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May 14, 2020

“Dawn Noel”

By Patrick Donovan – Author/Screenwriter
US Navy Disabled Veteran – 1980 – 1991
Seattle, WA (The Hollywood Times) 05/14/2020

“From dancing at 3 years old to dancing on Broadway, then with Madonna, Kelly Rowland, J-Lo and more to writing and producing Shattered Pitch, 22 Years and being in a sci-fi trailer, Project Abaddon: RISE OF THE DESTROYER, this dancer, actress, and producer is now in the hit show on Showtime: Penny Dreadful: City of Angels. She’s an up and coming Lady in Hollywood and someone you need to watch!”

– Patrick Donovan

About Dawn:
Dawn Noel has produced the short film “Shattered Pitch,” starring Chad Coleman (The Wire & The Walking Dead). The award-winning short film “22 Years,” both have multiple distribution deals.

“22 Years” has won numerous awards in the film festival circuit, including Best Short Film, Best Actress, Best Director, Audience Choice, and Best Sound. Some of these festivals are The Imagen Awards, Manhattan Film Festival, LA Movie Awards, Philadelphia Independent Film Awards, International New York Film Festival, Charlotte Black Film Festival, Las Vegas Black Film Festival, Viva Latino Film Festival, Velvet Rope Film Festival, The Women’s International Film Festival and The San Diego Black Film Festival. Born in Philadelphia, Dawn attended the prestigious High School for the Performing Arts and went on to get a BFA from the University of the Arts. Very soon, Dawn was making her mark on Broadway in The “Lion King,” “In The Heights,” and “Fame.” Dawn also toured with both Madonna and Jennifer Lopez as a featured dancer in their worldwide tours.

Short Review:
In speaking to Dawn, I found that she’s a wonderful and talented Lady in every definition of the word. Her charisma and charm make you just want to love everything she does. Dawn has the talent and abilities that have taken her all her life to building on, and it all manifested when she was a 3-year old little girl with her mom having her dance.

Everything in our lives starts with a tiny little spark and build into a roaring flame! Dawn’s flame is building for her, and she’s only getting started. I see her rising to a point where she becomes one of Hollywood’s most sought-after leading ladies. I’m most impressed by her tenacity, desire, and passion. She drives forward and doesn’t stop until “she” says, “It’s a wrap!”

The Interview and Transcript:

The Audio Interview for our Blind and Low Vision Community that can be read via Google or Windows.

The transcript for our readers

Patrick Donovan: Hi, Dawn, thank you for joining me today. It is a pleasure having you. Welcome. How are you and your family doing with this virus outbreak? I just want to make sure that you’re safe and healthy.

Dawn Noel: Hello. Good morning and thank you so much for having me. I’m doing okay, you know, I live by myself so that it can get lonely. My family. There were mostly on the East Coast and Phoenix, Arizona, and they’re hanging in there as best they could. My mom wants to get out of the house, but I had to give her, you know, talking to a few times to stay in the. Still, I’m alone anyway, and I’m using this time to get more spiritually reflective, and it’s okay. I don’t beat myself up if I don’t want to be creative or productive.

Because we’re going to have highs and lows and we have nothing but time. So, I’m using this time just to try and do my workouts in the mornings and take walks and just kind of take a step back and rest. I almost realize that life is not just all about work. Maybe I have another purpose in life or just kind of enjoying nature. It’s the little things and Being humble, grateful for even having a roof over my head, food in my refrigerator, and just appreciative of the downtime. So, yeah, I mean, we don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’m hanging in there. Thank you for asking, and I hope you and your family are safe also?

Patrick Donovan:

They are. I just spoke to my mom this morning, so she’s back in Western New York, and we had our morning arguments, so you know how that is? She can’t hear, and she refuses to get hearing aids. So, you spoke about being humble. I’m going to deviate because you mentioned the topic and that I saw on Bill Maher last night, and he talked to Seth McFarlane. It was a live broadcast. He said, Seth, did, that he lives in a two-bedroom apartment in Van Nuys. He said he has a greater appreciation for the maids and housekeepers that no longer come because he has to clean the floors, do his laundry, and have cats. He has to change the cat litter box himself!

