Exclusive: Anthony Rapp and Vivian Kerr Discuss Familial Dynamics in New Indie Film SCRAP

Since his starring turn in Rent, Anthony Rapp has played a variety of compelling roles. Onstage, he appeared as the depressed title character in You're a Good Man Charlie Brown. In 2014, he starred alongside Idina Menzel in the 2014 production of If/Then and, in the last few years, Rapp has been part of the Star Trek universe as Commander Paul Stamets. Now, the Broadway alum is appearing in the new independent film Scrap. The movie tackles the harsh reality of familial strife and seeks to ask an important question: What if the plans you had for your life didn't pan out?

Scrap follows Vivian Kerr's Beth, a mother who has been recently laid off from her job. Rather than sharing her situation with her brother Ben (Rapp), Vivian continues to pretend that all is well, attempting to maintain her pride amidst her struggles. Meanwhile, Ben and his wife Stacy (Lana Parrilla) are having trouble conceiving a child of their own, and are facing the added pressure of looking after Beth's daughter Birdy. With all of these complications, Beth and Ben have to come to terms with their fragmented relationship and the unhelpful patterns into which they have found themselves falling.

In addition to starring as Beth, Vivan Kerr wrote and directed Scrap, marking her feature directorial debut. Ahead of its digital premiere on December 13, BroadwayWorld sat down with Rapp and Kerr to discuss their work on the new film, its evolution, and the complexity of family relationships.

This interview has been condensed for clarity and length.

The film started as a short. When expanding the story into a feature-length film, what elements were most important for you to add or deepen?

Vivan: The short is the first couple of scenes of the feature. So you are introduced to Beth's situation: you see this woman and she's living in her car, but you don't only know why. It's a little bit of a teaser for the feature. For the feature, one of the things I wanted to include was some more humor. I love the short, but I think it's a little bit serious. I wanted to introduce more of the humor between the siblings and in Beth's delusion of how she thinks her life's going as opposed to how it's actually going.

Anthony, you've been involved with the project since it was a short film. What initially drew you to the story, and how has your connection to the material evolved or changed with the feature?

Anthony: I'm always happy for the opportunity to be a part of projects that are trying to tell a human story in an authentic way. I felt like that's what the short was doing and when I was sent the feature film script, I thought it was even better! That's not always the case. As you can imagine, when things get expanded they can sometimes fall apart. I was really excited that we had the chance to go back and mine even more of the richness of it. 

The B plot between Ben and Stacy wasn't in the short. That relationship and what they're going through felt rich and interesting, especially alongside this very thorny stuff between Beth and Penn. There are fewer opportunities, at least in American film, for there to be this intimate, honest portrait of human beings and relationships.

In a lot of ways, Ben is like Vivian. He's going through his own problems but isn't always forthcoming with his struggles.

Anthony: That's very much the parental vibe. In so much of their relationship, he's been a parent to her and I think that is so much of what drives it. Parents think that they can't show their struggles to their kids because they are going to be freaked out. It's an interesting thing. I'm a parent now myself, so it's something that I think about. I want our sons to feel like we're also human beings who struggle and are trying to figure stuff out so that we aren't seen as some perfect figure that later disappoints them because we're not perfect.

In a lot of ways, this feels like the antithesis of so much of what media shows us. We are told to only share the good things with others, and this is certainly true for social media. Was it your aim to challenge that social media-driven narrative of constant success and perfection?

Vivan: Originally in the script, Beth had social media accounts. That was part of her thing. But I realized this couldn't be a movie where she's on her phone all the time, even though that might be a little bit more accurate. So I just took all of that out, but the underlying idea was there. Beth probably has like 17 social media accounts and they're all bullshit.

Anthony, you obviously have a background in theatre and I've heard some actors say that working on an indie film is kind of like theatre because you have that tight-knit sense of community. Did you have that experience with Scrap?

Anthony: Totally. It's about the scenes, rather than waiting for the crane and the light and sitting around while all the special effects get set up. It's exciting to be on these huge sets, but to just be in a room with a couple of other actors doing really dialogue-rich scenes is very much like theatre. And you're aware of the camera, but it's a part of the fabric of it as opposed to just getting technically what you need to get for the shot. This is much more in the vein of getting down and dirty and telling a story in a room.

Birdy is obviously a huge part of the story. What was your process for casting the young actress who plays her (Julianna Layne), and how did you work with her to create that mother-daughter dynamic?

Vivan: She's one of those crazy amazing little girl actresses. We hired casting directors and they did a national search because we couldn't find the right actress in Los Angeles. She and her mom put her on tape in New Jersey and she was so precious- and I believed that she could be my daughter physically. 

When we got to set, she knew the script backward and forwards. There'd be scenes where she'd be like, "Oh, you said this wrong." She has an amazing ability to memorize and was an absolute delight to work with.

Los Angeles plays a significant role in the film, with much of it shot on location. What challenges came with filming on location, and why was it important that it be LA as opposed to New York or another city?

Vivan: I chose LA because I live there and I think the themes of the movie are best served by Los Angeles. In terms of challenges, we had days where we were in just one location but then we had days where we had company moves. It's hard when you're trying to grab a quick shot at a place across town with a splinter crew before meeting back up with the main team to then shoot a whole other series of scenes. But I think we did a good job with the scheduling and finding locations where we could shoot various scenes in the same place.

For instance, the scene where his agent is on the phone in his agent's office was on the same floor of the office buildings where I go for my job interview. That was our first day of shooting and our brilliant production designer dressed each of those rooms to be the place they needed to be. Trying to figure out that efficiency was probably the most stressful part.

The film delves into familial struggles, which feels especially resonant during the holidays. What advice or takeaways do you hope families can draw from its message?

Anthony: Having those honest tough conversations, but from a place of understanding that you only have each other for as long as you each other. Yes, sometimes there's stuff to work out, but it must come from a place of trying to work it out rather than just trying to air grievances.

Vivan: I think that's exactly right. Families are challenging. These are not necessarily people that you chose. I also think too, in a time in which people are so divided, that there is something to be said for just loving people even if you can't change them and even if maybe they don't always love you.

Scrap is now available to stream on Apple, Google, Amazon and Vudu. Check out the trailer below.