(L-R) Tammin Sursok and Traci Hays on set of Blood, Sweat, and Cheer
We caught up with Tammin Sursok and director Traci Hays about their new dark comedy film Blood, Sweat, and Cheer, premiering April 15 on Tubi. Widely known for her role of Jenna Marshall on the hit ABC series Pretty Little Liars, Tammin Sursok stars in Blood, Sweat, and Cheer as a mother who relives her high school days by posing as her teen daughter to join a high school dance team.
We asked Tammin and Traci about what viewers can expect from their new film, Tammin’s character, her podcast, and Traci’s directing goals for Blood, Sweat, and Cheer.
Check out our conversation below.
What were some elements about the film Blood, Sweat, and Cheer that made you want to be part of the project?
Traci: I LOVE a good “coming-of-age”, anti-hero Black Swan type of film with a kick-ass complex woman in the center of it all. I’m drawn to telling genre-blending stories about flawed women and misunderstood topics, and Blood, Sweat, and Cheers checks all those boxes and then some!
Tammin: Being a mom myself, I wanted to explore the elements of motherhood and the themes of feeling invisible as you get older. This character, Renee, has such a deep hole that she needs to fill and she’ll do anything to feel like she made it. On the surface, this film might seem fun, but it isn’t. Renee operates from a deep sense of pain. The film definitely cost me and I left each day feeling physically and emotionally exhausted, which, as an actor, I love! I felt like we were really able to explore some darker, painful themes, and that’s exciting for me!
Tammin, what can you tell us about your role?
Tammin: I play Renee, who is Cheree’s mom. Renee is a teenage mother and didn’t experience high school in a typical manner. She feels like she lost out on a lot raising a child so young. She loves her child but not in the normal sense. Renee is controlling, and even though she feels like it’s from a sense of protection, it’s really from a sense of fear.
Traci, from a directing perspective, what were some goals you had with this film in particular?
Traci: After reading the script, it immediately brought me back to high school and reminded me of all the films I watched as a teen growing up in the 90s such as Mean Girls, Never Been Kissed, Legally Blond, 10 Things I Hate About You, and knew that I wanted the film to have a nostalgic style paying homage to those films. My goal was to create a world dripping in bubblegum pink and as our anti-hero unravels, so does the overall tone and visual look of the film. While the film deals with heavy themes such as unfulfilled dreams and mental health, I wanted to be very intentional about the film not taking itself too seriously, allowing the campy over-the-top characters to shine and bring the comedy to life.
Tammin, this isn’t your first time taking on a role that deals with high school drama; you played Jenna on Pretty Little Liars for several years. Did you bring any learning experiences from Pretty Little Liars with you when shooting this film?
Tammin: I’ve played high school for about 20 years! It’s really wild! At some point, I need to start playing my age! But then again, where is the fun in that? I do give credit to Kayli at Hifinch here in Nashville who has kept my skin looking this young! Haha! I didn’t have a typical high school experience. I was a child actor at 15 so I finished my schooling on set. So through my career and the roles I’ve played, I’ve made up for that and I got to have that high school experience!
What can viewers expect when they watch Blood, Sweat, and Cheer?
Traci: Get the popcorn and candy ready for a ride of twists and turns full of surprises with its comedic shocking dark tale of a mother trying to relive her youth and will stop at nothing to achieve it. If you’re looking for something campy, dark, and over the top, you’ve come to the perfect film!
Tammin: A lot of twists and turns. I love to play the anti-hero. Jenna [from Pretty Little Liars] was exactly that. You love to hate her and I feel like that is the same feeling when you watch Renee. Your heart breaks for her, but yet you can’t justify her behavior. She’s the anti-hero that you love to hate, but won’t tell anyone that you do. Haha!
Tammin, you also co-host the podcast Women on Top. How did you get into podcasting?
Tammin: I started my podcast when I was pregnant with my second child. I was really feeling isolated and alone in motherhood. I had my first daughter, what would be considered young, where I was living at the time in Los Angeles. My friends were 10 years older than me and we were starting to think about having kids. I really wanted to connect with other women and have experts, moms, and celebrities on the podcast where we could just talk and be open and raw and vulnerable but also laugh. I think laughter connects us so much, and it is so necessary, especially right now in the world. It just started as conversations where I thought no one was listening, and now we’ve had millions of downloads!
_
Blood, Sweat, and Cheer will be available to stream for free on Tubi as of April 15
Follow Tammin Sursok: Instagram
Follow Traci Hays: Instagram
Keep up-to-date with us on all of our channels and social media accounts:
YouTube: http://youtube.com/Popternative
Instagram http://instagram.com/popternative
Twitter: http://twitter.com/popternative
Facebook https://facebook.com/popternative/
Spotify: https://goo.gl/nWtNHP
Apple Podcasts: https://goo.gl/y6tbA9