Erin Sanders – Guilty At 17

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) I’m working on a project that I am really passionate about. It is called Breaking The Chains and it hasn’t been filmed yet. We have an Indiegogo page at https://t.co/YBsC80vacE and we are working to raise money. There are a whole lot of projects involved with this one movement and it is to help bring awareness to eating disorders. Many people are effected by them, whether we have had one or we know someone who has had one. We are just effected by what we see in the media. We are bombarded with images telling us that we should look a certain way to feel good about ourselves. We are trying to lift the veil that surrounds the issue and let people know that you are not alone. You have this open family and community of people for you to talk to. We are working on creating a music video for this song “My Own Worst Enemy,” where the words from it were taken directly from the journal of this project written by Debra Hopkins. Ultimately, our goal is to fund this movie that I am the lead actress in that we are working on called Breaking The Chains, which is a bout a rehabilitation center for people with eating disorders.

Q) You’ll next be seen in the Lifetime movie Guilty At 17. What made you want to be a part of it?

A) It’s a different kind of story in my opinion. It’s a coming-of-age story about young adults growing up and realizing there are a lot of hard choices to make in life. Not only us, but the people around us have to live with the consequences of the choices we make. Sometimes the right decision isn’t obvious and, in fact, a lot of the times it isn’t. But you have to follow your gut. It can be really challenging at any age, especially these girls who are only seventeen years old. They are just beginning to get into young adulthood.

Q) Talk about your character Traci Scott.

A) Traci is just a normal girl who just has moved to town and doesn’t know anybody in the area. She gets tied in with something that is much bigger than she expected and than she is. Her role in it becomes really large and she has to learn how to follow her gut to learn to recognize when you have made a mistake. She has to learn how to address that mistake and do everything you can to fix the mistakes you made. Sometimes they can be really serious and have long term effects on a lot of people.

Q) We’ve seen you star in a number of teen roles. How is this character different than the others you have played?

A) I’m mostly well known for my work in comedic shows and it was nice to get back to my roots in drama. I’ve always loved doing more adult crime scene dramatic shows. I’ve always done a lot of them, but people know me from my work on Nickelodeon with shows like “Zooey 101” and “Big Time Rush.” This is my first time carrying a film as the lead and this project is really special to me. I feel so grateful that I got the opportunity to explore the character of Traci in so much depth because every role you play as an actor has that depth since every person is multidimensional and has so much going on. You always have that awareness going on about what is going on under the surface, but it is not often that you get to explore all of that on camera and have it be filmed and captured. I feel like I really got to flush out and really develop this character over the course of a month. I was working every day. I was supposed to have one day off a month, but they ended up calling me in anyway. It was really cool for me to be able to do something like that. It was really unique for me.

Q) Did you identify at all with the character?

A) Definitely! She has a really close relationship with her parents and has a really good sense of who she is. I don’t get the feeling like that’s ever been challenged before with the circumstances she encounters in the movie. I can really resonate with that, with thinking you have a strong sense of who you are and wanting to do the right thing. It’s having that sense of honesty and sincerity while having that challenge. When those situations arise, it can cause someone to break and really question themselves. Ultimately, it can help them create a sense of who they are. When your beliefs are challenged, it forces you to be strong and really identify what you stand with. I think that’s a really strong quality with Traci and I really identified with that.

Q) Was there anything you added to the role that wasn’t originally scripted for you?

A) I was given a bit of free reign with the dialogue in certain scenes. Not that I changed it up in a huge way, but it was finding a way to make the dialogue and the intentions behind it really authentic and true to the character. I think what was really important to me was that Traci remain likeable the entire time because she is a likeable girl. She is a fine and sincere girl who found herself in really challenging circumstances. So, when I play a role (even if they are going through something that on the surface might not be something I would have done or agreed with) it’s important for me to find the humanity and know exactly where that character is coming from because you can’t play a character if you are also judging them at the same time. You have to find their honesty and the place where they are coming from. So, I made an active effort to do that and I feel I did a really good job of that.

Q) Did the cast chemistry come quickly or did it take for everyone to bond?

A) I hadn’t met anyone of them before the project and Catherine Dent was the only other American apart of the project. Everyone else was Canadian! Everyone clicked right away though and Chloe [Rose] and I got along so well. We were kind of the opposite of our characters, but I feel like that is always the case. It’s really nice working on a project when you have a peer there. We hung out a lot and it was such a blast! Catherine Dent is such a pro. She has been in the industry for such a long time and I feel we had such a great opportunity to flesh out the relationship between Traci and her mom and really show that they have a great friendship beyond just being mom and daughter. And it is really challenging for both of them when there is this big elephant in the room that they don’t know how to talk about. You can tell that it is unusual for each of them to not be able to share everything and not know that there is a total, complete level of honesty between the two of them. I think that speaks really highly of each character and I feel really lucky that I was able to flush that out with Catherine. I think we worked together on those scenes to make sure that everything felt really truthful and honest. That meant a lot to me!

Q) You are a part of social media. Are you looking forward to the instant feedback you’ll be receiving from fans while the movie is airing?

A) Very much so! I am going to be live tweeting all day on the day of the premiere. Use the hashtag #GuiltyAt17 and I’ll be following what everyone is saying. I think one of the reasons people like Lifetime is because they tackle really hard issues in their films, whether that be relationships between people or really challenging life’s circumstances. I think they approach and handle them in a way that is respectful to the people who have really experienced things like that. I really hope that the film resonates with people and I hope they are entertained. I hope they generally have a good time watching it and that it  makes you feel something. So, I’m really excited to tune in to Twitter and see what people have to say.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and y our work?

A) I would like to say thank you for constantly supporting me and I hope I keep entertaining you and making you pleased that you tuned in and followed my career. Everything I do is made possible by you wanting to watch it. I am eternally grateful!