From Scripts to Schoolwork, My Conversation with Mira Silverman

Photo credit: Curtis & Cort Photography

Editor’s note: The dialogue in the following conversation can be deciphered by the following: Micah Parness’ dialogue will be bolded, Mira Silverman’s dialogue will not.

Today, I sat down with Mira Silverman. She’s an actor who's been in the industry since age five, and also happens to be my friend. I asked her about how her career intersects with her life as a teenager, what drives her motivation each day to perform, and generally who she is as a person. I hope you’ll enjoy reading our conversation.

Alright, so we’re just going to have a conversation like normal.

You know I haven’t been interviewed since I was, like, nine years old.

Yeah, so this will be an update.

Huh! All the people who read my article in the Dunwoody Newspaper in 2017 are really curious: Where is she now? And this is how they’re going to find out.

On MicahParness.com.

Thank you MicahParness.com!

Of course! Okay, so, could you introduce yourself?

Hey, I’m Mira Silverman. I’m 16 and my favorite ice cream flavor is moose tracks.

Ooh, moose tracks…

Or The Tonight Dough featuring Jimmy Fallon! The Ben and Jerry’s collab. That’s the best ice cream flavor, period. I would say generic is moose tracks or rocky road, or mint chocolate chip if I’m feeling frisky.

Mint chocolate chips are good, but I prefer it with a green tint. I don’t like mint chocolate chips that’s not dyed.

Well, people who say that mint chocolate chip tastes like toothpaste––grow up.

Wow…

That was aggressive. I’m sorry!

Alright, let’s see. We go to school together and that’s how I know you. The whole point of why we’re here is because you’re an interesting person. You’ve had an interesting career at such a young age. You were a child actor, right? You’re still an actor?

I’m still technically a child and technically an actor.

But, you’ve been in some projects in the past. Could you talk a little bit about how you got into them and what interested you?

It really– I don’t want to say fate, because I don’t know if I believe in that– was not by any conscious decision of my own. When I was five or six, I did an acting class.

Was it your idea or your parent’s idea?

I think it was my parent’s idea, because I think they wanted to give me an outlet because I was so much like a little kid, and they were like, “We gotta put her somewhere!” And, in that class, the teacher was like, “She could do this,” which is also a crazy thing to say about a six year old for a career.

Right, knowing that then.

Like, she could do this job. That’s crazy! But, the teacher encouraged me to audition for something; I did, I booked it, and–

And the rest is history.

And the rest is history!

What was that first job, do you remember?

It was an industrial. I don’t know what an industrial is. I’m pretty sure it’s something like a training video they show to people at a job. It was for iCloud, first invented in 2011. I was playing a child who didn’t know what iCloud was and I was painting a cloud.

Oh wait, I remember this!

You’ve probably seen this video before. 

I’ve seen this video before.

Remember “My cloud’s going to be pink like cotton candy!”?

Yeah, I remember that video! Alright, so, you’ve been in this industry for a long time– since about five, you said. And you’ve had professional acting gigs throughout much of your young life. Correct?

Less so now, but yeah.

More when you were a young kid.

Right, like a kid-kid.

Do you think being in an environment where you were forced to act in a job helped you gain some valuable skills that apply to you today?

I mean I’ve always been…

Mature?

Yeah, I guess. And so, starting in that environment from a young age made it so that it was more comfortable for me as time went on. I think that it helps me a lot with public speaking, and talking to adults– things like that.

I mean you’re very good at articulating yourself, and I definitely agree that you can attribute some of that to having to memorize scripts for a while. Now, what’s the motive behind working as an actor? Is it financial compensation? Is it the drive? Is it the passion? What motivates you to do it?

I just like it. It’s fun for me! I like to be able to be someone else for a little bit and see what that’s like. I like to put myself into someone else's shoes– imaginary shoes, but still someone else’s, and feel what they would be feeling in whatever situation.

Do you consider yourself an empath?

Um, not in the cheesy way that people say. But, I think I’m empathetic.
I agree. You’re very in-tune with emotions, and especially with other people’s emotions.

I just feel. A lot.

