I came across an excellent bit of film magic a couple weeks ago, and decided to bring the full force of my inquisitive self to bear on the one responsible for such tasty cinematic treats. My search led me to Vimeo (the most excellent video portal in the web-o-sphere), where it became clear:

The culprit is a severely talented and engaging actor named Kate VanDevender.

It’s not often that I find myself laughing out loud at internet entertainments these days. It seems that most of the digital drivel that gets passed around between inboxes, profiles, and Twitter tweets is usually intended to shock, disturb, or depress me – the unsuspecting viewer – into feeling more like a faceless username and less like a real human being. This time, however – saints be praised, huzzahs be raised – what I found was well-written, engaging, intelligent comedy that generated a happy snort and left me feeling like I’d gained something worthwhile. Something good.

Kate VanDevender (pronounced van-DEVUN-der for the unschooled) is the creator, director, and lead actor in a series of vignettes called The Actor Diaries, which can be found here, at www.actordiaries.com. I demand that you take a look at these, and do everything in your social networking power to disseminate them far and wide. Go on and do it. I know you can, Twitterer.

I made e-contact with Kate and asked begged her to grant me an interview, to which she graciously agreed. Wednesday afternoon, we engaged in a bi-coastal Q&A. Let it be said plainly and clearly: this woman is a star.

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Writer, actor, director, and editor? Wow.

Yeah, my goal right now is to work with people who aren’t myself. [Laughs] That would be great. I approached this project like that on purpose, as a personal challenge. It stretched me to my limits, to do my very best in all aspects. But my ideal would be to be the creator of a show and star in it.

The Actor Diaries are up on the web for all to enjoy. Exposing one’s work on the internet can be a tricky thing, with opinions and comments flying about. Are you glad you did it this way?

Yeah, I wanted people to react to them. People will tell you if it’s not funny. They’ll let you know. The internet is a great place to try things out. The Actor Diaries have been a great success for my career. Just recently, I’ve gotten a few calls from studios wanting to talk to me about new projects.

The quality of the writing and the timing of the actors are crucial elements to great comedy. These videos accomplish just that.

Thank you! I really revel in doing good work. I didn’t want to create something where it’s like, “Let’s pick up a camera and shoot all our friends, and do all of our inside jokes.” I was really trying to make good comedy.

How did you fund the project?

With my own savings! I hired a crew, rented all the equipment, bought insurance, called for actors, etc. It took a while.

What was the most difficult part?

The most difficult part was directing myself. I try not to be control freak about stuff. It’s two completely different parts of your brain at work. I knew it would be a challenge, so I made sure all my storyboards were really accurate. I wanted everyone to come into the project on the same page, ready to go. We were all clear about what was happening.

Did you direct alone?

I had two assistant directors. I told one that she was my right brain, and the other that she was my left brain.

How do you judge yourself during a shoot?

I have an internal compass. Especially with comedy, you can feel when something is legitimately funny. I learned this in theater in front of a live audience – there’s a definite line between something believable and something not believable. Especially when you’re dressed up like a block of cheese.

When you nail a take, do you know it and move on? Or do you obsess and over-analyze?

I have an obsessive personality, so there’s that. But I’ve learned to experience it. If I’m not having fun, I have a hard time not knowing what’s funny. I need to stay in a playful state. I hired a good crew so I could trust them, and then just didn’t worry about it.

When you sat down to write, did it come easily?

This series was very cathartic – “it’s funny because it’s true,” and all that. There are so many odd things about being an actor that just wouldn’t happen in any other business, you know, with sane people that are thinking things through. [Laughs] That insanity was the impetus for this subject matter. The writing process was really fun, because it was everything I’d been thinking about for the past ten years.

How would you describe your personal writing process?

I do this. [Stares blankly off into the distance for a few moments, then breaks into a self-deprecating giggle] No, I have scriptwriting software, but I don’t use it right away. It’s too much pressure. I just open a plain text editor start bashing it out. When I have enough to fill a page of script, I’ll copy and paste it into my scriptwriting format.  I don’t want to psych myself out before I write my first word.

