Join the MOB!
July 2012
Adrienne Wilkinson conducts a MOB interview.
In today's mass media world, we are bombarded daily with negativity. Fortunately for us, we have Adrienne Wilkinson and her new project From the Mouths of Babes. "I'm hoping that it is sort of a daily juicy bite sized bit of optimism and wisdom and advice," Wilkinson says of the project during an interview on the From the Mouths of Babes youtube channel.
From the Mouths of Babes was created by Wilkinson in 2011, and launched on May 15, 2012 on youtube under the channel mouthsofbabesnet. "[It's] a video interview project I created and have been working on for the past year," Wilkinson tells Bitch of Rome. "It is a 3 question impromptu interview about the subjects of love, life and self, that I conduct with friends, family, co-workers, fans and others I run into.
"Mainly I was looking for a creative project that I could do while on set. I needed something that was flexible and could be done quickly enough to not disrupt during filming, but something engaging enough to be worth the time. I gave it a try one day and the answers were so unexpected and interesting that I felt I was on to something and I've now been gathering interviews for a year."
Originally the project was aimed at young women with advice that would center on a positive self image, but it quickly expanded. "The interviews have grown to include men and women and the focus is on the fact that everyone has valuable advice, wisdom and experience to share.
The men's MOB logo.
"The first few days I was doing interviews I had a list of about 10 questions and the strongest questions soon became evident and the process streamlined into 3 topics."
From the Mouths of Babes' three topics focus on Life, Love, and Self, and each interviewee is asked the following questions:
1) What is your favourite thing about you?
2) What advice would you pass onto others?
3) What advice would you give about love?
"To me, these 3 questions cover the major parts of our lives and hearing the way others answer these questions leads to a lot of revelations and introspection. They are three of the trickiest subjects that we are all trying to understand - honoring what is brilliant about ourselves, sharing our experiences and lessons we've learned in our own lives, and making sense of love in all of its forms, from romantic love to family love to the concept in general."
From the Mouths of Babes, which comes from the old idiom, is frequently shortened to "MOB" on the project's various web pages. "From The Mouths of Babes can be quite the mouthful so it was helpful to have an abbreviated version, but it also suits the project as it is a large group - or 'mob' of people that you can turn to for daily advice or inspiration."
The project is surprisingly simple compared to the power of the interviews, as Wilkinson, armed only with her iPhone, collects her interviews based on who she runs into. "That can be my co-workers on set, friends and family, fans that I meet etc. Approximately half of the interviews include famous faces: actors, authors, chefs, singers, journalists, musicians, etc, which adds another element of fun to the project, seeing what some of your favourite people say when asked questions that are deeper than we normally talk about on a daily basis." From the Mouths of Babes features a large collection of celebrity interviews including Claudia Black, Doug Jones, Nana Visitor, Renee O'Connor, Kevin Sorbo, Ethan Phillips, Barbara Eden, Crystal Chappell, Tracie Thoms, Zoë Bell, Eric Martsolf, Mindy Sterling, John Schneider, Issa Rae, Sy Smith, Hillary B. Smtih, Adrian Paul, Ed Asner, Michael Biehn, Susan Eisenberg, Garrett Wang, Virginia Hey, Judi Evans, and others. "I've interviewed around 300 people and if you explore the youtube channel or the site you are bound to find answers that will brighten your day or make you think about something from a new point of view.
Wilkinson interviews Ed Asner for From the Mouths of Babes.
"[The interviews] are almost always surprising. They can be brilliant or hilarious; thought provoking and sometimes shocking. They inspire and motivate and really make you think. They have made me laugh, made me cry and made me contemplate my own responses. The lesson has been proven again and again: that everyone has something worth sharing, worth documenting, worth hearing. Everyone can teach you something. From the Mouths of Babes is a large project that already has hundreds of video clips collected, and the size and scope can make it overwhelming, but the heart of the project is its simplicity: 3 questions in 3 minutes. The best thing I could see happening to MOB would be that it became a place that people knew they could visit for a dose of daily inspiration, entertainment and encouragement."
