OU alumna and The Wire actress Brandy Burre is returning to Athens for a screening of the documentary Actress.
When filmmaker Robert Greene was looking for his next documentary subject, he ended up only having to go as far as next door.
Greene’s neighbor is Brandy Burre, an Ohio University alumna who had a recurring role on HBO’s The Wire but gave up her career to start a family. Greene’s documentary Actress begins when Burre decides to revive her career, thus putting pressure on her domestic life.
Actress will play at The Athena Cinema, 20 S. Court St., Tuesday through Thursday. A Q-and-A with Burre and Greene will be held after the Tuesday screening.
Though the film does follow Burre’s struggle to find herself after motherhood, Burre said that isn’t the key story. The film also analyzes the roles society constructs for women.
“You really realize the movie is about starring in the role of your life, because we all play these roles, and what’s true of all of these layers?” said Burre, an alumna of the OU undergraduate and graduate acting programs. “I thought I wanted to be a mother, an actress — all of these things. But sometimes, you’re your own worst enemy because it’s not all possible to do, especially as a woman. I thought I could have my baby, stand on a stage and orate, but you gain 30 pounds and you’re tired.”
Actress looks at the truth in an individual’s life and examines what it means to be a documentary and how much truth exists within one. Greene said they didn’t try to pretend the camera wasn’t there.
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“Part of the goal is to challenge the way we look at documentaries as a whole, that it’s reality. I don’t think it is,” Greene said. “The whole time through, question and ask, ‘How much is she being herself and how much is she acting?’ … For Brandy, her art and her self is all mixed up. She’s the perfect subject to explore this idea of subjectivity versus objectivity because she embodies all of these questions in her performance.”
Thus, Greene called the film a “weird hybrid of high-minded experimental filmmaking and straightforward storytelling and portraiture.”
As an actress, Burre said she was intrigued by studying what truth meant in front of the camera because truth is a concept everyone searches for in life.
“All I was worried about was being as truthful as I could when the camera was rolling,” she said. “(When she allowed Greene to come to her house to film) I became aware of myself. How do I wash these dishes? What am I wearing? For me, it was a study of truth and being yourself no matter what.”
Brian Evans, an associate professor of theater in the Division of Theater, who is one of the sponsors of the screening, said he is excited to see how the current students will respond to the film and that they have the opportunity to learn from an alumna.
“I’m just really honored that Brandy and Robert are coming and particularly that Brandy still feels a connection to Athens, OU and our Division of Theater,” Evans said. “I think students often feel a great sense of nostalgia and pride for where they came from, so that’s a really great thing, especially someone who’s gone on to be successful in her career, made other life choices and finds herself coming back into her career and comes back to Athens. I think it’s a great story.”
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