Elizabeth Orne

How did you get into directing?
I started directing long before I knew what it was. At age 5, I’d put on plays in the basement. I’d cast my cousins in the lead roles of bedtime stories I’d memorized. I’d (painstakingly) teach them their lines (they were crap actors). I’d hang blankets for curtains. I’d dress them in Grandmas old clothes. I’d charge 5 cents admission… But, I was never in the plays myself, I’d just yell at my cousins from “backstage” about how they were ruining my ideas. My parents called it “being bossy”.

What is the best part of being a director?
Entertaining an audience. All of filmmaking takes place in preparation for the moment when an audience is actually experiencing the story you have worked so hard to tell. It is the moment that feels the most like old fashioned, oral storytelling. Its very intimate. I also love shoot days. The days when I am on set, directing my own projects, are my favorite days in my life. Or at least, in retrospect they are.

Have you a mentor and if so, who is that person (or persons)
and what has been the lesson learned from that mentoring which resonates most with you?
I just graduated from NYU Grad film, so all of the professors there have mentored me. My favorite lessons are: “Kill your babies!” (meaning – a Director must be willing to sacrifice an utterly sublime shot for the sake of the overall story), and “By hook or by crook!” (meaning – get it shot by any means necessary). I also studied with Judith Weston for a year before coming to film school. She taught me a lot about working with actors, and using structured improv as a means of nonverbally communicating with your actors about their characters.

Contact

elizabethorne@gmail.com