YV: Tell us about yourself—who is Muretta Moss?
Muretta Moss: I found an old journal and in there was a section where I had once written, “I’m a decidedly mixed up girl with a strong lead into the heart of God.” I’m now a spiritual, self-assured woman who still gets mixed up every now and then. For the sake of simplicity, I’m an actress, writer, and improviser based out of Atlanta. I love cats and avocado toast.
YV: What motivated you to become an actress?
Muretta: At this point, I can’t imagine being anything else. There is a cosmic pull to acting and performing. It all started when I was in college and had a turbulent time trying to “figure it all out.” Everyone around me seemed to know what they wanted to do with the rest of their lives. I realize now that wasn't the case—we were all figuring things out. But when my university was being used as a location to film a full budget movie and I got to be a part of it, that was a game changer. Walking into the quad filled with lights and cameras and actors—I was hooked. A film set really is a magical place.
YV: Holiday season is approaching, and we love a great holiday movie! Your upcoming film, A Loud House Christmas, focuses on reconnecting a family for the holidays. Tell us a bit about your role as the Matriarch, Rita Loud.
Muretta: Rita Loud is the mother to eleven kids—eleven! Ten girls and one boy, Lincoln Loud. And it’s a lovely story of how some things change and some things stay the same. It’s difficult when everyone grows up and that one constant of having the holidays all together shifts. These kids are all so talented and professional that it made me think “wow, I could actually parent 11 kids in real life” but I joke. I joke because these kids are exceptional. I also love how clearly defined their characters are, it’s fun to watch “my kids” bring their characters to life. A Loud House Christmas is the perfect holiday movie to snuggle up on the couch with your loved ones and have a nice “loud” laugh.
YV: Let’s talk about Intersection. You are the co-creator, writer, and star of this dark comedy about gentrification and the people living through it. What about this series makes it a dark comedy?
Muretta: This is a great question because there isn’t really anything funny about gentrification, right? Watching this series, you may have one of those moments where you don’t know whether to laugh or cry. The character I play, Mary Margaret, is a struggling real estate agent desperate to have her name in the spotlight and will go to great lengths to make it happen. She’s cringey and a little too relatable at times.
YV: Oscar Wilde once said, “life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” How will this series, Intersection, affect the way we look at gentrification in growing cities today? OR What experiences inspired you to co-create this series?
Muretta: Years of research went into Intersection. Originally we called it the G-Word because gentrification is a word people hate saying even when it’s taking place right in front of them. Intersection is a much more fitting name, however, because it shows the intersecting lives of a community. The show is inspired by real stories and real people in a fictitious Atlanta neighborhood. What’s interesting about gentrification is you can ask different people what they think about it and they all have different perceptions. It really makes a difference where you are on the food chain, so to speak. We don’t come up with answers to prevent gentrification because it is complicated, but we do hope to get people talking about it, to see how it affects people, families, neighborhoods, and talking about ways for growth without displacement. Our first season takes to the streets and we see how a close-knit community is forced to share their neighborhood with “woke” millennials. The following seasons, we’ll zoom out of the microcosm of the street and to the city where we dive deeper into the landlords, developers, city planners, and those who have more control of the purse strings.
YV: We see that you teamed up with two friends to write the web series, Dyed, Highlighted, and Hopeful. How important is it to network across and within your circle?
Muretta: My circle is filled with so many creative beings and collaborating with them is a no brainer. Dyed, Highlighted, and Hopeful was fueled by a friendship with a like-minded taste in comedy. We wanted to create a series that was not based on conflict or boys, but rather curiosity and sincerity. It reminds me of the ethos of Ted Lasso: authentic, feel-good comedy. Ours is without all those haughty soccer men—but you can always call me “coach!”
YV: To others about to cross the line from friendship to business partners, what is some advice you would give?
Muretta: It can be tough being in business with friends. Sometimes you want to just have the friend hat on, but indie filmmaking takes all of your hats and it’s hard to find balance. I love almost everything about filmmaking and acting. . . except the after-it’s-done part like marketing. It’s not my strong suit and it’s definitely ruffled a few feathers and friendships. I know now to be honest about how much social media I can handle in the promotion because it’s important. Ultimately, projects will come and go, but those memories of making it with your friends are everything. So my advice is to be realistic with who you chose to cross the line with because how they act in real life is only going to be heightened on set or in a writer’s room. And when money is involved, have it in writing in contracts because you will definitely want your project to blow up in a good way. Not having the project protected and running into miscommunication may cause your friendships to blow up in that not-so-good way.
YV: Tell us about your upcoming podcast, “Counter Parenting.”
Muretta: Yes, thank you! “Counter Parenting” is a podcast to help all those step-parents out there. There are resources out there regarding co-parenting and handling divorce, but it’s rare to find resources to help a step-parent. I’ll be honest, it's a learning curve. I created this podcast for knowledge, advice, and camaraderie, with industry experts to help explain things that people who have not been through the divorce decree need to understand. It is coming out in the new year wherever you get your podcasts.
YV: Your work seems to always uplift and inform. How do you vet opportunities presented to you?
Muretta: In writing, I gravitate to tell stories with meaning, and because my background is comedy it has a comedic tone to it. That is one of my strong suits in acting: I can do drama and comedy, but I love comedy. Most indie projects are passion projects and I love collaborating and supporting my community, so I guess I’m fortunate to surround myself with dedicated and uplifting people as well.
YV: What’s something we should know about you that might surprise us?
Muretta: I have been on three—that’s right, three—network game shows and won things! Not the whole thing, but won something on each one. In college I was on Wheel of Fortune. I went to the Price is Right with my improv team and made it all the way to the Showcase Showdown, and then one day my boss and I went to Let’s Make a Deal and I won some very nice cookware. I’m so into being a gameshow darling!
