Interview With Writer/Director Danicah Waldo of Sally, Get the Potatoes!

Thank you for taking the time to speak with me

Congratulations on your film. I really enjoyed Sally get the potatoes. I love the name, by the way, as well

It's hard to forget. So it's at least something we've got going for us in the festival circuit

Right. No, that's very true. How many movies have to wear potatoes in it, right

Not enough. Not enough. That's the correct answer. No, but it's perfect for the film

So I'd love to hear how you originally got started. This is your first short

This is your first film, right, that you've made. But you started off as an actor

I do. As a child actor. So what was that like? Yeah, so I'm from Long Island originally

I grew up pretty bare bones household, single mom, me and my sibling

And the way we spent time together was by going to the theater. and doing shows

And I grew up backstage. And when I was a queen, my mom thought, well, what would it be like to take you into

the city and try to get you an audition for a movie or a bigger show? And so this was something that her and I did together, which was such a fun bonding experience

And we would go into Penn Station and get backstage newspaper. This was before the online publication and circle the auditions on the way home

And so I booked my first feature when I was 14. I had done a short that actually went to Sundance by Craig McNeil, who's now working really

a lot of horror stuff that he does. He's amazing. And so I got the bug and I got on set and

I said, this is incredible and I want to be on set all the time. And then I ended up going to

school for musical theater. There's not a ton of acting on camera programs when it comes to

universities. And I had still been pursuing my musical theater career at the time. So I went to

Pace University and I studied there and they had a lot of great curriculum like directing and

acting for the camera. So it was really comprehensive. And then I ended up working for a

company called Aplaus New York for 10 years. And that's really how this all happened. Aplaz is a performing art studio on the Upper East Side and they teach music

theater, film and dance to kids. And when I came in, I was a musical theater teacher

but I immediately gravitated toward the film program. And they were thrilled because not everyone

in their teacher. roster wanted to be on the film side of things. So I got to get my 10,000 hours in of directing and

writing and creating films with kids. And we had a YouTube channel that went viral, which was a

really exciting time for us and gave us a lot of leverage to be able to grow the company in a really

big way. So at the time, we had maybe four or five film classes. And then I was in charge of

growing it to 15 film classes at one point. How would the operations work for that? And also

how would we make sure the content was really exciting and fresh and innovative? And so all of

that kind of combined to then lead me to where I am today. And I'm currently director of production

at a startup called lit video books where we make documentary versions of nonfiction books

And I've been able to, like I said, kind of take each step of my journey along with me

But I think the fact that I started as an actor is a real asset. And I love working with actors

and especially children as a child who grew up on sets. It's really rewarding for me

Yeah, no, that's amazing. That's a very, you know, it's wonderful your trajectory, how everything you

did kind of move to your next kind of step in your career. So would you say, you know

when you were studying in school, you kind of got the director bug. As you said, you got the

musical theater when you were younger. Is that definitely where you see yourself going forward

as being like a director more so than, you know, going back to musical theater or being an actor

I mean, in a dream world, we get the balance of doing a little bit of everything. So

say never. I still live in New York, so Broadway is just a train right away. And of course

I'm a huge fan always. But I do think that directing is something that I find to be the most

rewarding thing I found so far. I have had all this experience now managing people and being

able to build departments and businesses. And when I started directing, I realized the skills

are really transferable. And it's so funny. And thank you for saying all of those steps led to

each other because I think when you're in those steps, when you're younger, you're not sure where

you're going. You're not sure if what you're doing is going to actually be valuable. And then you

get to the point where you want to be and you look back and go, my restaurant job was really

valuable. I learned so much there. My babysitting job was really valuable. That I took a good

amount with me. And so it's a beautiful thing and you have to trust in the process. You also have to

trust in your gut, knowing that where you're at might be giving you something new or you're

learning something that you can take with you or learning what you don't like. That's a huge part

I think of having our careers. And what I really love is I love being on set and I love managing

people. And I love to be able to put a great team of people together and say do your best work

and let's all make it together. Definitely don't run a dictatorship of any kind. This is always a

collaborative process down to my PA's. And I think being able to lead with that in this industry that

was often not always the case, maybe a bit more of a hierarchy that had really strict and

intense work environments. I don't believe in leading with fear. I think that creates a culture

that no one will ever do their best work And they might do good work but I don think it allows for the maximization of what people potential are So being able to be in that position is both rewarding and also I feel like I contributing

in some way to this industry. I believe in so much, but it wasn't always often the case

And so I'm hopeful that I'll be able to keep directing. I also love producing, so finding a balance between the two

