However, it turns out, A has still been keeping busy behind the scenes.
What was your audition like?
I did a self-tape, [which means] you audition in your room or with your coach.
It was, genuinely, the most collaborative experience I’ve ever had.
It was so amazing.
I was asking questions about the character.
They were experiencing the same throw in of person that I was experiencing through the words.
Sometimes you get the role, and it wasn’t a good audition experience.
I can’t say that for this.
It was collaborative through and through, throughout the whole process.
How did you find out you had landed the role?
Do you have a fun story there?
Actually, I was in the same room as my acting coach.
That’s not typical.
Sometimes it costs so much, but he’s been so helpful with me on my journey.
They don’t call and embarrass you in front of the whole group.
[Laughs] They patched everyone in, and I’m sobbing, like, “Really?”
It was definitely a surreal moment.
Here’s how she prepared to become a ballerina
Your character Faran is a ballerina.
Did you have any ballet experience, or did you have to prepare any way in that aspect?
I moved around quite a bit, so I was never as consistent as Faran was growing up.
I’m so grateful to the dancing community.
They’re the most beautiful creatures ever, like majestic otherworldly creatures.
Since it is a spin-off series, did you feel any pressure approaching this project?
The fans are amazing.
We do it for you guys.
Have you met any of the other original cast?
Did they give you any guidance headed into this fandom?
I feel like that’s almost a spoiler.
[Laughs] I can’t say ever if I have or have not met anyone else.
It’s been really fantastic to see the online interactions that different cast members have gotten.
Mallory Bechtel [who plays Karen] got this amazing nod.
It’s phenomenal to feel supported, especially by female actors and artists.
Do you think there is an original character that Faran would get along the most with?
I’ve been saying Spencer.
They’re very practical and have their head on like, “This is how it works.”
[Faran and] Spencer would get along.
Many of the sets they worked on were haunted
The theories haven’t really started quite yet.
We went on that ride ourselves.
and keeps you wanting to see what happens next week.
I actually heard that you filmed at some haunted locations.
[Laughs] I’m laughing, because we definitely called it “haunted.”
I know exactly what people are talking about.
I don’t know if I can say too much more about that either.
Oh, there’s so many.
It was so magical being able to do it on a stage.
You don’t really have that when we’re performing for TV.
It’s not really a stage, and Faran had that many times.
Getting the best of both worlds.
We were performing it.
Sometimes the producers would come and watch, and that was so nerve-wracking.
[Laughs] It was like performing it.
I always call these questions “landmine questions.”
So that has happened.
Faran would be most suspicious about her micro-aggressors.
I was delightfully surprised throughout the entire season.
[I said], “Did you hear this happen with Faran and Henry?
Did you see this happen with your character?”
It was so juicy every time, so I was surprised.
They’ve done just that.
I’m most excited for fans to see that we created our own world.
I’m excited for fans to see the new “now” that we’re talking about.
There are a lot of really important themes explored in “Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin.”
There’s grief, revenge, and rejection.
Was there one that stuck out the most to you?
What really stuck out for me playing Faran was her ability to stand up for herself.
I didn’t feel confident enough to stick up for myself.
What was that experience like to be able to work with them?
You say that resume, and you go, “I bet they were inaccessible.
I bet they were out in another universe.”
[Laughs] That was not the case.
They were so accessible.
They were so collaborative.
I can’t even express in this short amount of time how helpful they were.
Lisa Soper, [who] directed a lot of our episodes, gave us a playlist.
She printed out what she saw the series to look like.
It was just me I love art and all of its forms.
I was like, “Yum!
[Laughs] I was eating it all up.
It’s fun to hear that it was such a collaborative process.
Was there anything that you were able to put into your character?
There were so many things …
I don’t think this is a spoiler.
[Laughs] One subtle thing that Faran does in the season is she changes ballet slippers.
She goes from a pink point shoe to a brown point shoe.
That was something that I talked to Lindsay [Calhoon Bring about ] early on.
She’s one of our creators.
Two new episodes will be released each Thursday.
This interview has been edited for clarity.
