Regulars of the improv comedy troupe, Neopolitan Syndicate, Robert and Kristin McCollum bring a refreshing and humorous tone to the group of friends in American Nightmare. They are also documentary fillmakers and can be found at ww.droppedonyourhead.com

In your own words, how would you describe the story of American Nightmare?

ROBERT: It is the story of two sisters who have lost their third sister a year before to an unexplained Halloween massacre. Lost her, as in she was never found. Now, a year later, a local pirate radio show host is commemorating the event with a call in show, asking listeners to call in their fears. The sisters' tight knit group of friends call in before heading to an annual Halloween
fest. A killer is listening... and using their fears to KILL THEM!

KRISTIN: I would say, American Nightmare is a dichotomy - it's the story of a woman (Jessie) trying to regroup and keep everything together after the disappearance of her sister while another woman (Jane) tries to tear it all apart.

Robert, tell us about your character, Tony?

ROBERT: Tony is smart, and smart assed. He has always been a terrible flirt, but is at heart very much in love with his wife Cynthia. He is also fascinated by people and what they think. Tony knows how to push people's buttons, even if he doesn't always choose to. He is more open minded than he likes to admit to, pretending to dismiss things that really scare him as just being ridiculous.

And Kristin, your character Cynthia?

KRISTIN: Cynthia is a goofy smart ass. She loves her group of friends and her husband - there's a great mutual respect with all involved. Her favorite color is puce.

What challenges did you face in playing your characters?

KRISTIN: Cynthia and I are kind of similar (except for the puce thing) so it wasn't really challenging. I think the difference between she and I is that she is a little more dramatic than I am.

ROBERT: Well, being in love with Cynthia was the easy part. The real challenge was attaining a realistinc level of fear in the big party scene without ACTING. The shoot schedule demanded such quick setups that ther wasn't much time for warmups and actors tools.

Did you do any special training or preparing for your roles?

KRISTIN: I think all the rehearsals we had really helped me sink into the role - so any external preparation was more just thinking about her and her life. The amount of time the group of friends spent together made the part almost second nature.

ROBERT: Tony is very much like me, the friends are very much like people that I would hang out with. So most of Tony's scenes, it just came naturally. As for the party scene, I just had to find some thoughts that really would wig me out to the point that I would lose it.

What did you personally bring to your roles?

ROBERT: The smart-ass part... that was pretty much me.

KRISTIN: I think I brought comedy. She could've been a total drama queen but I kind of spun that into someone who may have drama queen tendancies, but that she recognizes it and makes fun of it and herself.

Kristin, how would you define your relationship with the group of friends?

KRISTIN: Long term and mutually respectful. They're like an old coat - extremely comfortable. They've seen each other at their best and worst and have an incredibly strong bond.

Robert, how would you define the relationship between you and Jessie (Brandy Little)?

ROBERT: Tony understands people, and especially women. I think he can tell when she is close to breaking and knows when to lay off. He is not her closest friend, but he understands her.

Tony seems to have a special attraction to the killer, Jane. How would you define this?

ROBERT: Tony knows how to read people (he thinks) and sees in her a totally realized sexuality. She is totally confident of herself and that fascinates him. And... Tony now lives vicariously through Bruce's exploits. So he likes getting close to the fringe of his action.

How did Cynthia feel about these flirtations?

KRISTIN: Tony appreciates women. I think it's a trait that Cynthia's known about forever and maybe in the beginning of the relationship she tried to change but then realized it was useless. They have a really strong relationship - so him looking around doesn't bug her. But she still gets on him about it to let him know the way it is.

What process did you go through to get the role?

ROBERT: After seeing the film listed on the web site, I sent in my headshot and was offered an audition. In the first reading, Jon [Keeyes] and Shelley [Shivers] and the others seemed to like the idea that Kristin and I could improvise and bring something extra to the characters. We have several years of improv comedy experience, but that can help you find the reality in situations, not just the comedy.

KRISTIN: It's funny - I wasn't even going to send my headshot in but Robert was all gung ho about doing independent movies and I decided to ride his wave. At the time I think I was on the down side of the acting biz - tired of all the cheesy commercials I was auditioning for - so I went in to the audition process with a lackidasical attitude. But once I was in the room reading for everyone the same thing happened that always does - the spark deep inside that reminds me that this is exactly what I want to do - ACT. So then I got all excited about it and really wanted it. Luckily I got to audition the second time with my husband - we work well together.

How did the rehearsals go?

KRISTIN: Rehearsals were a blast. Sometimes I felt bad for Jon the director because we would just be cutting up all over the place. I still wonder how he controlled the chaos. But it was great because we were all really starting to fall into our characters so we could make changes to the script and
everyone was really open about it.

ROBERT: The rehearslas were great because our group really came together as a true group of friends. We were giving each other crap and playing jokes on each other just like the characters. Also, Jon was really open to working out the dialogue and finding the natural rhythm. When things came out organically, they were built into the script.

You spent many long nights on location. How was that?

ROBERT: It was actually a lot of fun. I think everyone involed was still new enough to the whole movie making process that it just seemed like summer camp or something. We all got to stay up late and play.

KRISTIN: Loooooooooong. But fun. Thank god for cigarettes and coffee (how bad does that sound). It was an interesting study on how people act with little to no sleep. For me - I would go through phases. My favorite phase was loopy. The other phases were sleeping and grumpy. The most amazing person was Jon - no matter how tired he was he must've taken some sort of cheerleader pill - he would jump up and down and get everyone motivated. It was incredible.

What was your favorite aspect of filming, American Nightmare?

ROBERT: Everyone involved with this project fell in love with it. It was like we became a family. Getting to know everyone, sitting out driking coffee in the rain... it was like camp!

KRISTIN: The people. For sure. I never thought about going to the set and having it be "work". It was just pure fun. I would do it again in a second. It's a great way to spend your life.