And I now have a manager for writing and directing. So I also am writing and trying to keep myself fresh and developing both my own voice

and learning. I'm a sponge. I love to learn. I love to grow. I'm never done learning

So having her has been incredible so far because she encourages me to keep on deadlines of projects

and really make sure that I'm educating myself as a writer as well. And this all comes back to story

And starting as an actor, we started with story. What does your character want? How are they going to

get it? That's what I'm doing as a writer. What is the character want? How are they going to get it

And then I get on set as director or a producer when you're having to make creative budget decisions

or find a way through a really tight scene that you don't have a ton of time for

And I think the roots of just story and those basic elements are really transferable

and it just depends on where you feel most comfortable in the spot on the set. Right

That's a wonderful perspective. All of that was, you know, from managing and into last, and you said

and I agree, you know, wholeheartedly as well as far as, you know, managing and, you know, just also

it does come down a story. And I'd love to hear how this story for this film kind of originated

So the backstory is pretty fun. I teach a high school filmmaker experience class at applause. I'm still

actually teaching. I'm not there full time anymore, but that's the one class I held on to. And when we are in class, we're constantly growing ourselves, both as teachers, but also trying to get the students to better their skills

And there was one day that they were struggling with what to write about. I think we had given them a writing exercise

And they were having a hard time figuring out how to come up with something they wanted to say

And we were encouraging them if they found their own voice or if they had something they wanted to share with the world

they could do it through a capacity. It could be a prop or a location or a character or a silly line of dialogue

And so we were doing an exercise with them to be like, write a story that takes place in a barn, write a story that has a grandpa in it

And now let's come up with some lines of dialogue. someone threw out a funny line of dialogue or something interesting

Just what's a line of dialogue we could all put in our script? And one of my students at the time, Morgan Zoya, shouted Sally, get the potatoes

And everyone laughed. It was clever. It's interesting. It's specific. And they went to move on from this

But I said, no, I think there's something there. That struck a chord with me. And I'm going to do this myself

I'll do the exercise too with you. I'll go home. I'll write a script. I'll show you what I mean

Just to give you some inspiration that if I know what I want to say, I can

put the lime, Sally, get the potatoes in there. It can all be shaped around this

And so I wrote the scripts and I brought it back to them. And I said, okay, we got what you're saying

This is actually pretty good. And we see where the voice and the tone came through

And we didn't end up making the film that semester. But when the students came back for the next summer

they had gone to film school, two of my students, Morgan and Lila Maladi. They'd come home and they said, whatever happened to that Sally's scripts

we really liked that. We want to make something a summer. Would you want to make it? And I said, sure, find me a little

location with 18 rooms and a laundry room and a huge hallway and a house that would be

elegant enough that a housekeeper would need to work in it. And in two days, they brought me a

location and said, we have it secured for the end of August. And this is a beautiful turning point

because all of a sudden the teacher becomes a student. And I was then put in the spotlight to go

okay, I guess I have to make my movie if they're really committed to this. And it was the

wonderful experience to do together. But when it comes to, the actual inspiration of the story, I've always been really interested in generational relationships

between children and adults. And it's interesting because even as I reflect back to my own childhood

I loved watching movies that had one kid and a bunch of adults in it. And I think it was a bit

reflective of my childhood. I grew up as the youngest of my family and I was often going to theater

rehearsals or hanging out backstage with mostly adult actors. And I think I had to learn

pretty quickly how to participate if I wanted to hang and be included. And this transition that we

all go through is one of the only real inherent human conditions that we have. Of course

our environment circumstances, our familial makeup will all influence that. But if we are

currently standing on this earth as an adult, as far as I know, we were all once children

unless there's robots walking around, in which case, come find me. Yeah. And so it's something

that I think inherently connects us all. And I had also been working on the Upper East Side for a long time. And I did not grow up with a whole lot. And I think watching these kids from these very affluent families, to be honest, was so eye-opening for me because as a little kid who didn't have a lot, you wonder if money would change everything and make everything better. And of course, it does make some things better. We cannot ignore that. But what I really took away was that these kids are still just kids who have to learn how to live in the world. And their parents are doing their best and their

blinks are doing their best. But there's not really, there wasn't this big eye-opening experience

of like, well, the money gave them all of these wonderful things that I just would never have. And

I think that was really, it was a peaceful moment for me to be able to let go of some of those wants

and wishes from my childhood but also a curiosity of well if they have all of this then what does that mean for their lives And how do they operate in the world And with shows like Succession and White Lotus there obviously something that we all interested in about this right now

