Exclusive: Linnea Sage Discusses New Comedy Series Wildcats

Acclaimed actress Linnea Sage stars in the award-nominated Wildcats, a terrific comedy series that’s now available to view online.

The New York based actress has been nominated Best Lead Actor by the Raindance Independent Series Awards for her performance in hit web series. Wildcats, the first five episodes of which are now online, tells of a cheerleader’s fall from grace.  Sage plays Allison, a varsity cheerleader struggling with her sexuality, who retells how she quit the team and what she discovered by doing so.

BGG After Dark: You wear two hats – voice over artist and actress. What’s the first love?

Linnea Sage: Thankfully, they are pretty intertwined. My voice over career was born from a lifelong commitment to acting training and performing. The success I’ve found in voice over would certainly not exist without my passion for acting.

BGG After Dark: What a lot of people don’t get is that voice artists, when recording, do use their whole body and facial expressions when playing a character. So it isn’t much different from a physical acting role. Isn’t that correct?

Linnea Sage: Exactly. They are all in the same toolbox, just different tools.

BGG After Dark: Having said that, I bet it was a blast doing Wildcats! Can you tell me how you got involved?

Linnea Sage: About three years ago, Rachel Puchkoff (the writer and director) was casting the first iteration of WILDCATS, which was a short film. The main character, Allison, was based on herself, so it really helped that we look alike. She had also gotten a great recommendation for me from a mutual friend, whose film I had worked on the year before. After auditioning, I met with Rachel to talk about accepting the role of Allison. I had read the whole script at that point and absolutely fell in the love with the character and the story. It’s such an important message and it was also so hysterical. She didn’t have to sell it to me at all. After we shot the short for WILDCATS she started raising money to shoot the series. Two years later, when she was ready, every single cast member was so dedicated to the project, that we all came back to shoot the series.

BGG After Dark: It’s an empowering series, were those issues that it brings up part of the appeal for you?

Linnea Sage: It’s such a great feeling to be a part of something good, in every sense of the word. There are teens in high schools all over America, just like Wallis Hills, who are realizing they’re different in the same ways Allison is, and they are trying to figure out if standing up for their beliefs and views and opinions is the right thing to do. Wildcats is here to tell them that they should go for it, and the worst that could happen probably isn’t that bad in the long run. It was really exciting to get to be a part of that opportunity.

BGG After Dark: Being a lead, did you feel the pressure on this one – knowing a lot of it would fall on your shoulders?

Linnea Sage: Not at all while we were rehearsing and filming. A little bit now, since it’s taken off so far and fast. Now, especially, since I’ve been nominated for Best Lead Actor at the Raindance Film Festival.

BGG After Dark: How did working on a web series differ from working on a film, like The ‘A’ Plate – if at all?

Linnea Sage: We shot the series all at once, so it wasn’t much different than a feature.

BGG After Dark: You’ve done some great independent films. Have most of those been local New York productions?

Linnea Sage: At this point I guess most of them have been New York productions, but I did get my start in the Boston film scene, which took me all over the east coast.

BGG After Dark: In terms of the acting and filmmaking communities is there a big difference between New York and L.A?

Linnea Sage: I know a lot of about the New York side of things and not a whole lot about the LA world. It appears to be vastly different, and I’d love to find out more!

BGG After Dark: Where can we point the readers to see Wildcats?

Linnea Sage: At the moment, you can find us at catsgoingwild.com! You can also find out about my recent work at Linnea.NYC! @LinneaSage for twitter!