Jabari Brisport went to Tisch around the same time that I did. Though we were in different departments – he in Drama and I in Film – Jabari was one of those people who everyone seemed to know and had wonderful things to say about. I had a weekly Tisch University Scholars class with him for three years but seeing that our friend circles never venn diagrammed, there was just no reason to talk to the guy.
Nonetheless I was extremely excited when Jabari responded to our casting call for Walt – a dedicated performer whose uncomplicated solidness balances out the more mercurial personalities in Oh, Sophia. “Lipica, Jabari just submitted his headshot on Breakdown!” to which she replied: “Cast him, cast him, cast him.” And we did.
Some of my favorite days on set are the ones with Jabari in them because you could always count on him (or him as his character Walt, which he’d often stay in between takes) to do or say something wildly inappropriate and hence wickedly funny. So without further ado, I present our guest-blogger this week: Jabari Brisport. WORRRK IT, YOU FIERCE BETCH.
Finding The Inner Queen
Jabari Brisport, Gabriel Frye-Behar, Angela Gulner, Lipica Shah and Margaret Ying Drake on our first guerrilla shoot. (For us that usually meant letting the actors film themselves while crew sat back and relaxed... or tried to.)
I’m a humble, introverted guy with hopes of making it big. So of course I leapt at the opportunity to play Walt: a flamboyant, “tap-dancer extraordinare” who also has hopes of making it big. Same dream, different personality. I felt that I started off the process with one foot in his shoes already, and it was a wonderful challenge to find out what rusty, unused corner of Jabari housed the rest of Walt’s character.
I wanted to make him a snappy diva, which Bornila made extremely easy. I remember sweating buckets on one of the hottest days of the summer, in an apartment that we turned into an oven by shutting off the AC for sound. And I remember shivering on a barren street in Bushwick, around midnight, grabbing my sweatshirt in between takes, and pretending I couldn’t see my breath. In both circumstances, the attitude was easily accessible.
But Walt also needed a certain “don’t give a f***” quality, which I attained by repeatedly smoking hookah and drinking shots of “gingeralecokesprite” at 7am. Or chasing Diya (Lipica) through midtown traffic during rush hour. Multiple times, until we got the biggest crowd of unsuspecting people to weave in and out of and capture on Jules’ camera. Then a repeat performance i.e. tearing down a sidewalk, yelling at the top of my lungs at 3 in the morning until an angry/tired East Village tenant threaten to call the cops on us if we didn’t shut up (Lucky for us, he never did call the cops. Unlucky for Bornila: he poured water on her….too bad we didn’t get footage of that).
I also got to tap-dance! I don’t consider myself the best tapper, and I was terrified to perform something like that, let alone choreograph it. But Bornila’s support and unwavering faith in her actors gave me the confidence I needed to put a little something-something together. And without even seeing the final cut, I’ll bet that it looks damn sexy.
Without a doubt, this has been the best experience I’ve had while working on a film. The cast/crew gets A-plusses across the board for creating a safe, fun and funny environment. K.C. would take keywords from two people every day and make a poem out of it and read it to us after lunch. Who does that? Amazing! Moreover, we were treated to lots of delicious food. And lots of delicious lager. The icing on the cake was seeing the teaser trailer, and having all the good old memories dredged up again. Have you seen it yet? You should. It’ll make your soul smile.
And if you’re secular, it’ll make your face smile as well.
