Savannah May – The Secret Life Of Cheerleaders

By starrymag | September 3, 2019

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) Please tell us the premise for Lifetime’s The Secret Life Of Cheerleaders.

A) Ava is the new transfer student at Roosevelt High. She grew up dancing, but after a really tough year she is trying to start over. At her new school she finds out they don’t have a dance team and her overly ambitious mom convinces her to try out for the cheer squad. Once she does and makes the squad, she goes from a nobody to instant High School royalty. None of this sits well with Queen Bee and captain of the Roosevelt Lionesses Katrina (Allie DeBerry). That’s when Katrina begins to show her true colors and Ava slowly realizes that being a part of this elite squad comes at a price.

 

Q) How was Ava originally described to you?

A) Ava has such unique story. When I got the audition, Ava was described as a naturally gifted cheerleader who is starting over in a new town after an intense couple of years. She is the shy new girl who isn’t on board about having to attend a new school but decides to try something out of her comfort zone and go out for the Roosevelt Lioness cheer squad. As she is getting settled in this new town, she climbs the high school social ladder and starts to become a whole new person.

 

Q) What made you want to be a part of the film?

A) I really loved the story line as a whole but one thing that caught my attention was the relationship between Ava and Katrina. I found it very intriguing. You have the new girl Ava who comes in basically idolizing Katrina and her squad. She is everything Ava wants to be and Katrina knows she has her wrapped around her finger. However, as Ava gets to know her, she realizes there’s a lot of darkness underneath that beautiful exterior. Katrina is the girl everyone loves to hate and Ava becomes a part of that group. Ava starts to see who Katrina really is and knows that in order to take her down, you have to play her game.

 

Q) What kind of prep went into your portrayal of Ava?

A) For Ava, I really wanted her to blossom throughout the film. In the beginning she’s a little timider and is afraid to let anyone get too close because of her dark past. As time goes on, she starts to turn into this strong, determined girl who knows how to make things right within the school. In every scene, you see a different side of her. That alone was going to be a challenge, so I read through the entire script many times prior to filming so I would really be prepared to take on a role like Ava. Overall, my main goal was to make sure that the audience was able to see a huge transformation for this character.

 

Q) Were you familiar with any of your costars before working with them on the movie?

A) I had never met any of them prior to filming. It was funny though, when I saw the cast list for the first time I instantly knew of Denise [Richards] and Allie. I mean, it’s Denise Richards – of course I know who she is. With Allie, I grew up watching “Ant Farm” on Disney Channel. It was so crazy meeting her our first day of dance rehearsals. On “Ant Farm” her character was really bubbly and fun, but in the movie, she plays such a devious person so I didn’t really know what she would be like in real life. Let me tell you, she is one of the sweetest people I have ever met. She walked right up to me to introduce herself and we started talking like we have been friends forever.

 

Q) Talk about working with iconic actresses Denise Richards and Josie Davis.

A) With Denise, I didn’t even know she was playing my mom until I got the call sheet for the first day of filming. I walked onto set and got in the car to rehearse the scene and when she got in she was so energetic and immediately introduced herself. She came in fully prepared, knowing exactly what she wanted to do with her character and if she had an idea for the scene she would talk to our director and then talk to me and we would see how it felt. With Josie, her character as our coach is so unique and intimidating. There’s one scene where she got in one of the girl’s faces and said her line with this manipulative smile behind it. It was always really fun to watch her on set. They were both super sweet and a blast to work with!

 

Q) What advice did director Peter Sullivan offer while filming that you took to heart?

A) He was such a wonderful director. With some of the deeper, more intense scenes, he would talk to us and see if we had any questions or how we felt on it. He would tell us what his thoughts were and how he kind of envisioned it but he was still very open with letting us play around with our characters and bringing some of our own ideas to the table. His number one priority was making sure we felt comfortable with the scene. I loved working with him.

 

Q) What were some of your favorite moments from shooting The Secret Lives Of Cheerleaders?

A) There were honestly so many…but I think just getting to work with the cast! Sometimes when you’re working on a set you might have that one or maybe even two cast members who aren’t the best to work with. With a cast a large as ours, I was a little nervous going into it because I had never worked with any of them before. I can honestly say they are some of the best people I have ever met. We all instantly hit it off and became such great friends while filming. Some of the days we had were really long and tiring, but it didn’t feel that way because we were having so much fun with each other. It became a struggle not to laugh in the middle of a scene and we definitely failed on that a few times! [laughs] Overall, they were all a pleasure to work with and, not to mention, incredibly talented. I think that’s another reason I am so excited for people to see the film. Every single character is unique in their own way and everyone made sure they added their own special touch to a scene. It ended up making the movie that much better.

 

Q) How did you shake off a long day of filming?

A) What’s funny is I actually love long days of filming and I’ve always been that way. I have such a passion for acting that even super long days don’t feel like work to me. Once we wrapped on set it was usually in the evening so I would get in the car to go back home, make some dinner and go over the scenes for the next day to make sure I had my lines down perfectly. Then, I would go take a shower and get ready for bed. Then, if it wasn’t too late, I would watch the new episode of whatever TV show I was watching at the time and afterwards I would go to bed. Some days that routine would change depending on what time I wrapped, but my main goal was to know what I was doing on set the next day and to relax before I went to bed.

 

Q) What do you link it is about the movie that will make it a fast fan favorite Lifetime film? 

A) I think it will be a fast fan favorite because there isn’t really anything else like it. It has so many different elements within the story and that’s what makes it different than others. It has drama, a little bit of teen romance, some suspense and even a couple fun dance/cheer routines. One of my personal favorite things is the relationship between Ava and Patrick (Gunnar Burkhardt). When everything else in her world seems so intense, Patrick is her one escape from it all and makes her feel safe. There are some really sweet moments in those scenes and I think people will really enjoy them.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Are you looking forward to the fan reaction you’re going to receive?

A) I am! I’ve honestly already received some reactions from fans who know me from “Knight Squad,” so that was a really nice surprise. To know that they are already supporting our movie and it hasn’t even come out yet really means a lot. I hope everyone else loves it as much as we do. We worked so hard to make it the best it could so I am excited to see what the fans think about it!

 

Q) We have loved you on “Knight Squad.” What have you taken away personally from working on this series?

A) Thank you so much! I loved being on “Knight Squad!” I learned so much being on that show. I mean, it was my first job so everything was so new and different. One of the biggest lessons I learned was to not be afraid to make bold choices. With comedy some people think you have to stay within the lines to make sure a joke hits, but it’s when you try something outside the box that can really make that moment special. Since it was a show about knights in training, I also got the chance to learn a lot of stunts and stage combat. That has always been something I wanted to do so getting to do that on a show was really cool.

 

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

A) I just want to say thank you to the fans who are always commenting, posting, tweeting, etc. You guys have no idea how much it all means to me. I never thought I would be out here doing what I’m doing, but to add fans/supporters of my work on top of that is unreal! I have so much love for all of them and I hope they know how much they are appreciated.