So, he says he’s become very humble. When you mentioned that word, it is like we “are” becoming more appreciative and understanding of the people that work for or with us because we are alone. We now understand that this human connection, this human condition, is so vital. Can you talk about that?

Dawn Noel:Yeah, I think, now our essential workers are more appreciated, probably are immigrants. Are people that aren’t even legal to be here are the ones that are picking the fruit and the food that we need. Minorities are risking their lives to go out and deliver food and work at these grocery stores, and our doctors and nurses. And they’re our heroes now. And yes, everything is just going to make us so much humbler. And I’m appreciative of that. Hopefully, humanity will come back together after all of this to just appreciate a handshake or a hug. Think about seeing people in person again and continue to be helpful to the grocery store workers or anybody that they see on the streets. Yes. Yes, it’s a rough time we’re going through, but I think this will change people for the better and for positive.

Patrick Donovan: You mentioned handshake. Do you know the origin of handshake?

Dawn Noel: No.

Patrick Donovan: It was in the movie Contagion and Lawrence Fishburne, who of course said that it appeared in the 1800s and that when you extend your right hand to someone in walking into an Old West Town, you’re saying, “I’m an unarmed and I’m free! I’m extending my hand to let you know I’m not as threat,” and that’s where it originated.

Dawn Noel: Hmm. Who knew? Thank you for that bit of information.

Patrick Donovan: Isn’t that amazing? So, you were born in Philly. Talk to me about some of the early beginnings’ high and low points, like where you went to school, college, and with whom you studied acting and modeling. I see you went to the University of Arts, and what was the high school you were at as a kid? When did it start?

Dawn Noel:Yeah. I went to the Creative and Performing Arts High School, and then I went and got my BFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) at the University of the Arts. But I had been dancing. My mom put me in dance classes since I was three years old, and I did some contests when I was eight or nine. I was Little Miss Philadelphia, Little Miss South Philly actually, I didn’t love them.

I just wanted to dance in them, but I hated putting on makeup, and you know, dresses and when I was a little girl. But that didn’t last long. Those small contests and print modeling I did. Oh, my goodness! Since I was probably eight until, you know, an early teenager and whatever money I made from that, my mother made me put into a bank, and I couldn’t touch it.

All the other kids were buying toys and new clothes. My mother put it in a bank, never let me touch it until I was like 25. I appreciate it now. But, yeah, I did a lot of, you know, whether it was department stores or clothing stores, so I did a lot of modeling as a child and commercials, and you know, grew up acting.

By the age of maybe like 13, I started taking dance seriously and just focused on dance, mostly because I knew that I wasn’t going to dance the rest of my life at some point. The transition into acting came a little later in life. And the dance was always my first passion and the strongest passion. So yeah, I mean, I had probably the best of the best teachers in Philadelphia as far as dance training. And then, after I graduated from college, I went to New York. My first job was dancing at the New York City Opera in Carmina Burana, and then the career goes from there. Yeah, and we keep going, but Philly was great, you know college was great, and you know, like I said, I had a fantastic teacher, and people will look up to them.

Patrick Donovan:You were active in The Lion King, Fame, and “In the Heights” before receiving your BFA. What was it like being on Broadway?

Dawn Noel:No, no, no. So, I got my BFA first, and then when I moved to New York, I was on Broadway with The Lion King.

I also did the Tour of Lion King, The Tour of Fame, and then went to Broadway to do those and In the Heights. But no, I got my BFA first in Philadelphia. I moved to New York, and the career started from there with the New York City Opera, Metropolitan Opera. I began in modern dance companies, like Hearst, Ballet Hispanico, Elisa Monte, Dance Company, Koresh Dance Company. None of them paid enough to pay rent in New York. So, I started auditioning for Broadway. I’ve despised Broadway and hated the musical theater, but I don’t hate it as much anymore. That’s a strong word. It’s not my favorite, but I did it because I needed to pay rent, and it was a decent, consistent, secure paycheck. And I did musicals that were not so classical, they were more up to date and contemporary, so it wasn’t as bad.

