Brittney Q. Hill, Summer Monet Finley, Gina Simms and Isabelle Almoyan star in the movie Nightmare Pageant Moms, premiering Friday, May 26 at 8 pm ET. We at Survived The Shows had the incredible pleasure to chat with Isabelle Almoyan ahead of the premiere to discuss her experience in the movie and preview what fans can expect. Check out the full interview in the video below!
Isabelle, can you tell us a little bit about your character in the new Lifetime movie Nightmare Pageant Moms?
ISABELLE ALMOYAN: Sure. Yeah. So I play Mia Johnson on Nightmare Pageant Moms on Lifetime Movie Network. And Mia is not like the other girls in the pageant. She doesn’t really want to be there. She’s not really caught up in all the the hoopla of the show and everything. And she kind of takes the New Girl Sophie under her wing and tries to help her because she is a nice person. But also she’s not trying to win the pageant deep down for more personal reasons. And so she’s just kind of this nice, low key chill girl who has just gotten caught up in this pageant world because of her mom. Because her mom is a crazy pageant mom.
What drew you to this project, and what made you want to get involved with the film?
I first heard about the film back in October, and I knew they were going to be filming in November. It just sounded fun. It’s a thriller. I’ve never really done a thriller before. I’ve never really done any sort of film like this one. And so I just thought this would be different, this would be fun, it would be a challenge. And so I called all this to my agent and I got an audition and then I read the script and I just was like, this is so fun and crazy and wild. Like I just really want to be a part of it. And and I booked it and it was such a great experience. We filmed all in November in Atlanta, GA and we all became friends and it was a super, super fun time.
What do you think viewers can expect from the film, and why should they tune in to watch it?
You should watch Nightmare Pageant Moms because you will just be highly entertained. It’s so entertaining. It is so wild. You’re like, what is gonna happen next to these girls? What are these? Pageant moms’ going to do next. You really just don’t know what’s coming around the corner. There’s great friendships. There’s very like deep dynamics between the mothers and the daughters. And then there’s some dads who are in the picture who kind of bring a different element. And yeah, it’s just exciting. It’s thrilling. It’s dramatic. The costumes are fun and beautiful and cute because we’re in pageants. So yeah, I would say all that for sure.
Did you have any particularly memorable experiences while filming the movie?
ISABELLE ALMOYAN: There are so many. I think just getting to know everyone was really great. All the girls: we became just good friends and our director Lyndon Ashley was amazing and 11 memory that really sticks out to me is there’s a scene, a really dramatic heavy scene towards the end of the movie with my mom and I. And he was so helpful and instrumental and really like pulling these performances out of each of us.
And so we did this one particular scene where we’re kind of fighting with each other multiple times and he really just kept doing it until he had the absolute best performance from both of us and I appreciate him so much for pushing us to get to that level. So that was a memorable experience. Then just so many crazy costumes, you know, long hours, coffee. Some days it was freezing outside. We had an abnormally cold November here in Georgia and a lot of our scenes were outside and like really short skirts and dresses and so. We were cold, but it was fun.
What message do you hope viewers take away from the film?
Pageants are not the end of the world. If you lose a pageant it will be okay. No, I mean, I think girls my age and young girls growing up. Maybe if you’re not even just pageants. If you’re involved in something that you don’t really feel passionate about and connected to, but that your parents may be forcing on you and it’s one of you know, it’s their dream and not yours, I would just encourage them to have that conversation.
You know, my character, Mia has that conversation with her mom in a sort of roundabout way. She clearly communicates that pageants aren’t as big a deal to her as they are to her mom. So I would just say: Have that conversation. You know, if it’s something you’re not really interested in, you don’t want to make it something bigger than it is. You want to find your passion, and if it’s not what you’re doing at that exact moment, you know, stop, stop doing it and find something else.
What was your favorite scene to film, and why?
My favorite scene was the talent competition. I actually didn’t have a talent in that scene. I was in a pretty dress, but I didn’t get on stage and do a talent. But that day was so fun because I just got to stand there and watch all the other girls do all of their talents. And so it was very entertaining. They were all really good. One of them danced and one of them rollerbladed and one of them sang this really, really fast song. You can barely understand her. So I think that was my favorite scene to film because I was just in the audience watching them.
