An Interview With Stephanie Lomenick From ‘The Man In The Maze’

Meet Stephanie Lomenick. Stephanie is one of the latest starlets emerging not only in the horror circuit, but in the entertainment industry as a whole. She appears in a new horror film called The Man In The Maze. The Man In The Maze has been screened in several film festivals in the United States, and has even picked up a few awards including Best SFX Make-Up and an Honorable Mention. It will be available in theaters this October.  Stephanie has several other projects lined up, some horror related and some not. So, read my interview with Stephanie Lomenick to find out some interesting behind-the-scenes information from The Man In The Maze, as well as other insight into her upcoming projects. I think you’ll be able to get a good sense of her personality and character just by reading her honest answers.

Tell me a little about yourself? Where are you from? How did you get into acting?

I am from a small town in Northeast Mississippi called Iuka (pronounced “eye-yoo-ka”).  I actually spent my entire life being super dedicated to cheerleading.  I cheered all through junior and high school and through some college..  I always wanted to act and had a passion for it. When I was a kid I would sit and study movies and shows until I knew it through and through.  I was always watching the behind the scenes trying to learn as much as I could about the film industry.  I never really had the confidence to make a move on that career.  So when I became an adult I decided to try to make something happen.  I realized that I only live once and I didn’t want to look at my kids one day and tell them that I never  tried.  That it was scary and a huge gamble and that’s why I didn’t try to be an actress. 

I’ve read that you originally became a part of Man In The Maze as a production assistant, but then ended up getting hired as a lead actress in the film. How did this happen?

That’s true.  I got an email through the theater email list saying they were looking for people to be production assistants and what not on set.  Seeing that I was looking to find some work in film, I knew it had to be something I should look into.  I met with the director and told him that even though my primary experience has been acting, I had the time to help out on set.  He called me a few days  later and asked if I’d come in again and talk with him.  He told me that he hadn’t cast “Christy” yet and he really liked my look and thought it would work out better for the film if I got to use my talents on the front side of camera.  So I took it.

IMDB also has you listed as doing stunts for Man In The Maze. Did you do all your own stunts or did you help choreograph other’s?

Totally!  I love doing stunts! With my cheerleading background I have been used to being thrown around and actually there is an art to falling, and I learned it LONG ago!  With Man in the Maze, we all as a cast worked with each other to help create the best stunts we could do.  We had a stunt coordinator named Diana Mitchell.  She was great!  Her abilities are truly amazing.  She had done a lot of work with Kung Fu films in Japan and was a black belt in like 7 different disciplines….  Needless to say, she did a lot of the choreography on the fighting!

Since Man In The Maze, you’ve done really well for yourself and you’ve been booking roles consistently. Is there anything you want to tell the readers about your upcoming roles in The Apocrphya, Scarecrows Last Dance, or about Man In The Maze itself?

Well at this point, I can’t give too much information away but I know that the audience is going to be super thrilled with all of these projects. They are fun to watch.  I’m really excited to get working on Apocrypha.  It is really an amazing script.  My character has a lot of depth and it’s going to be neat to really throw myself into it.  I’m ready!

Another gig that you’ve booked is the two-hour series finale of Jackson Horn. How does it feel to work on a television show that is associated with Fox network, one of the biggest TV networks in the world?

To be honest, it’s weird.  There are people in states I’ve never been to that know who I am.  If I walked through some parts of Oregon, or Alaska, someone would stop me and call me “Gracie”… that’s weird!  But this is what I’ve been waiting on, right?  So it feels really good.  However, I don’t love any of the projects more or less depending on what the industry calls success.  I believe in a character whether it goes off to make millions or hundreds or nothings.

Rumor has it that you will appear in a new indie horror film that will be shooting in New Orleans. Can you give me any details on this upcoming film?

I can tell you that I am cast in a film that will be shot in New Orleans.  It’s in 3D and it’s expected to blow the audience’s mind!  I’m really pumped about it.  I’ve been reading through the script and it looks like it could very well be super amazing…

In five years, where do you see yourself in the business? What do you hope to have achieved?

In five years…?  You can’t predict the future in this business at all.  I am just so very thankful that I am part of a production family that will always provide work for me one way or another.  It would certainly be nice to be wealthy, living in mansions, being in every magazine, and vacationing in random islands with a hot boyfriend… but I don’t want to measure my success by that scale.  I would be just as happy doing a projects  with my team, experiencing different characters, delivering powerful  messages and coming home to a havoc filled house where I got to cook dinner and kiss a family good night.

And finally, favorite horror film:

The Exorcist… HANDS DOWN!  I probably know everything there is to know about that film.  I’ve been watching it since I was about 12.  I fell in love with the power the cast put into their characters and I loved how organic the film was… It had nothing to do with religion or my beliefs on demonic forces.  It was strictly the love of the film. This was a film made before computers came in and changed the way films were made.  So they had to use their creativity and make stuff happen in the rawest form.  I love it.  I actually like getting to work on projects where they use a lot of “rigging” to get shots.  But I do understand that people have a hard time seeing films as projects and they see a girl stabbing herself with a crucifix.  Which is freaky…

If you don’t live in America, then you can still watch Stephanie in The Man In The Maze in due time. Firstly, the film will be released in India on September 2, 2011. Secondly, you can add the film to your wish list on Amazon.com here, which will notify you of any future releases of this title. Being that this is a horror site, I will be keeping an eye on all of Stephanie’s upcoming projects that are related to this genre. I can’t wait to hear more about this secret film being shot in New Orleans. I congratulate Stephanie on all of her success so far and wish her all the best in the future.

Thank you for your time, Stephanie.