The Testament of Ann Lee, Mona Fastvold interview

"So when I discovered the story of Ann Lee—a real person—I realized that not a lot of people knew about her story. And the more I learned about Ann Lee, the more I realized that she was perhaps America's first feminist. And I thought, right now, I'd like a story about a complex, powerful woman who fought for equality for others.

All through song and dance. So there was... it was the only way we could tell the story because the Shakers worshiped through ecstatic song and dance. So they kind of... sort of lived their life like a musical, so it had to be a musical. But it's an unconventional musical; we're using the music in a very different way. Yeah.

Oh, well, so Amanda and I started rehearsing and practicing and working together a year before we started shooting. So we were, you know, singing songs, recording in my bedroom and, you know, talking around the kitchen table and doing dance practices and working on the dialogue way in advance. And a lot of the other cast members also joined really early on and were rehearsing and working for a long time leading up to our official prep.

Then we dove into a really intense rehearsal period. And then, so when we were on set and actually shooting, it was... it was actually a lot of levity, even though parts of the story are quite heavy, because we had... we were so well prepared that we could experiment and play once we were on set.

I hope that the audience takes away the urge and the need that I feel to create, you know, communities where you feel safe to create and safe to, you know, be spiritual in whatever way you want to be spiritual in. And yeah, I think that... I hope it gives you a bit of warmth and inspiration and sort of helps you search for that communal grace that we all strive for.”