Patrick Donovan: Did your early foray dancing lead to working with Kelly Rowland, Madonna, J-Lo, and others? Tell me what that experience was like? Did your martial arts training, if you had it, please forgive me if I’m incorrect, help you prepare you for such a rigorous worldwide tour?

Dawn Noel:Okay, sure. The Broadway performing led to dancing with Kelly Rowland, Madonna, J-Lo, and Mariah Carey. But that was a completely different field in New York. That was more commercial, sort of hip hop dancing, and especially for Madonna, you had to be so versatile. I had to do silk fabrics, aerial work, tango dancing, hip hop, voguing. That was completely different than the classical training I had growing up. Still, I was always a versatile dancer, which helped me dance in various fields, whether it was Broadway, Classical Dance, Modern Dancing, Contemporary Modern Dance, or Commercial Hip Hop.

So yes, everything helped in one way or another. I didn’t start my martial arts training until so after. When I moved to Los Angeles, I started with Wing Chun. I did a few years of it, which helped with some of the stunt performing that I did in like Men in Black III, and I did four episodes of Fear the Walking Dead.

So each of these things helped in one way or the other. Because I was a dancer, it was also more comfortable for me to learn fight choreography when it comes to some of the stunt work that I’ve done for film and TV.

Patrick Donovan: Cool. That sounds really great. And Fear the Walking Dead. Huh? You we’re a zombie?

Dawn Noel: [giggles] Yeah.

Patrick Donovan: Where was that filmed when you went there?

Dawn Noel:In Mexico. So, they would get us a train ride to San Diego. They would pick us up and then drive it over the border. And it was only about 30 minutes to Rosarito, Mexico, which is just south of Tijuana in this beautiful hotel overlooking the ocean. They treated us well, and it was an excellent experience. I went down there about four or five times.

Patrick Donovan:Nice. That sounds like fun, man. So, let’s talk about 22 Years. I’ve seen it. I wrote a review for it. I was very moved by it. Actor Roberto Sanchez, who I spoke to yesterday, is in the film, and he talked about a personal connection to his mother in ‘his’ film. What was the inspiration for 22 Years and what was that experience like from beginning to festivals to award to, I did it!

Dawn Noel:Well, the inspiration came from initially doing a short film called Shattered Pitch. I produced that about eight years ago with actor Chad Coleman from The Wire and The Walking Dead.

After a couple of years after that, and the film did well in the film festivals, I decided I wanted to do another one. For two years, I played around writing and trying to come up with different versions. I had like 90 different versions of 22 Years, and then finally, a friend at the time, helped me co-write it and partnered up. The inspiration came from a little bit of my brother, one of my brothers, who had given his daughter up for adoption at that time. It was 22 years ago, and a bit of the feeling I had towards my father. I think this was also a healing process for myself because it’s not an entirely true story.

Of course, most stories have some fiction and some truth behind it, and I was just ready to produce another short film, and it was terrific. We went to film festivals internationally, won so many awards, and nominated for an Imagen award. Both Shattered Pitch and 22 Years are on at least 12 streaming platforms like Amazon Prime, OPPRIME TV, Shorts TV, Nandar Pictures. I mean, there’s a bunch. If anybody’s interested, I could always list that or send that to you. But it’s still going strong, and yeah, it was a beautiful film. It touched a lot of people’s lives, which is the primary purpose of why I like to make films. I love people to walk away, feeling something about themselves, giving somebody a second chance, and making a difference in the audience.

Patrick Donovan: I am not going to reveal the ending, but it’s powerful for me. And I enjoyed it. So, thank you for your contribution to that. Talk about your entrance into science fiction, about the sizzle reel that you were part of, and the film and in Hawaii. What were those projects, and how do you feel about them?

