BEFORE/DURING/AFTER - FINNERTY STEEVES, JOHN PANKOW & KRISTINE SUTHERLAND INTERVIEW

Finnerty Steeves bears all - emotionally in her new drama, before//during/after.

before/during/after is the story of Jennie Lonergan (Finnerty Steeves, “Orange is the New Black”), a middle-aged NYC theatre actress, who is forced to figure out the kind of person she wants to be when her seemingly perfect 15-year marriage comes to an abrupt end after she catches her husband (Jeremy Davidson, “Royal Pains”) having an affair. The film is anchored in one day in Jennie’s life when she is auditioning for a career-making role in a play that triggers a flood of her own unprocessed memories about her marriage and the aftermath of her divorce.

The play’s director, Nigel Hopkins (Michael Emerson, “Person of Interest,” “Lost”) directs Jennie as she flounders to delve into the character of a brokenhearted woman: “She has to move forward. Neutral is no good, being a victim is not good -- she must find the next right thing, or the fear and the hurt will swallow her.” Jennie’s memories are peppered with characters and experiences that only happen to a person who has lost her way, and through these experiences and people Jennie is guided back to herself and to the kind of person, the kind of life, she’s always wanted.

I spoke with Finnerty Steeves and co-stars Kristine Sutherland ( Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and real life husband John Pankow ( Mad About You, episodes) about working on the film.