The following is an edited interview between Paloma Guzman and Rank & File talking about her role on the ABC Family television series Pretty Little Liars.
Rank & File: How did you get involved in theater?
Paloma Guzman: I has always done theater and plays growing up, and then I came to Marshall and I had a really amazing teacher, Mr. Krikstan, who is teaching the theater program right now. I’d always been really involved with it, I’ve always really enjoyed it. Working with Mr. Krikstan solidified that I really loved it. And one day he said “Why don’t you audition for Carnegie Mellon and I said “Okay why not.”
R&F: Did you do any shows at Marshall?
Guzman: I did all the shows at Marshall except for the first show my freshman year.
Me: How would you say the Marshall theater program most benefitted your acting career?
Guzman: I think that working with Mr. Krikstan helped me develop a level of specificity in my work, and at that age I dont think I was really aware of how important it was. It wasn’t really until I got to college and started training that I realized that we worked with such high detail in all of our performances and that’s what i think most benefited me from the program at Marshall. You are working very specifically, with really unique different characters. Its very real and it’s very detail oriented.
R&F: What is it like playing the character Jackie on Pretty Little Liars?
Guzman: Its a lot of fun. Everyone on staff is really nice. I actually went to Carnegie Mellon with Ian Hardin who plays Ezra so I already knew him from school. Hes actually from Herndon. So he and I knew each other so that was really fun because hes a great guy and hes great to work with. Lucy Hale who plays Aria is also a wonderful person. It may look like we are being really mean to each other and hating eachother on TV, but on set it is a very friendly environment.
R&F: What is a day on the set like?
Guzman: What they do is they call you the night before and they give you a call time. Thats the time that you have to get to the set. The show is shot on the Warner Brothers lot in Burbank, out here in LA. So you drive on to the set, you check in, you go to your trailer. Then they send you in to hair and makeup. Then you are in hair and makeup for no more than a half hour to an hour depending on what they’re doing. Then you go back to your trailer and kind of wait around, get into wardrobe which is the costume that you’re wearing and then they take you to the set for rehersal. What you do then is, rehearsal being, and the point of that is to have them set up the cameras. We work with two cameras on pretty little liars, for the most part, so you do get to see-we do it organically. The director will give you some input as to what he or she may want to see in the scene whether its physical blocking or specifically the acting. And then you have another minute or two, you may go back to hair and makeup for some touch ups, then you come back and shoot the scene. There will be a couple different angles. Then you move on to the next scene, or you are done for the day and you go home. It’s a lot of waiting. I think thats the part that people dont know. You are waiting around a lot.
R&F: What was the audition process like?
Guzman: Well actually I went in for a different role on the show. I went in for the role of Samara, who is one of Emily’s love interests in the series. And I got the audition for Samara that morning, and they asked me if I could come in the afternoon. So I memorized it and I worked on it, and then I went in and had a really great audition with the casting director who is a very wonderful woman. And then the next day, I got a phone call, and my manager got a phone call saying that they really liked my audition, they didnt think I was right for the role but they wanted to come up with something for me. So they ended up actually writing the role of Jackie Molina for me. That was very amazing. That doesnt happen very often and I feel very lucky to be given that opportunity.
R&F: What advice would you give to young actors and actresses?
Guzman: Seek training. Its a lot of fun, obviously, its great to be working on television, but it is still a craft. Acting is a craft. Acting is a technique. The more you can develop your technique the better off you will be. Its like a sport, you know? You dont just end up on the football field one day. You go to practice, you go to weight training, you run sprints, you go over the play book. Theres a lot involved in it. The more you can do to develop your voice, your body movement, your mind, your language skill. Its about training. You have to train. You have to put in the work.
R&F: What other acting roles have you played?
Guzman: I did a law and order in New York where I played a call girl. And then I had a small part on Gossip Girl. I’ve done some independent stuff, and then I did a really great role on The Good Wife, which I actually played a call girl again. The cast of that show is exceptional.
R&F: Is there anything else you would like to share about your acting experiences?
Guzman: Its really fun. It all started for me at Marshall with Mr. Krikstan. Everybody at Marshall helped me acheieve my goals of pursing a professional acting career.