Mason Trueblood – Dear White People

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) What are the recent projects you have been working on?

A) I just finished working on a Lifetime movie called Into the Arms of Danger. Before that I was doing a music video as a dancer for this group called JF&G. I did an episode of “DC’s Legends of Tomorrow.”

Q) Where we pick up this season on “Dear White People” and with Colin?

A) So, we’re kind of just back in the Pastiche (which is the satirical newsletter on campus at Winchester). We kick back in full swing with the Pastiche crew trying to brainstorm some more mocking commentary on the campus. There are some power dynamics at play between Kurt (Wyatt Nash) and Troy Fairbanks (Brandon P Bell). The Pastiche members are kind of going back and forth between allegiance. So, there is some interesting dynamics between who is in power. It’s fun stuff. But in terms of like grand scheme of the overall story, Colin is somewhat removed in that sense. There is an aspect at play that we are a part of, but in terms of the grand scheme of everything we’re a little bit on the outside of it. So, it’s fun to watch the show and find out everything that is happening.

Q) What continues to challenge you about portraying Colin?

A) He’s a character that I think desperately wants to be liked by everyone, but maybe doesn’t think so much about being respected by them. He sees the humor in everything and is very clever and energetic. But I think what would be challenging is that he is a little more outspoken…Maybe not outspoken, but doesn’t think as quickly about the consequences of his words. He just kind of says what is coming to his mind. As a person who does try to be thoughtful about what he is saying and socially conscious of what effect I might have on society, it does present somewhat of a challenge to portray a character who is someone who is so ready to be the court jester and be motivated by his self-interest first. It’s fun and I feel like there is a lot to relate to with that, in terms of the character. At least for me, I can see it is a character who is not motivated by anything malicious or anything that is bigoted or hateful or anything of that nature. He seems to be motivated more by pride and self-interest. A lot of that is connected to his own ignorance, despite being well off and well educated. There is still this social ignorance that persists in Colin, which is fun to play. [laughs]

Q) Was there anything you may have added to Colin that wasn’t initially on the page for him?

A) I think there is a little more of a comradery or goofiness between me and the other characters at Pastiche just kind of developed naturally on set. We just kind of have a lot of fun every time we’re in the Pastiche writing room. We just have a blast on set. We’re cracking up and making jokes and making each other laugh, even if it is a more high stakes scenario in the room. It’s still really just a fun time and so I think a lot of that has carried over into the back dialogue. So, we had to go in and do some ADR last month. A lot of the ADR were these throwaway lines between me and Igor (who is one of the actors). It was just making fun of each other, coming up with insults and making fun of each other. It wasn’t necessarily scripted in that way, but at some point we just are having a fun time poking fun at each other and that goofiness and friendship started to translate into these characters more, which has been fun to see.

Q) Going into Season 3, was there someone(s) you were hoping to share a scene with?

A) [laughs] Honestly, I get to work with Wyatt Nash and Brandon Bell, which I love. Both of them are stellar actors and really, really fun to play with in the scenes. I’m stoked to be continuing to work with them in a lot of stuff. I would have liked to work with Logan. We don’t have any scenes or are connected in any way. I just admire her on the show so much. I think it would be super fun to work with her. I would love to see what that interaction between Samantha (Logan Browning) and Colin would be like. [laughs] Then, Caitlin Carver is on the show and she’s a friend of mine. We met through the years working in the industry and she’s friends with my girlfriend because they did a movie together. I would just love to have a scene with Caitlin as well. I think her storyline is really, really fascinating and really interesting. It doesn’t have a lot to do with Colin, but again, I would love if the Colin storyline somehow interacted with Muffy.

Q) What were some of your favorite moments from filming?

A) There is a thing that we do that I really enjoyed doing. It’s kind of a Reservoir Dogs call back. It’s like a slow-mo walk with the Pastiche members putting on sunglasses, kind of like the opening to Reservoir Dogs scene where they are walking around the bricks. Shooting that was honestly really fun for me. Reservoir Dogs is one of my favorite movies ever and so this use of a reference in it to almost make fun of us and how ridiculous we are in that moment is really fun. That was a fun thing. A lot of the scenes we had Sheridan Pierce (who plays Abigail on the show). Sheridan was in a lot of the Pastiche rooms. Her character in conjunction with the ridiculousness of the Pastiche boys is so funny and we would just crack up after a take.

Q) You are a part of social media. Are you looking forward to the fan feedback you’ll receive to this season of “Dear White People?”

A) Yeah! Absolutely. I’m always interested in what the fans have to say and I think “Dear White People,” as a show in general, is a show to get people talking or discussing ideas. I feel like a lot of what I’m bringing into this season or as a character is more along the lines of the comic relief. The show is humorous itself so there is already that going on. But I think it uses a lot to disarm people to then allow different ideas to persist. And I think that’s something that is really helping with the culture and something that we need – idea exchange, communication and listening to the stories. I think the series does a great job of sharing stories of characters that the audience might not expect to relate to and they realize that they do. They realize they have more in common than they think or at least more to learn from. So, it’s fun to see fans discover that. So, I would love for that to open up conversation and I’d love to be a part of conversations like that with fans, just to see what kind of conversations come out of this series and this new season.

Q) What did you personally take away from your time working on “Glee?”

A) Oh man! I loved being a part of “Glee.” This industry and this business can be so much fun. When you love what you’re doing, it’s just a blast. I got to work with so many fun people on that show and so many talented people. To see those talented people continue to make great work and continue to excel in this industry has been a joy for me to watch. Another thing I took away from “Glee” was to always be ready for anything. The role that I had continued to grow as the series went and that was unexpected to me. At first, I had a speaking line and I was mostly a Warbler that was going to be dancing and it continued to become something bigger as the series went. Just be ready for that and be grateful for opportunities was something that I was learning. And just to take it all in. I was working with some of my favorite people. To this day, I love so many of the people that I got to work with and it’s been so much fun to watch them grow from that series. That was a really, really fun time and another show that has some of the best fans that I’ve ever encountered. Some of the most loyal and die-hard fans came from that show. To this day, I’m so grateful that they were accepting and welcoming to the new Warblers coming in.

Q) Have you kept in touch with any of your fellow Warblers?

A) I have! Yes. Of the Season 6 Warblers, we all stayed pretty close. We definitely still see each other pretty often from different auditions or moments in life. We were in that together for so long that we just all have stayed definitely pretty close. It is such a good group of people.

Q) What else do you want to be sure we share with your fans?

A) I’m so grateful to be a part of a show that people enjoy and are talking about. I am keeping my eyes forward and looking to the next project and looking to be a part of things that hopefully move and inspire culture. I’m stoked that people are even watching.