Tisch Grad Andrea Lee Christensen on Her New Snap Show “Two Sides”
The actress and writer spoke exclusively with Local about her new show.
Brooklyn-based actor and Tisch alum Andrea Lee Christensen is best known for portraying Riley Saxe-Merchant on season one of Power Book II: Ghost. However, her recent appearance in the Snapchat series Two Sides: Unfaithful marks Christensen’s debut as a series lead. Created, directed, and produced by Hannah Lehmann, Two Sides: Unfaithful tells the story of two women who date the same man coincidentally. The new season premiered on March 20 and Unfaithful is the third installment of the award- winning series. The cast along with Christensen includes Alisa Allapach and Justin Chien.
Local caught up with Christensen to discuss the new season and her work.
What led you to acting at NYU?
I graduated in 2017 from Tisch for Acting. That’s just something that I wanted to do. I did commercials in Taiwan so I’ve always been involved with it. When I moved to America, when I was a kid, I didn’t really think of it as a career. But then, I did a play when I was in high school, and I fell in love with it all over again. I still wanted to go to college so I decided to go to an acting program. I was set on it from the start.
Your first major role was Riley on Season 1 of the Starz show, Power Book II: Ghost. How was that audition process and project?
Being on that show was amazing. It was my first time being on a TV show. It all happened so quickly. I auditioned and then a week later, I did the callback. Then that afternoon I was at the table read. It was an amazing show to be on for my first show because there’s such an amazing fan base and I feel they are supporting me now. I loved it. It was amazing, and all the costumes were incredible. One of the best parts was going into my fitting every episode and being like, “Okay, what has Frank come up with this week?”
When did you start filming for Two Sides and how was it like filming in the midst of a pandemic?
That was during quarantine in August and I think that was one of the first shows to go back into filming. It was all very experimental. After every single take when the director says cut, we had to quickly mask up. There was so much about the virus that we didn’t know then. It was also a crazy shoot too, because we had limited time to get over 300 scenes.
The show is happening simultaneously so everything has to be very precisely timed out. The girl on the top of the screen is saying something and then I’m texting on the bottom. Then, the second she stops saying something on the top, I will have to say my line. When we’re filming it was like, wait 20 seconds, and then say the line. The first take was just for the timing and the second take will be final. Then we move on. It was very, very quick.
What’s the premise of Two Sides and who do you play?
Her name is Lulu Ying, and she is a chef. She gets a cooking internship to go to New York from Ohio. She was thinking this is the ticket to get out of this small town, but something awful happens in New York. She has to come back to Ohio with her tail tucked between her legs and explain what happened to her aunt who believed in her. She’s at a low place when the show starts, and the thing that she thinks of to do first is to see what her ex-boyfriend’s up to. Little does she know that he has a girlfriend too, but he doesn’t tell her. That is the premise of the show. It’s about a love triangle, essentially.
How’d you delve into the character of Lulu?
There are a lot of really intense scenes that I had to get into very quickly. There’s a lot of emotions running high. I felt like I had to really prepare myself each day to go there. This is my first time leading a show. I felt like I learned a lot about what I could do, because it had never been asked of me before and what my process is and when to let go or when to pull back because it’s not time yet. If the camera’s on the other person, you don’t give it all away yet. You know what I mean? Otherwise, you’re not going to have enough energy or emotion to sustain throughout the day. Music helped, and then, for me, it was also that I’m not in this exact situation that Lulu’s in, but the emotions that she’s going through in that moment, we all can relate to. It’s just tapping into the essential nature of the scene and emotion that she’s going through.
What was the major takeaway from this project?
I definitely learned so much on this project about what I could do and to trust myself in what I can do. I’d like to even go deeper on the next project. This was an amazing taste of “Oh, can she go there?” It turns out that, yes, I can do all those things. I’m just excited to bring all those new skills to the next project.
Do you have advice for any young person in a complicated relationship?
I think that just to be very honest, and openly communicate your expectations with the other person. There is nothing to gain by hiding. Don’t expect from somebody what they can’t give you, but also you should tell them what you expect. Communication is key, and also have fun. Date a lot of people!
Any exciting projects in the works?
I’m currently writing a screenplay for a series that I’m temporarily calling “Thirsty.” It’s about vampires, but it’s more than that. It’s a coming of age story. I really wanted to talk about my Asian upbringing, and the expectations that my mother had for me. Being in that sort of society, but translating it into the vampire world. I want it to be fun and supernatural as well. I’m working on that and super excited about it. I’m also auditioning, so we’ll see.
