Writer/Director/Actor Isabel Hagen talks to Fest Track about humanity, personification of character and the importance of listening in regards to her film: "On A String" playing the US Narrative Competition section of the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival in New York, New York.
00:00This is Tim Wasserbrook from Best Track on Surf TV.
00:29Yeah, I'm here in New York City for the Tribeca Film Festival.
00:32Because you have so many disciplines, it's sort of interesting how they can intercede.
00:37Like, you know, obviously the comedy, the music, and the film.
00:43How does that have to live in your brain in terms of like funneling it eventually into something like this film?
00:51It was actually a really satisfying process because it felt like I do have all these different parts of me.
00:58The musician, the comedian, the screenwriter, the storyteller.
01:03And this was a way for me to put sort of all of myself into one thing in this film.
01:09So it was really satisfying.
01:11It actually helped me kind of streamline the sometimes chaotic brain that I have with all these different disciplines.
01:19But it's also, you know, the one thing the film does capture, just from my perspective, is sort of, you know, that there is going to be flaws in the chaos, but there's a certain amount of control in the chaos, if you will.
01:33You know, but it's about also showing, because when you're on stage, you can't really show that awkward element.
01:37You have to show you're just doing it.
01:40And, you know, and that one performance in the film with the quartet shows that.
01:43Can you talk about sort of seeing the yin and yang, but sort of personifying or creating a humanity to that?
01:51Because that's something we often don't see with a lot of musicians, especially musicians operating at this level.
01:57It was really important to me to humanize these musicians who are performing at a pretty high level.
02:05You know, they're all conservatory trained or they're supposed to present that way.
02:10And all the actors who played the musicians are conservatory trained musicians actually performing or actually playing in the movie.
02:17Um, but yeah, there's so much downtime and, and, uh, you know, sometimes boring aspects to this outwardly glamorous music that we play.
02:32And I thought showing, showing the kind of chaos and the, and the boredom and whatever else comes with, with the music was something that I wanted to show in the film.
02:42Um, but it's also writing to this, well, because you're in it and then you're writing it, it's can be obviously meta, but also reflexive.
02:51Uh, can you talk about, cause that writing that, you know, some people might say, Oh, you know, some of your friends or something like that.
02:57How do you sort of approach that and find that balance between the fiction and the reality per se?
03:04Oh, there are many aspects of the film that were definitely inspired by my reality.
03:10Um, but then when you're writing, you know, the kernels of truth then are sort of the starting point.
03:17And then I kind of let my imagination run wild and well, what would I, what would actually be a fun thing to see on the screen and what would still capture this essence, but maybe would be a little funnier elevating the, the comedy of it, or sometimes the awkwardness of certain situations.
03:31Um, but still always coming from like a kernel of truth that I, that I felt, whether it was just an essence or something that actually happened.
03:45Isn't this what you wanted?
03:48I just, I don't know.
03:52You don't know.
03:53Do you not like the ring?
03:58No, no, I, I love the ring.
04:07You can stop.
04:11Sorry, can you, you can go.
04:15Yeah.
04:16Okay.
04:23But even from that first scene, even though it's not, you know, your character's sort of experience, it's still, it creates that wonderful sort of awkward humor, you know, when you're putting away the bow and people are waiting, like stuff like that.
04:40Can you talk about timing?
04:42Because timing in music is just not, not dissimilar from timing in movies is that you have to hit the right beat at the right moment.
04:49Yes, timing is, is everything.
04:53And I've always said this about my life as a standup comedian versus a musician that both of me and they're, they're kind of different art forms in a lot of ways, but timing is everything.
05:04Timing for the punchline, timing for music, obviously.
05:08And then in the movie, of course, in the, in the, the edit and the writing and all of that, there's so many levels of where you can play with timing and it just becomes more and more.
05:18But ultimately, yes, it's all about timing.
05:21But it's also, you're not just writing and starring, you're also directing.
05:25So you decided to do all things at once and it's, it can be tricky.
05:28I mean, I thought the, one of the scenes that jumps out to me is with you and the friend, the would be boyfriend that's in the Philharmonic, you know, and the way that goes in it, but it's not so much about what's said.
05:40It's about what's not said.
05:41It's about those moments in between the lines.
05:44Can you talk about both directing somebody like him, but then directing yourself in the same scene, because you got to do the coverage in the same sort of breath.
05:53Yeah, it was, it was a really interesting process to both direct him and myself in that scene.
06:01The actor, John Croner, who plays the would be boyfriend.
06:05Sorry, is that the right way to say it?
06:07I'm sorry.
06:07Oh, sure.
06:08Yeah.
06:09The toxic ex, the would be, the should have, would have been, could have been, shouldn't be is probably the best way to say it.
06:19But yeah, we had so much fun doing that scene and it was the last day of our shoot.
06:26So it felt really cathartic and it was so perfect to do that scene on the last day.
06:33And yeah, I just kept telling him, you know, just go to, go to a darker place, go to a dark, like, you know, you're, you're tortured and you think, you think that you're the sympathetic character here and the victim, you know, we're all victims and not, but that was a really fun scene to play with.
06:56Oh, do you need my payment info?
07:21Oh, do you take cash?
07:23Mm-hmm.
07:26But yeah, you could create all the scenes, obviously with the, the married man, that, that whole situation, but really, what really brought that home for me, you know, but, and it's a completely different direction and different performance is with you.
07:49And, um, obviously your father in the film, who, he's always great, he's a great character actor anyway, but, uh, that moment where, did I do the wrong thing?
07:59It's interesting.
08:00The ideas of conscience, morality, or right and wrong are really wonderfully explored in here because, you know, guilt is, is, is dynamic for every different kind of person.
08:12Yes, Dylan Baker is, Dylan Baker is a national treasure and I was so grateful to have him play my father in the film and, yeah, that scene was one of my favorites to write because it was inspired by my own father who's always been just such a great listener and so reasonable and, you know, I wanted to toe the line between my character, Isabel, taking accountability for her actions and her part, but also decenter, um, taking her out of the center of the story.
08:41Because ultimately she, you know, she's not that special.
08:44She's not that important where none of us are that important and, you know, sort of everyone has to take accountabilities for the actions.
08:52So the other guy also had to take accountability and, and sort of decentering her from that in a very, um, realistic way while still, you know, not just not having any blame, but, you know, cause there's, there's so much complexity, like you said, with guilt and, and what happens.
