Archive

Rebecca Mozo on playing the bad ass queer lead of “Kittens in a Cage”

It’s hard not to fall in love with Junie, the star of the new women in prison web series Kittens in a Cage. She’s wide-eyed, beautiful and kind-and a convicted criminal. Rebecca Mozo plays the bank robbing babe with such a perfect combination of class and sass, it’s just a bonus she ends up in a romantic relationship with cellmate Vickie (played by the equally enigmatic Erin Anderson).

We talked with Rebecca about starring in the super fun show, written and directed by out actress Jillian Armenante, and her feelings on playing a character with such an open heart.

AfterEllen.com: It must be an exciting day now that the series is out and people can watch it.

Rebecca Mozo: Oh my god, yes. I’ve been so excited. I’ve been waiting for this for so long.

AE: Had you seen it before today?

RM: Yes, I was able to. Jillian’s a close friend of mine and so she did have me over and had me kind of involved in watching a lot of the process as it went along, which was really exciting.

AE: I just talked with her and she spoke highly of your being a classically trained actress. Can you tell me how you worked together to write your character, Junie?

RM: Well we met, actually, she was directing a reading I was in and I’ve been a part of the L.A. theater community for some time, and I do a lot of classical theater as well as contemporary theater, every which way, form shape. [laughs] But she met me during that reading and we just kind of really hit it off. I think we work similarly and we’re both from New Jersey so we have a lot to talk about and similar senses of humor. So when this came up and she asked me to come in and read for her, I was just so excited because it was literally as if someone had taken every thing I’d ever fantasized about doing and putting it in my vision.

AE: Yeah, it seems like a super fun part, with the campiness and the accent. Have you done anything like this before?

RM: Yeah, no, this is first time I’ve ever done anything like this so it was just one of those things where you kind of jumped: OK we’re going with this and we created Junie to be in that kind of world where she’s-she’s so sincere, which is what I think the key to her is. Like I never wanted to play her snarky or anything, I think that she is kind of a lovable person that gets herself into situations but, deep down, is definitely a bad ass, when push comes to shove. It was kind of fun to play with that, to play with the bad girl and the sweet girl, kind of, in one person.

AE: It almost feels mean to call her naive, but do you think she is really as clueless as she sometimes comes off?

RM: Yeah, I think sometimes she is, but I also think she is very smart and calculated on when to appear that way-when it can work in her favor.

AE: Let’s talk about the Junie and Vikie relationship. I know that Erin came on kind of last minute so how did you establish a rapport with her when you had limited preparation time?

RM: With Erin, it was kind of a great situation because when Jillian asked me and was auditioning people for the role, I suggested Erin to come into read because I think she has this amazing-I just love her choices. And she’s really fun to be around. So it just worked out! She came in she was awesome so she got the part and we started playing. And every day we went to shoot and it was full, brave choices and we had a lot of fun.

AE: One thing I love about Kittens in a Cage is that no one feels like they have to explain themselves or their sexuality. Junie comes in and doesn’t have to say “I like girls” or “I don’t like girls,” which is something that happens in a lot of other shows. It’s especially rare for this time period. Can you talk about playing Junie as being so open as a person?

RM: I think it has to do with-I really believe that Junie has a good, open heart. I don’t think she judges anybody. Even in that whole scene with Lauren Weedman, which is hilarious, where she’s popping pills and stuff, a lot of people want to dismiss her as a pill popper but Junie takes the time to treat her like a human being. I think that her coming out and just being like “I have feelings for Vickie,” I think is a part of her innocence. It doesn’t occur to her-she doesn’t have a need to label herself or have a question about it or make an issue out of it.

AE: She even defends Barbara the cannibal, saying she’s a really nice person. She doesn’t even judge a woman who would eat her own finger and some girl scouts.

RM: Exactly. Like I think she really does kind of believe in the good in people, so that’s really one of the things that I love about playing her, is to remove all of that judgement. It’s really refreshing.

AE: I also love your scenes with Rebecca Field, who plays Jeanine. Junie doesn’t seem too put off by her advances, she’s just honest about being in love with Vickie. What is it like to shoot those scenes with Rebecca?

RM: Oh my god, I laughed so hard. We just laughed so hard because she really came at me hard. [laughs] At one point, I think during one take, she even licked my ear. But she’s such an amazing actor and she just gives it her all and it was just so much fun to be on the receiving end of that flirtation. It was difficult to resist, but I had to!

AE: Like she says in the show, she’s got a great face and amazing pair of tits! [laughs] It looked like you had a lot of fun with the musical performances in the show, especially when it turns into an all out rock band situation. So do you have a lot of musical experience and do you really play the ukulele?

RM: No! [laughs] I do play the ukulele now! When Jillian brought it up to me at an impromptu reading at her house, and then we started a Kickstarter and we were off and all that started happening, we had about two months before we were to start shooting so I started picking up the ukulele and Jill and I had ukulele sessions with a friend of ours-Daniel Bess, who plays the gang leader-he is an amazing ukulele player and has been a friend of mine for years so he helped me quite a bit. So yeah, it was a dream come true, because I always wanted to play the ukulele but do you ever say, “OK, now I’m going to play the ukulele?” So it was awesome. And I always loved singing. When I was in high school, I did a lot of musical theater but then kind of just never really pursued that avenue. I kind of got more into Shakespeare and Chekov and all that, so I deviated from my musical theater past. But I love singing so this is such a dream to have it be like “Here you go! Rock out!” It’s like what I used to do as a kid in front of my mirror with a hairbrush, except I get to do it for real.

AE: I love you still have your hair curled and show cleavage and essentially look gorgeous despite the fact you’re in prison! Was that campy aspect part of the fun for you, too?

RM: Totally. Yes! Because in real life, I am a ripped jeans and T-shirts and Vans kind of girl. So for some reason, curl the hair and stuff-oh my god, I loved it. It was so much fun to dive into that whole period of the ’50s. That was just the coolest part ever. And I just happened to be blonde at the time.

AE: So you’re not typically blonde?

RM: No, I’m actually brunette but I died my hair blonde for a play and when I saw Jillian, I said “I’m happy to dye it back brown, whatever you want,” and she said, “No, I like it-keep it!” So I kept it.

AE: There’s inevitably going to be some comparisons to shows like Orange is the New Black just because it’s the whole women in prison thing. Have you watched the show and do you see any similarities?

RM: I have watched the show. I think it’s great. I love the actors on it, and I think there are similarities, but it’s so, to me, so inherently different. I love that you compared it to a little bit of Cry Baby, which I grew up on and was one of my favorite things ever. It has a campier element to it. So I don’t know if this is accurate or Jill will kill me for even saying this, but I feel like if Orange is the New Black is E.R. than we might be Scrubs. It’s similar in theme, but very different in execution and style. So I’m so thankful Orange is the New Black is so popular-it paved a nice way for people to be interested in seeing women in prison, but yeah I think it’s just such a different show. I love it though!

AE: Jillian said she’s already writing the next part, which I guess would be Season 2 if you are calling them seasons. So are you on board to continue with the character?

RM: Oh my god, I would love it. I’d love nothing more! I’d go back to blonde and the whole thing.

AE: I know you were also on Beacon Hill.

RM: Yes, we did one season and I believe we’re supposed to do more. I know Crystal Chappell had gotten involved in another project so she kind of postponed Season 2 but if Season 2 ever comes up, totally would do it in a heartbeat.

via Beacon Hill’s website

Watch Kittens in a Cage now on Vimeo on Demand.

Lesbian Apparel and Accessories Gay All Day sweatshirt -- AE exclusive

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button