Dawn Noel: Well the first one I did; we just did a trailer and we did it a few years ago and it’s called Project Abaddon: RISE OF THE DESTROYER created by Peter Borreggine. So, we shot that in one day and it was awesome! It was like in this makeshift sort of spaceship and the cast, and the crew everybody was excellent. I played Roz, and I can’t wait for it to get off the ground. I got to kick some butt in it and flip some people around. I had an excellent time, so I’m hoping, you know, I think they’re still writing it and getting distribution and getting it off the ground. That’s normal in filmmaking, and the other one was Devatha, and that’s about the Seven Deadly Sins.

It’s going to be probably a few movies, sequels, and stuff, and I play Envy in the first movie, and I got to kick butt all through the streets of Hawaii. And, you know, we were shooting at two in the morning when nobody was around. So, I’ve got some great shots, and I was in Hawaii for about three weeks last year, and we shot everything.

All of my parts while I was there and what I fell in love with Hawaii. And I’ve been there a few times before and a few times after, but I was like, I can live here. So, I think they’re still at the, in the editing phase of that film and yeah, I can’t wait for that to come out. I think it’s; it’s going to make a great movie.

And we shot a lot with a green screen, which was different for me. It was the first time, actually the second time I’ve shot with a green screen, but, yeah, a lot of martial arts and a great cast and crew, and we had a great time. So, I’m just awaiting all of these projects I’ve worked on to come to fruition.

Patrick Donovan: Fantastic! You’ve also worked on a couple of things in post-production, Treasure Tales, The Prom, SOS, and White People Money. How are they doing?

Dawn Noel: Well, Treasure Tales, I think is still in pre-production, which hasn’t started yet. The Prom was really awesome! It’s a Ryan Murphy Netflix movie. It was originally a musical on Broadway, and Meryl Streep is in it and Nicole Kidman.

So, I’m dancing and The Prom, which is fantastic with a scene with Meryl Streep with everything happening now with Coronavirus. I don’t know precisely when that’s coming out, and you know, so. We shot that project a few months ago, so hopefully soon. It was a great time. SOS is a horror film. It is my first horror film, and I was one of the producers. The best part about this is I got to bring my dog Shaquita with me, and she acted in the film, and she did such a great job.

(ONE SHOT Shaquita – Isn’t she adorable)

Patrick Donovan: Your dog acted? [Laughter]

Dawn Noel: Yeah, she was great! She was perfect. She was perfect and was like a one-shot, Shaquita. That’s her name, Shaquita.

(ONE SHOT SHAQUITA – Too Cute, huh?”

Patrick Donovan: Did she get her own chair with Director on it?

Dawn Noel: No, she wasn’t a director, she was an actor in it. But no, on my lap.

Patrick Donovan: But dogs have this thing where they sit in the chair and they need to have their name on the chair. I mean. Did she get that chair?

Dawn Noel: I wish.

Patrick Donovan: Okay

Dawn Noel: No, it was a low budget indie film, and we shot on a real ship up in, like towards San Francisco. And I believe the ship was indeed, haunted. I was scared in there, but, yeah, it was written and directed by Brian Martin and shot it and probably at least my parts in about a week. And, yeah, it was, that was awesome. So that’s probably still in the editing phase coming out soon.

And then White People Money is a comedy shot in Chicago written and directed by Mark Harris. He’s got a ton of other films on Netflix and streaming platforms, and that was a comedy. I don’t want to say too much about what it’s about, but you can find it on IMDB, and I had an excellent time doing that. I shot that in one day.

They flew me into Chicago, shot all of my stuff, and I flew back that night. But, that’s also going in the film festivals, and there’ll be doing a premiere in Chicago. Then I’m sure I don’t go to streaming platforms like Netflix and Hulu and stuff like that. Yeah. And then, there’s a couple of other projects coming out.

