Pop-Culturalist.com

Morgan Dudley is one of the industry’s most exciting new faces. Already in her young career, she’s made her Broadway debut in Jagged Little Pill and worked on projects for Netflix and Nickelodeon.

Her latest film, A Tourist’s Guide to Love, is a must-see rom-com starring Rachael Leigh Cook, Scott Ly, Andrew Barth Feldman, and Morgan Dudley. After an unexpected breakup, a travel executive (Rachael Leigh Cook) accepts an assignment to go undercover and learn about the tourist industry in Vietnam. Along the way, she finds adventure and romance with her Vietnamese expat tour guide (Scott Ly) when they decide to reroute the tour bus in order to explore life and love off the beaten path. Morgan shines as Robin, a sixteen-year-old girl who is unimpressed by everything around her, including the exotic locale. But as the story progresses, Robin is able to discover new things about herself.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Morgan about A Tourist’s Guide to Love, her experience on the Broadway stage, Jagged Little Pill, and more.

PC: How did you discover your passion for the arts and storytelling?
Morgan: It’s funny that you say storytelling. When I was in elementary school in the second grade, my teachers would have me read stories to the grades younger than me because I always loved to act out the characters in the storybooks. I remember my favorite voice to do was this ladybug character. But honestly, ever since I can remember I’ve always wanted to be a performer. I’ve always wanted to act, sing, and dance.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career, either personally or professionally?
Morgan: Personally, definitely my family. They have always been really supportive. They’ve never been like, “You need to do something ‘realistic.’” They’re the type of people that if I said, “I want to be a singer. I want to be an actor,” they’d be like, “Yeah, you go for it!” Because of that, I’ve always had this innate belief that everything will work out. Any doubts that I may have come from myself. They don’t come from my upbringing, which is a nice base to have.

Professionally, not to be cliché, but it’s Beyoncé. I freaking love Beyoncé. I look to her for so much inspiration—her strength, everything that she’s had to endure to make her career what it is. I really look up to her.

PC: You’ve had so much success already in your young career. When you look back, is there a moment that stands out?
Morgan: Oh my gosh. There are a couple. The first is when I finished a full week on Broadway doing Jagged Little Pill. It was during the bows of our Sunday matinee. I just started crying. I was like, “This is my job.” But I also remember I had gone up to a food truck in New York City to get some food and for half a second I was like, “Wait, how do I pay for this? I don’t have a job.” But then I was like, “Oh my god. Wait, no, no, no, I do!” For the tiniest second, it left my mind that I was even working. I was like, “This is awesome. This is what I’ve always wanted to do.”

PC: You have experience on both the stage and screen. How different are those two mediums? What has that transition been like going back and forth?
Morgan: They’re extremely different. On the stage, it never really stops until it’s over. I guess you can say the same about film. But on the stage, you do the whole thing over and over from beginning to end. You live through the whole entire story from beginning to end, every single night in front of a live audience. Often, you can feed off the energy from the audience. In TV and film, you often film out of order. You don’t film in the order of the actual script. You need to know where to pull from. You have to snap into it. There might not be a lead up whenever you’re going into a scene that you’re about to film. You also film it over and over again. Blocking is a bit freer on TV and film sets because you don’t have issues like lighting cues. It’s more like you generally need to be at this spot and you can do whatever. It’s been very interesting to see what different skill sets are required for each craft.

PC: You’ve got a new Netflix film out now. What was it about this particular character and script that attracted you to it?
Morgan: I think what resonated the most was she’s a sassy sixteen-year-old character. She’s like, “This is so wack. This is so boring. Vietnam, blah.” She’s very much like how I was and how a lot of people can relate to being when you’re sixteen and so unimpressed by anything your parents try to do. When I read it, I noticed it was a rom-com. I was like, “This looks like so much fun.” It’s very light-hearted and sweet. It was fun to play a teenage character who along the way grows and discovers new things about herself.

PC: This is one of your biggest film projects to date. How did you find out the news that you booked the role? How did you celebrate the news that you landed the role?
Morgan: It came around the time that Jagged Little Pill had just closed on Broadway. I was heartbroken. Luckily, it was pilot season. I auditioned for the role. Two weeks went by, and I didn’t hear anything. Then I got the offer based on my first audition, which was such an honor.

I remember I got the call and I started crying because I missed performing. I was like, “I was just doing what I really love to do and now it’s over.” Then a short two months later, I found out that I get to do it all over again in a different avenue. I was alone when I got the call. So I called my family and I was like, “Guys, you won’t believe it. I booked something else. We’re all good.” It’s been so much fun and a great experience.

PC: This film is a love letter to travel. When you’re looking to escape, where do you turn to?
Morgan: When I’m looking to escape, I always turn to music and my home. I’m a big writer. Even if I’m not writing music, I love to write down a stream of consciousness, figuring out what I’m thinking and what’s going on. I love to create a safe solitude for myself from that act of creating.

PC: During your preparation process, you like to journal from the perspective of your character. What was in Robin’s journal?
Morgan: In Robin’s journal, there were two moments that I journaled from. First, I journaled Robin’s backstory. She had a big group of friends. They all had money. They’re all in their own little bubbles. She has a boyfriend that her moms don’t like. It was what you would expect from a privileged teenage girl who’s complaining about being in Vietnam.

When I was on set, I had a phone like Robin’s. I was typing what Robin was thinking the whole time in my little note folder. I was like, “There’s this kid Alex. I don’t know why he keeps smiling. Why do you look so happy?” I was always trying to figure out what Robin would be thinking. Why is she so bent out of shape over this situation?

PC: There’s such great chemistry that comes off the screen between the entire cast. How did you build that chemistry? How much do you think it’s a result of getting to film in these incredible locations?
Morgan: Yeah. We spent like 24/7 together, the entire tour group. Every time we filmed, we were always together. We were always on set together. But also on the days that we were off, we were all together. We’re all in a new environment that we didn’t know very well. If any of us wanted to do something, we always invited each other.

We were like, “Hey, y’all want to try this thing together? You want to do this?” Of course, we would split up into our little groups, but we became very close over the course of running into each other at the hotel, having breakfast together, having lunch together, and going and trying new things together. We were able to bring it to the screen in a very natural way.

We were a tour group together. We were touring a different country. Everything was on location. We traveled with our characters. We truly became a family.

PC: You’re also going to be starring in Disney’s Descendants: The Rise of Red. Is there anything you can tease about that project?
Morgan: I don’t know how much I can say. You’ll just have to watch it. I can say it’s colorful and the music is so good. I love the music so much. The dancing is bomb. People are really going to love it. We bring Wonderland into it. Brandy’s Cinderella is back. There are so many exciting new things coming into the Descendants universe that I’m excited for people to see.

PC: This is such an exciting time in your career. Is there a dream role that you would love to bring to life on the stage or screen?
Morgan: I would love to play a character in a zombie apocalypse. I grew up watching The Walking Dead and I loved it. I love a good apocalyptic show, even if it’s not zombies. I want to be in some post-apocalyptic world. That would be really fun and fulfilling.

To keep up with Morgan, follow her on Instagram. Watch A Tourist’s Guide to Love on Netflix today.

Photo Credit: Francis Hill