression later on in each episode, where we’re able to realize that, with all of this stuff that she’s gone through and everything that she is, there’s still room to grow for this character. And I think that’s very important, especially for people that went through abuse in real life, that when they see this character, it’s not just based on [demanding] empathy because she went through this. It’s “what watch how she goes through this and keep watching while she gets out of it and finds her strength.” I hope that for other people that went through [things like this], they’ll get some type of empowerment watching Olivia going from this sheltered, scared 11-year-old in the heart to being a strong, independent woman that, you know, is not playing [laughs].

And throughout the series, we’re seeing work through her trauma, deal with it, move through it and then eventually come out of it. The Kinderfänger itself sort of represents that in how it’s basically trauma that’s collecting other people’s trauma — which is terrifying.

That’s a really good point. You know, trauma going after more trauma. My grandma always said that misery loves company. And I think that’s something clearly seen in this show where it’s this thousand year old monster that’s going after children — #weird — but, I think the most beautiful thing about it is that you can go through trauma and still learn from that and [find] important life lessons [in it] so you can get better in life and be happy at the end of the day.

[On the other hand], the children you see in the show, they don’t really have those experiences. They don’t know that there’s happiness at the end of the tunnel, that there’s light at the end of the tunnel. They just know that they’re kids and that’s what they’re going through. They grew up with it. And I think the really beautiful thing is that Olivia goes through so much — you see it with her mom, you see it with her grandfather, you see with so many different obstacles that’re put in front of her. And yet, even with all of that, you’d think she would be the most miserable, mean person because she’s going through all of this. But she is still able to show love and hug another person and still be good at the end of the day.

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Following that, is the Kinderfänger the type of monster that typically scares you?

No, I think the scariest monster to me is…being an adult [laughs].

That sounds about right.

But, honestly, I think what scares me are things that aren’t seen. If I see it, I’m like, “oh, OK,” it’s there. But the things that you can’t see are sometimes the scariest, you know? Like, there’s a monster there, I see it, but I know I can hit back or do something. But if you’re getting touched and you don’t know who’s doing it because there’s no one there, it turns into “I don’t know if I should sleep right now.”

Even Olivia embodies that in how, after a certain point, she’s not as scared of the Kinderfänger as she is of what it’s doing, which is really cool.

That’s also a good point, because there is a part of a scene where where you see Anna [a possessed child] outside the window and Olivia just turns to the side very slowly. She’s just like, “all right, I’m just going to give you five seconds to be out of my face.” I think that was actually pretty funny. But then when she actually sees this huge eight, nine foot Kinderfänger guy going after children, then it’s like, “OK dude, I’m going to come after you. I’m not scared of you.” You know, she’s in this floral dress and she looks put together and cute in her shoes and everything. But she’s still like, “I’m going to I’m going to wipe your ass. You’re not going to mess with Marcus. That’s that’s my son,” you know? So I think that was pretty funny because she wasn’t able to see anything in the beginning, and that’s when she was actually frightened. And then once she saw [the Kinderfänger], it wasn’t that much of a scare except for the first confrontation in the park and she was hiding on the slide. But I think that’s a natural reaction.

What kind of doors do you hope that the series will open for others?

The doors I would love to see open, not only for future up and coming actors and actresses that are disabled or part of the LGBTQ+ community, but for all different types of people being able to use not only their real life experiences, but to be able to tap into these different genres and see how fun they can be. And I want for the entertainment industry to realize that there are so many different stories and you can use so many different kinds of unique people to get these stories across, and especially to help it be more relatable, realistic and worth watching.

I just want people to take something away from Kinderfänger, whether it’s empowerment, whether it’s realizing that we all have our own life story and everybody goes through things behind closed doors and that we’re all human at the end of the day. [I want to] make sure people stay open minded and observe their surroundings [more]. But Kinderfänger, Crypt TV, Facebook Watch — I think they did an amazing job with [hearing] the things that I felt needed to be changed so [the show would be] more realistic and people could gravitate to it in a real way. But [they also were great with] wanting to actually learn, wanting to be educated and having fun at the same time. I didn’t feel like anybody had any issues with it. It just felt fun. Everybody learned something. So I hope the viewers and people that support the show also feel that way as well.

Could you give us a hint as to anything that might be coming forward in, you know, in the last few episodes of the season or things to watch out for as it wraps up?

I think one thing to watch out in the last few episodes is coming out is… definitely pay attention to Olivia’s demeanor, how she goes about communicating with other characters and the complete change that she’s had from the very beginning. You [compare] the first episode and the last episode, that complete change that she goes through just to find her strength, even if it meant that she had to allow herself to be weak at some points to get there. I think that’s something that’s exciting to look forward to. And [watch out for] what happens at the end, because it’s going to get crazy.

Directed by Bridger Nielson, Kinderfänger stars Angel Theory, Alexander Neher, Andi Chapman and Dmitrious Bistrevsky. Based on the 2017 Crypt TV original digital series of the same name, new episodes of Kinderfänger air every Friday at 3pm PT / 6pm ET on Crypt TV’s Facebook Watch page.

Link Source : https://www.cbr.com/kinderfanger-interview-angel-theory-crypt-tv/

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