Well, The Funny Dance Show that’s, we shot eight episodes last year, so it’s now streaming on Hulu and the E! Network. E! Entertainment. Oh my, it might be the most fun I’ve ever had on a job. It’s for comedians every episode, and they have to dance, and I’m one of the backup dancers. And. All the proceeds whoever wins, whatever team goes to charity, but I am just dancing idiot, having so much fun on the stage. We get to be funny and comical, so it comes on every Wednesday so everybody can watch it. Probably see the others. They probably already show in about three or four episodes, so you can go back and see it, but it’s streaming now.

At this time, we need a good laugh. So, that might be a good one to watch. And the last project I can tell you about is Penny Dreadful: City of Angels. I had such an amazing time filming that. I play a Pachuca and I’m dancing also, and I did about three episodes, and this takes place in the late 1930s – 1940s about the Pachuca’s coming to Los Angeles and everything that’s happening in that time.

So that was an awesome experience too. That should be coming out. Probably in about a week or two. I believe it’s Showtime. (Note: It’s already out and this interview was done a week before it’s premiere on Showtime)

Patrick Donovan: What’s a Pachuca?

Dawn Noel: How can they explain it? They were Mexicans living in Los Angeles. Pachuca’s wore suits and they were very fly sort of in the in, in the club scenes.

So I’m wearing a suit. There’s only three of us wearing a suit, and we get to do all this cool dance movement and salsa. But yeah, there’s a whole history to that. I probably, won’t get into it too much, but you’ll see the TV series, and you can always check it out and Google it.

Patrick Donovan: I will. Thank you. All right. Well, we’re going to do something in honor and homage to the late James Lipton. I loved his show, Inside the Actor’s Studio. He passed away at 93 on the 2nd of March of this year. I want to honor him, and I’ve done this with the last three interviews, and it’s worked out rather well, and who knows? I may be on Bravo and takeover. How’s that? So what is your favorite word?

Dawn Noel: Hmm, well, I would love to say something like the word love, but I’m going to say pizza. [Patrick is laughing] Pizza really makes me excited. The minute somebody says pizza, I get happy! I do!

Patrick Donovan: I’m going to try it now. You’re ready? Pizza!

Dawn Noel: Ooh…

Patrick Donovan: Pizza. Alright. Vegetarian pizza. Is that good? Okay. What is your least favorite word?

Dawn Noel: Meat.

Patrick Donovan: Really?

Dawn Noel: Yeah.

Patrick Donovan: You’re, you’re vegan then?

Dawn Noel: Vegetarian.

Patrick Donovan: Okay. What turns you on. (pause) Pizza!

Dawn Noel: Well that too but when I can have a deep conversation with someone,

Patrick Donovan: What turns you off?

Dawn Noel: When people are mean to each other. Racism and judgmental people.

Patrick Donovan:Like what’s happening to our Asian Americans on subways under 600 incidents of hate crimes because of…

Dawn Noel: Yeah.

Patrick Donovan: Yeah, I think it’s disgusting. What sound or noise do you love?

Dawn Noel: Ooh, that’s an easy one. I fall asleep every night, and I wake up every morning to sound bowls like a sound bath..

Patrick Donovan: Oh my God! I do that with the app on my phone. It’s called: Water Gong and I can hear the water, and I set the sound bowls and oh, it’s gorgeous. Yeah. I’m with it.

Dawn Noel: Anything with beautiful music and, and nowadays, with technology, we can go on YouTube and find so many choices of meditation, music, or just easy flowing water. Yeah, so anything relaxing, but definitely sound bowls.

Patrick Donovan: What sound or noise do you hate?

Dawn Noel: Ooh, okay. Honking of cars, beeping, and heavy metal music. It just makes my shoulders rise.

Patrick Donovan: I agree. I guess…

Dawn Noel: Loud music and nothing against just, it’s hard for my ears.

Patrick Donovan: What profession other than your own, would you like to attempt, other than being a pizza maker?