As a creative individual, you seem to have a very strong sense of self. How did you deal with doubt?

Yeah, doubt. That’s a great topic. [Ponderous pause] I had a lot of doubt in the editing process. It was a web series and, to be honest, I didn’t have any expectations for it. I treated it that way on purpose so I could get around the doubt factor. There weren’t any deadlines and I had no expectations for success. It helped me get over my own doubt about whether or not I’m funny, if I could actually write, and if I could make a career out of this.

I made the first webisode, “The Auditioner,”  about a year ago. I wrote it in ten minutes. It didn’t take long to shoot, it was really low maintenance. It got really popular, so I thought I’d make more. So then I wrote the other ones, and that’s when I began to doubt. I began to wonder if “The Auditioner” was the best that I could do.

It took me a year to shoot the next three episodes, and after we finished shooting, I knew I had to edit them. I avoided it. I stalled. I was afraid to look at the work, afraid to see that it wasn’t as funny as my first attempt.

What helped you find your courage?

Finally, I told myself, “I’m choosing to grow in public.” I knew I would never know unless I put them out there. But it was an effort. I had to get through my personal fear.

People seem to be loving these webisodes.

Yes! I still get letters from around the world about it. People that don’t even speak English tell me that they showed it to their entire family. It blew my mind. It was exactly what I want to do as an artist: make people laugh around the world. I can’t think of a better thing.

Right now, so many people have lost their jobs, and many are taking work that they never imagined taking in the first place. You have a lot of opportunities to try a lot of different things – what’s your approach?

At a low time like this, it’s a perfect time to be courageous. I know there are a lot of people reevaluting. Whatever kind of stability that we thought existed, didn’t. As a person, as an artist, it’s a great time to try something different. Stability, as it turns out, is an illusion anyway – why not create something yourself?

Did you wonder if these little videos were your “fifteen minutes?” Were you afraid you had come to the ultimate end of your ability?

By definition, art is brave. If you aren’t going through the hard parts, you probably aren’t telling the truth. For me, I generate an idea and run ahead with it, until some sort of chaos-slash-despair-slash-revelation happens, and then I inevitably come upon this moment of surrender where it all comes together and I can actually finish it. Whatever you’re creating is coming from you. You will think to yourself, “if no one likes this, this is all I’ve got.” It’s a scary thing.

So getting through the hard parts is crucial to getting to the good parts?

Yes! And I don’t think that ever changes.

Has the success of The Actor Diaries impacted your career?

Immensely. Some studios are showing an interest in my comedy. They’re coming to me now about other projects, other opportunities. I’m very excited.

Do you struggle with the idea of money, rights, and leveraged interests entering your creative endeavors?

I actually enjoy the business of show business. I realize that art needs money. Fact: the world needs art, and art needs money.  Maybe I’m speaking from a naive place, because I haven’t been exploited yet. [Laughs] I’m not naturally protective. If someone wanted to make a lot of money off of The Actor Diaries, I would be totally into it. It’s all just stepping stones anyway. There’s a lot of creativity to be found in the world, so I wouldn’t put all my eggs in my own basket. It takes a lot of energy to hang on to my own work so hard.

What’s your creative goal?

I like what I’m competing against. I love making people laugh from their bellies, the kind of laugh you have in a bar when your friend tells a joke, and the laugh just shoots out. It’s involuntary. If you can make a sketch like that and generate that kind of laughter – that’s the goal.

What bits of mainstream comedy are you following these days?

The Office. I love The Office. Flight of the Conchords is brilliant. 30 Rock – oh so witty.

Modern fame is evolving. People are becoming famous for being famous, without a body of work. What would you say to young artists coming up through our society. In the world of Google, Facebook, American Idol, etc., how would you prepare the young artist for today’s entertainment market?

