“SurrealEstate” Exclusive: EP Danishka Esterhazy & New Addition Elena Juatco Talks Working With Returning Director Melanie Scrofano
In the inaugural season of SYFY’s SurrealEstate, Melanie Scrofano pulled double duty, playing kind and kooky Harper North in episode “For Sale By Owner,” and later returning behind the camera to direct two consecutive episodes of the supernatural series.
In its resurrected sophomore season, the Wynonna Earp icon returns, this time strictly in the directors chair to once again direct back-to-back episodes for the end of the season.
PopWire recently connected with Director & Executive Producer Danishka Esterhazy as well as new addition Elena Juatco, where we discussed Scrofano’s return and what it was like working with her.
“Well, of course, we love Mel,” Esterhazy tells us. “And I feel particularly lucky because in Season 1, I got to direct Mel in one of my episodes and then of course she came on and directed a block for us in Season 2.
“We always wanted to bring her back; you know, she’s part of our team. It was really great she was available to do the finale, which is a really exciting set of episodes. We were very thrilled to have her back.”
As The Roman Agency’s new hire, Lomax, actress Elena Juatco had the privilege of working directly with Scrofano, and she exclaims that it was an “incredible” experience working with her.
“I’ve never worked with her [prior],” Juatco says. “Of course, I’ve heard so much about her. The same crew on Wynonna Earp worked on [my other show] Jann, so I always felt like I kind of knew her but I didn’t.
“It’s so incredible to see someone who’s a phenomenal actor start directing and be able to direct in a way where the actor feels seen and where she can speak our language. It’s a very common thing with actors that become directors.”
The Canadian actress recalls a day on set in a scene for the season’s penultimate episode, “Dearly Departed,” where she and guest star Sugenja Sri’s character, Joiti, tells her about her husband who died.
“After a few takes, [Melanie] was like, ‘Sugenja, you know, you can improv.’ She was encouraging her to [improvise] and come back to the script when she wants because she knew Sugenja wanted to have that freedom, that Sugenja was skilled enough and that would kind of help her feel freer in the scene and have the emotion feel more free.
“We sat there and we kind of improv’d it and it was just so beautiful,” Elena Juatco continues, “like the kind of work that [Melanie] was able to get out of [Sugenja] because her eyes for things are different. It was really incredible. That was a special day on set. I remember that. She was phenomenal.”
The SurrealEstate Season 2 finale, “Letting Go,” was written by George R. Olson and directed by Melanie Scrofano. The episode airs Wednesday, December 6 at 10pm on SYFY.
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