Meet Michelle Mary Schaefer | Actor, Screenwriter, CEO of Annabelle Louise Productions, Director, Intimacy Director/Coordinator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michelle Mary Schaefer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michelle Mary, can you share a quote or affirmation with us?
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas Edison

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” -Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

These two quotes are how I live my life, as it keeps me going. I have so much to offer deep in my heart and within my passions. Also, I love writing down goals with plans and deadlines because it helps me achieve my goals and projects. I am a firm believer in less talk more actions.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I’m an Actor, Screenwriter, Director, Producer, CEO of Annabelle Louise Productions, ASL Consultant, Deaf Culture Consultant in Theatre and Films, Social Media Manager, Communication Manager, and Project Manager who is Deaf. However, I do not allow my Deafness to stop me from following my passions despite society’s ignorance, oppression, assumption, rejection, and discrimination. Once you have the passion within you, the fire keeps going, and it has been burning since I was four years old. I have been in the industry for years and working extremely hard daily, non-stop, which shows my dedication.

I do both Theatre and Film, which makes me a talented Actor with the ability to perform onstage and onscreen; not only that, I’m the most versatile Actor who happens to be Deaf, playing all kinds of roles. Roles include Hamlet in “Hamlet,” Joan in “Fun Home,” Ginny in “5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche,” and many more! I am also known as the first Deaf Female Actor to portray the role of Billy in “Tribes” by Nina Raine, and I have done the part five times. I played Sarah Norman in “Children of a Lesser God,” and played her six times. I love playing challenging roles and would love to be Elphaba in “Wicked” on Broadway!

Not just an Actor; I write scripts because I value authentic stories, as our voice matters, and even to create roles and opportunities for everyone. “REAL,” the tiny film web series, has been a hit in film festivals, a grand prize winner, and the best original script. Now, it’s being optioned to develop it further with Skyphire Entertainment in association with Annabelle Louise Productions.

I wrote a complete TV Series, “Always Natalie,” a 22-minute comedy/drama concerning the chaotic dating life of our Deaf protagonist, Natalie, in the present day. I have been working on “Always Natalie” since 2010 and am looking for dedicated, passionate, hard-working producers, showrunners, folks, and networks to bring this to the screen. I even look forward to playing the role of Natalie and hope Marlee Matlin plays my Mother in the series. “Always Natalie” will show more representation onscreen and give folks more opportunities onscreen and behind the camera.

I wrote a feature film, “Destiny,” hoping to act along with Claire Foy! I’m working with Brandon Lee Torres, Gina Torres, Jason Matthews, Martha Anger, and Elran Ofir to bring this beautiful will-be-an-award-winning project alive. I’m incredibly excited!

I’m working on a short film/TV proof of concept with a talented producer/writer, Tasha Hardy, and fantastic writer, Keiko Tamura “I Love You So Much.” “I Love You So Much” is an award-winning silent film that’s reminiscent of “Wonderstruck” meets “Coffee Shop,” about a musician (Michelle Mary Schaefer) who loses her hearing and has to integrate into a new community, finding hope in a repeat customer at her new job at a deaf cafe. Having left a singing career behind, she finds a unique way to make a daily positive impact that ultimately leads to saving a stranger’s life. We look forward to bringing this story to life by working with many brilliant, talented Actors on board.

While auditioning, doing theatre, writing, and waiting for opportunities, I empowered myself to bring the short film I wrote, “Babe to Blocked,” alive to the screen. I worked extremely hard solo for five months in the pre-production and productions as a project manager, location scout, prop master, director, Actor, catering, etc. I could not be even more proud of the project because, for years, people have told me that I will fail. But this also shows that your passion is the fire, and it kept me going. “Babe to Blocked” is currently being edited to submit to film festivals. I recently wrote, produced, and directed another short film, “It’s a Match,” which is also currently being edited to submit to film festivals.

I’m always looking for new projects onstage and onscreen and even aim to collaborate with other authentic creative artists. We have so many stories to be told, all forms of creativity.

Life, in general, is not a smooth ride. Yet, I have faced many struggles as a person who is Deaf with barriers to equal access to events, films, etc., along with discrimination.

Now in this industry, I have fallen thousands of times and am genuinely a resilient person. I do not allow society’s judgment on their assumptions and ignorance about me and the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing stop me from following my passions. I’m always advocating and educating daily.

Yes, there have been some harsh comments from Directors who have said, “Wow, you are so beautiful, but you cannot act because you are Deaf. Deaf people cannot be Actors.” Excuse me; Deaf people can do anything but not hear. Look at Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur, Phyllis Frelich, Deanne Bray, and many more. I still dream of working with Marlee Matlin, which will happen someday! I even had folks being shocked that I write scripts; those stories are authentic, and my voice and creativity matter just like all writers. Even though it’s 2023, people are still shocked by our skills and capability, yet we still need opportunities to be viewed equally, just like you.

