Is God Is, Mallori Johnson Interview

What is the meaning behind the title?

I think that the title to me always felt like a question and an answer, right? It's is God God is. Or at least that's how I always thought about it. And I don't think that it necessarily meant an implication of like God in a literal sense or like in a religious sense, it just felt like when I read it, these characters were on this journey to understanding whether or not that there was a larger meaning in themselves and to life, and that's what the the seeking of God feels like, right? The question of whether or not God, this larger thing, this larger meaning for why people are the way they are and why they come from what they come from is the way it is. And I think that throughout the journey of the story, that question is answered.

What was the preparation process like for your role?

I think I just really get Cara, like as a person I get her, I and I and I love her. I think that there's something to when you really, really have a true friendship and kin with someone, um, you naturally mirror each other's movements and speech patterns. However, Alicia was really, really smart in making sure that we had extra rehearsal time, so we came in two weeks before we even started filming, and we were in rehearsal studios practicing with each other, working in tandem, moving in tandem. Uh, we would do exercises where we were looking in the mirror and we would look at each other and try to say what the other person was thinking or um, do like a movement that the other person was going to do next. So Alicia made sure that we were that we were bonded in that way, but it happened naturally, very, very naturally.

What are the differences between the characters Aniah and Racine?

The differences between Aniah and Racine is that Racine is someone who is bold, right? She's the twin that's bold, she's the twin that's not afraid to say what she wants to say, and she's kind of the mouthpiece for Aniah who's a lot more withdrawn and sensitive and um thoughtful. I think that Aniah is led by her emotions, whereas Racine is led by her instincts. And I think that as the story goes on, you kind of see Aniah become her own protector.

What do the scars represent for your character and what is her ultimate goal?

Her scars I found when I was working on her and trying to find her felt like the crux of her being, right? They they are this thing that she cannot detach herself from, that she feels like she needs to hide, but it's also kind of a mask in a way. I think it's a shield. I think that they shield themselves with their scars. And um, I also think that it really informed what she wanted as a character so much. I think that what she wanted ultimately was just to be normal. We kept talking about what they wanted, and it just it it we we kept finding that it came from they just wanted love, they just wanted acceptance, and they wanted to be normal.

How does your character view Ruby?

I think that to Racine, Ruby was a mythic figure, right? I mean, we do see her introduced as a character as this very mythic mystical being in this like Southern Gothic environment, which is so cool. But I always felt like, even reading the play, that Aniah saw Ruby as a mother. I think that Aniah just wanted a mom, and I think that she also just wanted a dad. These are two orphans that like never knew their parents. And I think that in the same way that Racine revered her, Aniah really just needed her.

What was your experience working with the cast and director Alicia?

Working with this cast, working with this director was incredible. I I am so honored, I feel really, really honored to be in this movie. When I was watching it by myself, I was like super moved by the fact that I was even in it and the fact that I was in it with these huge legends that I look up to, like I look up to, you know? Um, I think Alicia is brilliant. I think that I am so inspired by her bravery, her bravery to helm this film herself. She wrote it, she directed it, she made sure that it was exactly the story that she wanted to tell, and she made sure that everybody in the room who was working with her knew that, too. And so I I just was I I think that Alicia is an inspiration to every Black woman out there who wants to create something, that when you want to create something, you do it yourself. You do it yourself, and you make sure that it's done right. And um, I'm I'm proud to be in it with the people that I am in it with.

Why is it important to watch this project in a theater?

It was made for theaters, right? This story was written as a play first, and it was written in the fashion of a Greek odyssey. I mean, I keep saying this, but that's what struck me the most about this story, that's what made it so brilliant and unique to me, is that this was this was made to be shared with other people. I think that not going to see it in a theater, not going to see it with other people would be a shame to you, to you as an audience member, because it's it's meant to be shared, it's meant to be um, communed with, you know? This this story is really uh, truly fashioned in in the spirit of theater.