You’re a sentient being, kind of. So, it makes complete sense why you enjoy acting and putting on someone else’s persona or life for some time. I mean you do film and television, you do musicals, you do it all; is there ever a point where you just want to, you know, sit down, take time to yourself and do things that are authentically you? Or, do you feel like acting is authentically you and it is a way of expressing yourself?

The latter, yes. I can’t speak for myself in the future, but I can say that as of now, I don’t get tired of it.

Absolutely.

I’ve been looking forward to rehearsals, and when I would get a lot more auditions, even when it was stressful and I had to juggle workload, I was looking forward to working on it. It’s fun for me to do, especially when you treat auditions and rehearsal periods as your only chance to perform that scene or that song. It makes you value the craft more.

I see. So there’s definitely that self-proclaimed pressure, almost, that really fuels you and makes you enjoy it? Like the pressure to perform at your highest level and feel like you’re really excelling in your craft?

I mean, I think to myself: Don’t take this for granted. I never feel like Oh, it’s just an audition. Whatever I put out doesn’t matter, because if that’s my only opportunity to perform that specific scene or song, I want it to be the best it can be.

Right. And, as I mentioned before, you’ve had quite a few professional roles, and one of those roles, that arguably is your biggest role, is playing Brandi Beardo in Diary of Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul–

Biggest film role, yeah.

Biggest film role, I should say. They shot that in Atlanta?

Yeah, it was a little bit outside of Atlanta for some of it, and then within the perimeter for other parts.

That was a big film. I mean, regardless of how it was critically reviewed or received, that doesn’t matter because it was a film that premiered in the theaters. I saw it, everybody saw it. It’s a film that’s been memed about in general, and has become a talking point in internet culture since coming out a few years ago.

I just think that it was a great experience for me, the filming process. It was nine days for me. I was gone from school. I worked on my schoolwork when I wasn’t filming. I got to really experience a film set for the first time; I hadn’t done anything quite like that before. I got a lot out of it.

Right, you had to manage your time and priorities, things like that. Do you ever feel like acting and your professional life get in the way of being a teenager and being a student?

So, I know that I’m busy, but I think that, for me, acting is part of being a teenager. That’s where I socialize, so I would say no. Again, I am busy. I don’t do a lot other than go to school, rehearse, homework, sleep, once after-school musical rehearsals start. But I don’t mind it at all!

That’s really good, because it’s something you love, and you’re going to keep doing it. Regardless of the stress it brings, you still want to do it and keep going forward with it. And, if you don’t mind me mentioning, you’re in a production of CHICAGO right now. You play Roxie Hart, so congratulations on that!

Thanks!

Could you talk a little bit about what you did to prepare for that audition and what you’re excited to perform in as Roxie?

Well, I wasn’t anticipating the role. I picked a song from the song list the director’s gave us. I picked a song that I thought not many people were going to pick, but it ended up being the one that almost everyone picked, so fine!
What song was it?

“Look What Happened to Mabel” from Mack and Mabel. I thought that everyone was going to do “Life of the Party” and then no one did because they got scared, including me.

Oh that’s right, because they gave you pre-chosen songs on that list.

Right. I had actually sung the song before so it was comfortable for me, and that’s also why I wanted to do it. I just tried to– I was really nervous about the audition process. That doesn’t really–

Does it happen to you often? You’ve done it so many times so I’d assume you're immune to some of the nerves.

Auditioning in front of people like that still makes me nervous. The thing that doesn’t make me nervous anymore, that people are surprised about, is actually going on stage to perform. I’m not nervous about that.

And I think that this time around, even if you didn’t know, you had some subconscious understanding that you definitely had a shot at being Roxie.

I mean, I think that everybody has a shot.

Of course. But that was part of what fuelled the nerves for you. Even though you were nervous– I saw it, and everyone who saw it knew that you were fit for the role. It was only a matter of time before you got cast. So once again, congrats on that! It’s so exciting, there’s a lot to look forward to; what aspect of Roxie are you most excited to portray?

My favorite song in the show is “We Both Reached for the Gun”.

Mhm, it’s a great song!

I don’t sing in that at all, but that might be what I’m most excited for– it’s to be a puppet. Or, sit on the X in “Roxie”.

That is going to be really, really magical.