Dawn Noel: [giggles] Well, I would say directing, but that’s still in the entertainment field. But I haven’t dived into directing. I haven’t addressed anything per se, but if it was outside of the entertainment business, I would like to work with animals and rescue dogs and have an adult farm.

Patrick Donovan: That is awesome.I would love that. I have three dogs, myself and three cats; we’re a zoo. What profession would you not like to do?

Dawn Noel: Mm, a garbage woman or a trash person, like picking up trash or, or dealing with bugs. I cannot like spiders and cockroaches and stuff. Just count me out. So yeah, it’s a hard job, and I give it to those guys.

Here’s a story. When I was shooting Penny Dreadful, because there were so many dancers, they had port-a-potties that we would have to use outside to go to the bathroom. And I would see the job of the guy that comes with the truck and has to suck up all the poop that is in those port-a-potties.

And I was just like, Oh my God, what a job. I hope the pay is good? What a hard job! I couldn’t do it.

Patrick Donovan: Yeah, I would agree. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

Dawn Noel:Great question. I would love for him to say karma does exist, but you did a pretty good job at this life, so I’m not going to send you back as a cockroach.

Patrick Donovan: [heavy laughter] La Cucaracha. You’re crazy.

Dawn Noel: I know.

Patrick Donovan: I’m going to give you the mic like James used to do. You can talk to our readers because I’m going to transcribe this and our listeners for low vision and blind community about anything you’d like with the remaining time we have. Go ahead.

Dawn Noel: Hmm. Okay. Everybody, I know we are going through such a rough time, but you’re not missing anything because the whole world is shut down!

So if we can just stay positive and trust me, I know it’s hard for me at times. I have my ups and downs, but make a schedule if you can, whether it’s to work out and then meditate, learn a new language. Color. Rest. Try not to watch the news. We can’t go anywhere for at least another month so, why even put it on? They say, stay at home. Don’t just think about yourself. Be cautious of other people.

Also, connect with people you haven’t spoken to in a while, whether through a Zoom call or FaceTime family members, but the main thing is to keep this self-love going. Even after this pandemic is over – I don’t think we’re ever going to go back to our old normal – but even when that comes back around, stay loving yourself. All this time and energy that you’re putting into yourself by working out, taking walks and riding your bike, and spending all this quality time with your kids or your family or your loved ones. Continue that because if we don’t love ourselves, how can we love other people?

Patrick Donovan: Exactly.

Dawn Noel: And yet there could be something bigger going on underneath all of us that none of us know. But this body, physical body that we’re in is just a costume. It has nothing to do with our spirit or our soul. So, stay listening to positive messages and remain in that mind frame. None of us are going to come out of this the same as we went in. We will be changed and hopefully for the better.

Patrick Donovan: I agree.

Dawn Noel: And wash your hands!

Patrick Donovan:Yeah, of course. Absolutely. And do it the way, what do you call it, Dr. Sanjay Gupta way that was on CNN. He did a little thing about how to clean between your fingers and your thumbs, and so yes, right. Exactly. I agree. Thank you very much for your time. I wish you all the best in your career. Let’s hope to get to talk again. Take care.

Dawn Noel: Thank you so much for having me.

Patrick Donovan: Bye. Bye.

Dawn Noel: Okay.

LINKS and there are a TON of them:

IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2135436

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DAWNPIGNUOLA

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dawnnoelactor

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawnnoelactor

The Queen Silvy Show
https://anchor.fm/the-queen-silvy-radio-show/episodes/The-Queen-Silvy-Show—January-22-2019-e30omr

Rolling with The Diva-Sabrina Williams Talk Show http://www.blogtalkradio.com/wbdnradio/2018/12/15/actress-dancer-dawn-noel

Independent Business Media Phoenix http://online.anyflip.com/hesc/swhu/mobile/index.html#p=28

LatinHeat.com – Published By: Elia Esparza
http://www.latinheat.com/everything-related-to-film/reviews/indie-22-years-time-heals-all-wounds-or-does-it