[Long pause] There is entertainment that connects people. There’s entertainment that breaks us down. I would say to someone to pay attention to that. A lot of the things you’re talking about are destructive. The intentions are often to destroy other people, and can be negative, vain, and elevated for the wrong reasons. Artists have a responsibility to not do that.

To know the difference, you have to pay attention. Ask questions like, “Is what I’m doing have meaning?”  You have to ask yourself if what you’re doing is ultimately self-serving, or if it’s something bigger? The entertainment industry can be very disappointing. I don’t think it’s hopeless, but I think a lot of people are lost. It’s easy to get lost in that. Pay attention to the bigger picture.

Do you surround yourself with similarly enthusiastic people?

I surround myself with people who have values. I know that sounds obvious, but in the entertainment industry – not so much. I like people who have that “bigger picture” outlook.

I lived in New York for eight years before moving here to Los Angeles. There’s a myth of the nobility of struggle for an artist. The whole “if you’re miserable then you’re probably doing something right” thing. I don’t think that’s true. Some people feel that if they’re failing, then somehow it justifies them somehow not having to do anything.

Sort of like creative martyrs.

Right! Creative martyrs! There are a lot of those. People love to move to LA and be like, “this place is horrible, it’s so superficial, it’s all business.” I’ve found it to be the complete opposite. A million people have cameras here and want to do good work. For The Actor Diaries, I put an ad out that basically said, “no pay, non-union,  nobody famous, this isn’t going anywhere.” [Laughs] And I got a thousand people who wanted to be in it! It was awesome. They were all overqualified, all comedians, it was great. If you have a perspective that it’s possible, you’ll find it.

That says a lot for the people involved. People are ready to try new things and do projects for the joy of it.

I was blown away. So grateful.

Do you find that the industry in LA is changing? Do you feel like it’s struggling?

Yeah, things are changing. The SAG strike is a big deal. Studios are threatened with the idea of not making any money. The value of celebrity has gone way down, because anyone can be famous.

There’s always a constant struggle between the powers that be and people who have a soul.

[Laughs] And people don’t know what to do with the web. There’s no standard format for everything. The old Hollywood studio mentality – commercials, time slots, etc. – doesn’t work on the internet. I think we’re witnessing the formation of a whole new kind of media. There are no rules yet.

You got the word on about your video through the power of the internet. How important do you think Facebook, Twitter, etc. are to creative industries?

I love it. It feels like “art for the people.” You can have a direct connection with your viewers and make use of free avenues to broadcast your work. Beautiful. Everyone’s all in a panic because no one has figured out the best way to make money off the internet yet. I think there’s a missing link yet to be found. The business will evolve.

If you could have one dream job, any time in film history, what you do, or who would you be?

You know what I would love? I don’t think I’d want to be Charlie Chaplin, but I’d love to have had the opportunity to work with him. When he was shooting Limelight, he was really concerned with working out the comedic beats. He would obsess about the way that he moved, searching for the comedy and analyzing the way that he moved his own body. He would ask, “why is this funny?” On that film, he did something totally unheard of. He took a six month hiatus to work out the ending. He continued to pay his actors, but made sure that what he was doing was the best it could be. I would love to be on that set! I would love to be directed by him. To really have the time to figure it out – I would love that.

Sounds like you get a big kick out of the comedic archaeology.

It’s such a mystery. For example, why is a phrase suddenly funny if I speak it two beats sooner? What is the rhythm of someone’s internal humor?

I love the word chick pea.

Chick pea is funny! Comedy is so intangible. Why is that funny, you know?

What is the one thing about you that wish people noticed sooner than they do?

Well, I wish I noticed that I was funny sooner than I did. In high school I got voted class clown. Apparently I’ve had some sort of comedic ability my whole life, but I never put any value on it. It took me a long time to figure out that I’m good at this. And I enjoy it so much. I finally realized that being taken seriously has nothing to do with drama. It’s about enjoying what you do. It just never occurred to me that it could be my profession.

So you were a creative martyr.

Yes! I was a creative martyr! But now, I’m free.