Not for you, because you’re afraid of heights, but…

Yeah, not for me… So you’re excited for the spectacle and comedy! I can’t wait to see it! Now, you mentioned that this is your passion. You want to go to school for acting?
I do.

Of course, you get a “traditional” academic education with that, but it’s a different process being an acting major. There’s obviously the auditions that you have to do, there’s the extra portfolio work and application work that you have to put in.

Yeah, the application process is certainly different, and the standard of how many schools you are expected to apply for is higher. 

How many do you know?

Upwards of 20, normally.

That’s a lot, wow!

Obviously it's not required, if you want to go to school for theater you don’t have to apply to 24 schools, that’s crazy. But, I also think it depends on the program you want to go into. Bachelor of Fine Arts programs are typically more exclusive, but Bachelor of Arts programs sometimes don’t require an audition and are bigger programs. It depends on what you’re looking for.

I see. You’ve had this background in professional acting; when you go to college, are you expecting people to recognize you?
No. I think I’ve only gotten recognized, like, twice maybe? That was when I was younger and looked the same as I looked on the T.V. I don’t really think I look like that anymore– or at least, I hope I don’t look nine years old, so I’m not expecting that at all. It would be funny if it happened!
Being in school now, do you ever feel like you are “other”? I don’t want to ask if the fame has gotten to you, because, as you are candid about this, you don’t feel different from anybody else and you feel like a normal person, a normal teenager.

I am a normal person.

You are! You just happen to have some fun, extra stuff on top of school.

I have a job just like everybody else does. Except, the job isn’t like the jobs everybody else has.

Yeah. Now, this is a fun part of your past: you met Shaq.

I did.

On the set of an EPSON Printer commercial.

EPSON Printers!

What was it like meeting Shaq? I’d just be in awe of how tall he is.

It was weird for me, just because he was sitting on a stool and towering over me while I stood next to him. Also, his hands.

Oh, I thought you were about to say his hair, I was like he doesn’t have any hair…

No, his hands. Like, it makes sense proportionally, but you’ve never seen a person with hands that big. He could palm my whole face and probably grab the top of my head and lift me up if he wanted to.

That’s just– was he nice?

He was really nice!

Well, you’ve met some really cool people! Okay, so I only have two more questions.

Okay!

The first one being: what three things inspire you? One film/T.V. show, one music artist, and one person.

Okay, I feel like I’m at a Letterboxd red carpet interview right now. You know what I mean? Like where they go, “What’s your favorite three movies?” and I’m like, “I don’t know!”

Oh yeah! I watched one with Ayo Edebiri.

I love her– she’s the person who inspires me! I deeply enjoy all of her work. She’s so funny. And I want to be her friend.

I agree! She’s so humble and down to earth.

She feels like a real person unlike a lot of other celebrities.

Alright, and artist?

Artist… you know what I’m going to say!

Boygenius?

Boygenius! I think it’s really beautiful that each of them has such inspiring solo work that I enjoy separately. They’re each different, even if they can all be looped into one genre. But, the way they come together and work as a team while still remaining distinct is beautiful, and I look up to their friendship.

And you saw them in concert!

Twice! I’m the luckiest girl in the world to see them twice.

Okay, and lastly film and T.V.?
Do you want my favorite movie?
Yeah!

Well, my favorite rom-com is 10 Things I Hate About You. My favorite drama is Whiplash. Favorite musical movie is La La Land.

Oh, good picks. And you know what? Don’t tell me why; I want people to interpret why they are your favorite.

Yeah, MicahParness.com– the viewers reading: what do you think about me that makes these my favorite?

Great, and then one last thing. For anyone who wants to go into the field of child acting, or really anyone who wants to be both a young adult and profession like acting, what is one takeaway from your experience that you think is valuable to other people?
Nothing is more important, no matter how big the audition is or how big you feel like the pressure on you is, than prioritizing yourself and your needs, and then comes your schoolwork, and then comes your work-work, and after that is whatever else you love to do.

Well, what a wonderful way to finish the conversation. Thank you so much, Mira, for chatting with me! Where can we find you on social media?
You can find me @MiraJSilverman on Instagram.

Perfect. Thanks so much!
Thank you, Micah!