And I think this science of happiness stuff that has come out a lot in the last five years

and not always reflecting your billionaire status as being the people that find themselves to be most happy in the world

All of that is just, I'm just, I'm curious. I'm a curious person. And when I'm curious about something

I think I like to then take a character and explore it. And so that's really what this film was inspired by

Oh, yeah, and that's a very interesting story. I love, you know, you said constantly love to learn and, you know, the teacher becomes a student

I think that that's just such a wonderful message. And also it's just such a, it's always lovely to hear of things like this happening in a very

organic way. You know, and I just, I think it's also inspirational for people to hear people that want to do

what you're doing and make a film. And also, that's a great, that's great advice

Like maybe people watching this will be like, I'm going to, I'm going to come up with a random saying or, you know, make it in a barn or grandpa, you know, that's, that's really wonderful writing advice as well

So you wrote the script for the class. And, you know, there was some time and then you made it

Was there any shift in the story from what it originally was to what it ended up being in the movie

Or was it pretty much like you went exactly as you had first written it

there were some shifts. And Lila and Morgan, who are both 20 years old

they were 19 last summer when we made this, they were so helpful in the note process

And I think this was also a good learning lesson for me. They identified so many areas in the script that needed attention

and they would come with their own ideas. But as a writer, I could kind of then see through going

okay, I still need to take ownership of this creatively. and I see why they're suggesting these ideas

but I also see why they're giving the note. And I didn't necessarily agree with their ideas

but I agreed once I de-layered their ideas, what the notes were

And at first, all of Sally's siblings were much younger, and they had a great recommendation to make them older

make her even more isolated. I think up in the stakes and all of this was a really great piece of feedback that they had

And there were certainly, some structural things where like she takes a ride in this laundry basket for those who haven't

seen this film. She takes an unexpected ride a laundry basket through her house that the

housekeeper pushes and she's spying on her family members one by one and learning the secrets

that they're hiding, both from her and from each other and really from themselves as well

And so the mechanics of that when you look at a script, you want to think about a short film

and make sure that there's some story engine that's happening pretty quickly off the top

And we needed to get her in the basket faster was something that ended up happening

And so it's a good learning lesson as well because that really ended up happening in the edit versus it was

we had some stuff that we ended up cutting out. But it was a good lesson for me as well to remember like, go back to those basics when you're writing

Make sure that by a certain page things are happening. Follow Sidfield screenplay to as much of it, you know, as it helps you or doesn't help you

But there are certain story things that I think with a short just do need to hit

It's such an odd time and format for a film and a story

And so all that being said, I will say like I think the bones of it kept, but I think the maturity extended a bit

We originally wrote this to potentially be filmed in class. So it wasn't as the things that we were exploring weren't as deep

And so we just tried to take each moment and elaborate on what the most high stakes version of this would be

but in a world that still is going to present as a film that perhaps 12 and older could watch

I didn't want to, we weren't going so hard into things that would be upsetting to anyone in that age group

but more of an exploration and a curiosity. And the goal is to have teens, tweens, moms, grandmas, parents, any gender, sit down and watch this film together and all get something out of it

And so we were trying to just find ways to make sure that those story beats really resonated with each age group and person that might

be identifying with this film. Yeah, and I can definitely see that. First of all, I thought it was fantastic

I thought, you know, it was beautifully shot. I loved all the characters. I really love that you, you know, put it in this

in this holiday atmosphere, which made perfect sense for people to be

you know, everybody to be around. But also, I just love the idea

of her kind of discovering each aspect of the family. So I thought it was really well done

And I know I'm taking up a lot of your time, so I'll be wrapping it up soon. But I'm just

just wondering, you know, as someone that did work as a young actor, was, did that give you, did

that, you think that helped in casting for this main character and also working with her on

this film? That experience? Absolutely. Yeah, I, I think, well, she's also the youngest in her

family, which we didn't know, obviously, when we were first going into this, but there were certain

things that our star, Kimley Hyman, she is a revelation. What a gracious actress at the age of

six she is to give us so many. She has such a presence too. Yeah, just incredible. And I think when I was

looking for Sally, I was really looking for that breakout star like Dakota Fanning or Brooklyn

