Exclusive Interview: Filmmaker Courtney Pape Talks Before Marriage, the Inspiration Behind the Web Series, Collaborating with Her Cast, and More

Courtney Pape is an emerging filmmaker who has quickly become the talk of the festival circuit with her must-see web series, Before Marriage, which will be released in November 2023.

The romantic comedy follows a young college who starts planning a life together, but quickly learns that their ideas for their partnership may be too far apart.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Courtney about Before Marriage, the inspiration behind the series, collaborating with her cast, and more.

PC: How did you discover your passion for storytelling and comedy?
Courtney: Growing up, I naturally gravitated towards performing and making up skits and stories with friends. As I got older, I took it more seriously. I auditioned for different colleges as a theater major. I trained all throughout college with such seriousness that after I graduated I wanted to take a comedy class. I went to see a show at Upright Citizens Brigade in LA and have been hooked ever since. Longform improv looked like magic and the performers seemed to be having the most fun. I dove into the comedy world head first, following the fun and that spark in my gut.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Courtney: The biggest influence on my career has to be the people who have taken control of their own art and career. It’s the people who are self-starters and create no matter what. The comedy world was the first place where I saw people doing that more on a grander scale: taking action and creating as opposed to passively waiting for an opportunity to come by. Getting up on any stage, multiple stages a night sometimes, grinding out shows—that hustle is intense yet infectious. The people in independent filmmaking have similar attitudes: we have to create our own opportunities, tell our own stories, and help each other in the process because there’s no other way. There’s no executive or studio coming to save us—we have to make this work together.

PC: You got your start in acting. How have those experiences influenced your work as a writer, producer, and director?
Courtney: As a director, my past acting training feels invaluable. I’m very comfortable working with actors—working out a scene, rehearsing, and discovering moments are well within my wheelhouse. I also feel very protective of actors and their own processes because I’m brutally aware of what it takes for them. And as a filmmaker in general, I do my best to create and foster an environment that feels level and equal; one where we’re all creating something together collectively which is definitely influenced by my theater background.

PC: You’ve got a new project coming out soon. Tell us about Before Marriage and the inspiration behind the web series.
Courtney: Before Marriage is a six-episode short series about a couple who starts planning their life together but perhaps their views on partnership may be too far apart. They discuss six major topics: Money, kids, chores, sex, lotto wins, and death.

The first kernel of the idea was centered around extreme prenups or alternative prenups. I liked the idea of a couple planning out every aspect of their lives and putting it into a contract but of course, their demands and desires would be absurd. I was also very inspired by the lack of communication between couples. When I would ask certain people who were married or in committed relationships some questions about the formation of their partnerships, I was shocked to hear so many answers of “I don’t know” or “We never talked about it.” Those interactions shifted the tone from sketchy and absurd to more grounded and realistic. The end product is somewhere in the middle. The whole series may be a low-key PSA for communication in relationships, but I think and I hope we landed on a fun, lighthearted romantic comedy that’s emotionally universal.

PC: While this is a comedic web series, you’ve done a fantastic job grounding these characters and their dialogue feels organic. How were you able to strike that perfect tone?
Courtney: Thank you so much. That is a huge compliment that I would love to take full credit for, however, I have to give that credit to the actors J.J. Nolan and Andre Boyer. They are both incredibly talented who made these words their own and I was very open and willing for them to take that ownership. They had rehearsals beforehand and we workshopped certain lines. Anything that didn’t feel right, after trying it out in rehearsal, we tossed or changed. I wanted every word to feel natural coming out of their mouths. They also improvised, especially the endings of almost every episode. Buttons are sometimes best improvised on set, in the moment and both J.J. and Andre are talented enough to deliver.

PC: Time is never a luxury when you’re working on a project and you were shooting several pages each day. What was the process of building the creative team in front of and behind the camera? How helpful was it to have those prior relationships?
Courtney: Prior working relationships are absolutely crucial when working on these micro-budget independent film projects. Time is nonexistent. Or rather, we had to stretch time and the only way to do that is to prepare like crazy, have an artistic shorthand with the people you’re working with, and share that common hunger to create something.

Building the creative team came from past working relationships but also with the intention of who has a common goal in narrative filmmaking. I see the team more as a collective of filmmakers who happen to lend certain specific talents. For this project in particular, I think there was a fire in all of us to step up and elevate our game, and that collective desire to rise up together is pretty powerful.

PC: Before Marriage has been making its way around the festival circuit and it’s been incredibly well received. What do you think is resonating most with audiences?
Courtney: Thank you, yeah we’ve been very lucky to have played so many festivals this year and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. What we’ve heard from audiences so far, is that they seem to appreciate the honesty but also the silliness. And I think I like to creatively live in the middle of that: truth and fun, serious and absurd, reality and fantasy.

To keep up with Courtney, follow her on Instagram. Before Marriage will be released in November 2023.