From the Mouths of Babes encourages others to "Join the MOB" and participate in the positive project in a variety of ways. "The best thing to do is visit our youtube channel and subscribe. You can also join us on Twitter and like us on Facebook. Our home site will be launching soon and I hope you'll visit. And the main way to help the MOB is to share links to our videos, our channel and the home site. Anyone who is connected to the fan bases of famous faces I've interviewed are encouraged to help us get the word out. I would love to get as many eyes on our content as possible!"
Currently From the Mouths of Babes doesn't accept self submissions. "But we hope to in the future," says Wilkinson. This will provide a new level to allow people to join the MOB. "We also hope to create a forum where you can leave your own answers to the three questions to be shared with others. In the mean time we encourage posting in the comments of the videos, as well as on Twitter and on our Facebook page." The Twitter and Facebook pages also post the MOB questions for followers to answer.
Wilkinson interviews Anthony for From the Mouths of Babes.
So how would Wilkinson answer her own three questions? "One of my favourite parts about MOB is that it is impromptu and the beauty that creates is the honesty of the moment. The answers aren't rehearsed and they also change based on when I ask the questions and what is going on at that moment for someone. So the answers could change even if I asked them again later the same day. It makes the answers even more personal; truly having to look at yourself and decide in a split second what it is about you that is amazing, and worth celebrating, what lessons you feel you wouldn't hesitate to pass on to others, and what you would share on the subject of love; all of these answers are deeply personal and change often. And I find that my own answers to the MOB questions change almost daily.
"For today I would say:
"I love my optimism and drive. I love that I am determined to reach for my goals despite setback and potential heartache.
"Something I have learned that I would pass on to others would be that luck is preparedness meeting opportunity, so you have to prepare for what you want if you expect it to have a chance of happening. For instance: you can't be a successful gardener if you look at the garden and say "If you grow, I'll water you." You have to lay the groundwork for success.
"And my advice today on love would be to jump in with both feet when you feel it, but also to always be aware of what it really is, not what you hope it will become or what you hope it could return to."
Join Wilkinson and the MOB for your daily dose of inspiration, humour, wisdom, and advice.
Actress Adrienne
Of course From the Mouths of Babes is hardly the only thing this Hollywood actress does. Bitch of Rome sat down with Wilkinson to discuss her latest work.
Bitch of Rome: What was the most challenging thing working on Venice: The Series and what was the most rewarding?
Adrienne Wilkinson: The most challenging thing about Venice was probably the speed of filming. We often filmed 25-30 pages a day, which is a massive amount to accomplish (and memorize). The most rewarding thing by far was getting to know and work with my fellow cast mates. What a spectacular group of people! So funny and talented, charming and wise...I loved working together and getting to know them as friends.
BoR: Will you be appearing in season four?
AW: That's the plan. I'm told we will be shooting again in September, but the exact schedule can always change. Check my site or Facebook and Twitter for updates.
BoR: What can you say about the films Raze, where you are reunited with Zoe Bell and Tracie Thoms, and The American Failure?
AW: Raze wrapped shooting about two weeks ago. They've released some amazing images so far and I can't wait to see more. Raze follows a group of women who are kidnapped and forced to fight each other (hand to hand combat) as a spectator sport. It would be classified as action/horror. I believe there are more than twenty fight scenes in the film. It was a brutal shoot; very exhausting, but also thrilling. It was amazing to be part of a film where the call-sheet was nearly all women each day.
It was challenging and empowering to be involved in a film that required not only intense fighting, but also deep emotion. I'm really proud of the work we did, and can't wait to see it. One of the best parts of the film was getting to work with Zoe and Tracie again. They are two of my closest friends and favourite co-stars. It was an absolute joy to get to work with them again.
The American failure also stars Said Faraj and Hakeem Kae-Kazim. It's a thriller involving the fight for millions of dollars and the double crossing that takes place. I play a delicious femme fatale.
BoR: What is Suspense?
AW: Suspense is a radio anthology series I am part of, playing multiple characters. It is a revival of the 1962 series of the same name. Written by John C. Alsedek and also starring Elizabeth Gracen, Daamen Krall, and many other brilliant voice actors.
BoR: If you could have any super power for 24 hours, what would be it be and why?
AW: I would love to be able to fly. Hands down that's the super power I would love. A close second would be time travel.
MOB trailers
Playlists
MOB Wilkinson interview