Prince these little bundles of emotion and authenticity And I think I also wanted to make sure it was someone that could feel really comfortable

on set with me because keeping our kids safe on sets is something that I'm extremely

passionate about. And obviously, after quiet on set, we all need to take a closer look at the way that we're

treating children and parents alike. And so going into this was a real priority to me that both she and her mom, who was on set

with her the whole time felt really taking care of informed to an extent Kimley doesn't know what

happens in the movie but we were able to shoot it creatively she is hiding in the laundry basket

quite a bit but we didn't need to shoot her in the basket in those rooms so it's also just

if you're ever scheduling out a kid this was a great device to be able to do so because we could

wrap her early and send her on the way in film knowing that the cut would work together with her

in there right she didn't have to be present for those scenes and so I was looking for a kid who was

could take feedback. We did some callbacks and certainly I worked them in the room just to see how they responded to me, both energy-wise, like making sure that they weren't feeling tense or like this wasn't the right match as well as their just capability to play. This is a character in which we watch her play a lot in the beginning of the film and that's what's so heartbreaking is by the end she's not playing anymore. And the child that we needed was someone who could both authentically just play on her own being herself and also then find those moments of death

And it's a little bit of a needle in a haystack. We found beautiful actresses

And I wish I could have cast all of them for different reasons. But Hinley really just brought this spark and this sense of self

She's so reassured as her own human being at this young age

We're all in awe of her. I'm really like props to the whole family, whatever they're doing with her

It was really working. And she was just so curious about Sally as well

And I think that last curiosity really came back to my own, the way I make art and the way that I like to proceed in the world

And she would say things like, you know, they just treat Sally like a little doll. She's like a little prop to them

They don't even care what she thinks. And this is a six-year-old who's entering a character off the page who can't even read yet

We're feeding her the lines. And I'm telling her the story of what she's going to. And she's that perceptive

Yeah. And you can't teach that. That's just something that I think you need to suss out from just knowing what to ask

And like I said, it was more of like a just general conversation that I was trying to have with them early on

And I couldn't be more thrilled with who we found. And I hope to keep working with her

She really is just so special. And I'm excited for the world to see her

Yeah. Well, again, congratulations on the film. You know, I know you have the fest coming up

When is it, is it not tonight? Or like, what is it? Yeah

Yeah. I can actually, I can announce a few festivals. So we've got dances of films that were out in L.A. right now

We are premiering Sunday, June 23rd, 415 at the Chinese Theater. We might add a second screening because I believe our block is pretty close to capacity

So if you can follow us on Instagram at Sally Get the Potato's Film, you can certainly see when and where our screenings will be happening

And we also have the female eye film festival that we can now announce in Toronto in July

We're on the opening night shorts for that. So any of our Canadian listeners definitely check us out there

And then we'll be heading to Cape Cod for the Wood's Whole Film Festival. ー in early August. Oh, fantastic. Congratulations. Are you working on anything else in the meantime

We're just kind of enjoying this run, you know. No, I'm a crazy person who likes to keep a lot of balls in the air

And I will say going into this process, if there are any filmmakers out there who are just still a little stuck in how to do this

just I got the best advice, which is just you have to jump and do it. And you have to throw a million things in the air and see what sticks

And so I've been trying to do that. And it's working, which is thrilling. It doesn't always work as fast as you would want

want, but I am producing a couple of things this summer. I do like producing as well. It keeps my

network open. It keeps me on my toes. I like the way that I also love being on set. So it gets me

on set. And I am writing. So I'm writing a gymnastics feature. Kinley is actually an incredible gymnast

A little more fact about her. Check out her Instagram. It's pretty incredible. And we were talking

on set. She didn't know anything about Tanya Harding, but I was telling her a little bit about the

thought by Tanya in a safe way once again. And I was kind of inspired by this. I was kind of inspired by the

idea of this world of gymnastics and obviously leading to the Olympics, I've always been a big

gymnastics fan. And more than anything, though, there's a really interesting thing that's

happening with the way that these young gymnasts train at such an early age and their actual

career trajectory being so short. They can't go on to do this for the rest of their lives

And I mean, some of them do, Aksana Chitanova. She's incredible. She's a Walter who's like

well into her 50s at this point. But there are such interesting layers to explore there between

children and adults, these coaches who are coaching them and the parents who are feeding into this

incredibly hard system of child athletics, which so many parents go through. And then these little kids

who are just so hungry for this thing, but they're not exactly sure where it's going to lead because

the fact is most of them are not going to be Olympic gymnasts. And so I don't know. I'm exploring

right now. I'm being curious and doing research. And it's fun to think about maybe working with

Kimmy again in some capacity and getting to highlight that skill occurs as well, because it really is

it's pretty impressive what she can do. Well, that's amazing. I look forward to seeing what you do next

And I'm wishing you the best of luck at the festivals. And thank you again for taking the time

Thank you so much, Chrissy. This has been a joy. I really appreciate it. Of course. Thank you