Can you share any behind-the-scenes stories or moments that happened while filming Nightmare Pageant Moms?
ISABELLE ALMOYAN: The one that sticks out to my mind immediately is there was this one morning. This one particular scene, seeing myself and Summer, who plays Sophie in the movie, she and I had this moment outside the theater and she’s upset that her talent didn’t go well and I have to run out there and you know, tell her it’s going to be okay and encourage her and we are in literally short dresses, sleeveless like. High heels. I was in ballerina slippers. She’s in high heels, so her feet are out.
And it was like, I think like 15 degrees that morning. It was really early. It was like 7:00 AM we were filming this scene and we had to do this scene multiple times, running out into the cold. Talk, talk, talk, talk, he yelled. Cut, run back into the warmth. And I mean, you really can’t tell in the movie, though. We are freezing. So that was a little pat to us, but on the inside, I mean in the outside we were absolutely freezing.
What have been some of your favorite roles to play throughout your career, and why?
I loved playing Mia in Nightmare Pageant moms. I really did. She was a different character and film in general than anything I’d really ever done before, but a favorite role I got to play a very hyper Bubbly Camp counselor a few years ago and she is kind of the camp queen. This is a movie called that will be out later this year. But yeah, she was super spunky and hyper and just full of energy all the time. On a scale of 1 to 10, she’s like a. 15 on the energy level.
And she just loves camp and I got to wear a ponytail in my hair every day with a scrunchy, different scrunchy. And it was just a blast playing someone that was just that enthusiastic about something throughout the entire movie. So yeah, her name was Becky and she was super fun to play. I loved her. I loved that character.
How did you get into acting, and what inspired you to pursue a career in the entertainment industry?
I really didn’t come from a family of actors. No one really is. My family isn’t in the entertainment industry. So it was kind of just a random out of the blue thing for me. I went to see a movie when I was nine with my family in the movie theater and it was like God just dropped this dream into my heart, like you can be an actress, you can be a part of that world and be a part of something like that.
And so I just kind of started acting in church plays and started doing theater in middle school and did theater all through high school and kind of caught the acting bug as they say. Then I went to college and majored in film and theater and graduated a few years ago and we’ve been it professionally ever since. So it’s definitely a roller coaster of emotions all day, every day. There are some really high highs and really low lows but I would not want to be doing anything else.
What advice would you give to aspiring actors who are just starting out in the industry?
ISABELLE ALMOYAN: I would say probably just really think about it before you jump into it. If you know, pray about it. It is not for the faint of heart. It is not something to take lightly. It’s a really hard industry. It’s really the emotional toll it can take on you is really hard and it is one of the hardest things ever, you know. However, I would say if you really feel like you want to do it and you’re passionate about it and you go for it, it also is one of the most rewarding and just most rewarding careers I think you can have.
You know you’re being a part of movies and shows that people are turning on at the end of a long work day to rewind and be entertained and laugh and cry and connect to these characters. And you’re also a part of something that’s going to live on a lot longer than you are. You know these movies and shows will be around for a long time, you know? So I think that it’s just this balance of figuring out if you actually want to go through this and put in the hard work. And then if you do put in the work, you’ll see the fruits of that and you’ll see how rewarding and just fulfilling the career can be for sure.
Can you talk about any upcoming projects you have in the works?
The movie I was talking about earlier is called Camp Hideout, and that is a movie about summer camp. And it’s a comedy and it’s super fun. And it’ll be in the movie theater September 15th. I think it’ll actually, be on a streaming platform too around that time. I just, they haven’t announced it yet. So be on the lookout for that camp hideout. I also have a movie, a Christmas movie, coming out in the movie theater around like in the fall. Novemberish called Bringing Back Christmas. And let’s see, there’s another movie coming out, but I don’t think I’m allowed to say the name. You’ll just have to keep up with me on social media.
The interview with Isabelle Almoyan has been edited and condensed for lenght and clarity. Watch the full interview at the top of the article!
Nightmare Pageant Moms, starring Isabelle Almoyan, premieres May 26 on Lifetime.
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