There are zillions of times that I have been told the only role I could play is Sarah Norman in “Children of a Lesser God,” as I have six times. I do not want to be limited to specific roles, which is why I’m a very versatile Actor playing all kinds of roles, not hearing roles, they are HUMAN ROLES, and I happen to be Deaf. It adds layers to the character and story.

I remember I saw a notice for an audition for a short horror film, “Made of These”; I told myself to do it as you never know—as it has always been my motto. I nailed the role of Ashlinn; the writer/director Ven Scott and his production team were blown away as the rest is history. I’m incredibly proud of the film and the folks I worked with. Thank you, and we need more folks like Ven, who open his mind, eyes, and hearts to end up with a powerful film.

With thousands of rejections, I admit there are times when I almost gave up my passions. But I didn’t; instead, I fell, rested, and rose again. I put my hands on my heart and looked in the mirror, asking myself, “Why did I start this, and why does this matters?” I know, I smile, and I have been in this industry since I was a kid, constantly working non-stop. I know not to give up, as it’s worth every step of this journey; I feel rich to share this with all of you.

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist/creative is living authentically, pouring my heart intensely within the career and, believing in myself, rolling my sleeves up, making projects happen. I would not sit around complaining about the lack of opportunities; instead, I create them. I’m all about action and teamwork, bringing things alive onstage and onscreen. I knew I had to be consistent with my words and projects, which it shows. It was not an easy journey, yet it is my pure happiness.

There is no DEI: diversity, equity, and inclusion without the Deaf, the Disabled, and full accessibility. We, the Deaf and Disabled, are often overlooked, discriminated against, rejected, and oppressed.

Sometimes, we are included in a project but viewed as tokenism to the production’s benefit rather than being accountable for genuinely being inclusive and listening to us by providing complete accessibility to whatever we need, such as ASL interpreters, captions, etc. I have been in numerous productions onstage and onscreen; for instance, in one stage production, we had no ASL interpreters, and the Deaf audience members could not attend the performance, which was misleading since they had a Deaf Actor onstage. This also applies to films that had no actual captions and justified to me that the auto-generated captions are good enough when they originally planned not to caption at all. At other times, filmmakers claim they don’t have the budget to include captions, and even times; they feel it unnecessary to include them. Pure discrimination which it excludes many of us: the Deaf, those with Autism, ADHD, ESL, Elders with Hearing Loss, etc. We all must be accountable for our actions, be inclusive even to recognize our privileges, and do better in Arts and Society.

I would love to see everyone be aware of the accessibility and stop making excuses for its behavior and putting a burden upon the Deaf and Disabled. Since the Law of ADA was passed in 1990, in 2023, I still struggle, and often, my rights and requests to an ASL Interpreter in workshops within the industry, events, performances, hospitals, etc, are declined. At the same time, we have constantly advocated and spoken out on these issues and topics like a broken record. It’s time to step up, be accountable, work with us, and ensure full accessibility. Fix the captions system on Broadway and movie theatres rather than saying, “Oh, I’m sorry, here is a ticket to another show (to a broken system with the same issues nonstop).” Also, please add captions to your films, videos, commercials, and social media. Let’s end this today and make its changes!

Also, I would love to see Theatre, Films, and TV start to be open-minded and hire us, the Deaf and the Disabled, onscreen and behind the camera, writing, producing, directing, etc. Also, do not limit us to Deaf/Disabled roles; allow us to audition for all “Human” roles onstage and onscreen. I played Hamlet in “Hamlet,” which adds many beautiful layers to the story. However, of course, roles written explicitly for the Deaf/Disabled must be portrayed by those who are Deaf/Disabled. Don’t be afraid of what you don’t know, re: Deaf, Disabled, other Cultures etc— just open your mind, eyes and heart come together to respect, accept and work together to bring it’s authenticity onscreen/onstage as our voice matters. I cannot emphasize how many nasty comments I have received from the society, the industry, and folks who are all about DEI but excludes us. Yet, always remember that we are passionate and capable. That’s why I’m empowered to create my opportunities, projects, and even a production company, Annabelle Louise Productions, to make a difference within the industry and society. And it has already been happening slowly, so please join me on this journey. Let’s help each other!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Home is always my favorite spot, because I’m with my dog and working. However, you will always find me out in the nature!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to thank my dog, Annabelle Louise, who gives me unconditional love. She keeps me going in life and within my career. She is one reason I named my production company after Annabelle Louise Productions.

Thank you, and I love you, Annabelle Louise.

Website: www.michellemaryschaefer.com

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWjShVo2WsPgQrdUw-X8yjA

Other: www.annabellelouiseproductions.com