The Real Moms

Filmmaker Shannon Ryan-Angel is the writer, producer, director and one of the actors in the short film “The Real Moms” which is an early official selection for the Utah Film Festival. The Real Moms pokes fun at the drama inside mom social circles, especially with those certain mom-types that we all know. The Utah Film Festival sat down with Shannon to discuss the film. 

Warren- The Utah Film Festival is showing more local films this year than ever before. And one of those filmmakers is joining me right now. This is Shannon Ryan Angel. She is the director of The Real Moms, which is playing August six at 9 p.m. at the Town Center Theater in American Fork. Shannon, welcome. So tell me, what is the real moms all about? 

Shannon – So the real moms is a fun comedy, short, and it kind of pokes fun at your typical mom types that you may see in some mom circles. So we have the hot mess, mom. We have the worried mom. We have the health nut mom. And the funny part is, I’m a mom and I think a lot of moms can actually relate to a lot of these different characters because, you know, we all we have very different personalities. When you’re a mom, there’s just so much on your mind and you can kind of come out in all these different ways. So it was really fun to make. 

Warren – Excellent. Now you do have a great cast there. There’s a lot of people I recognize from several projects. How did you go about finding this cast and how much fun was it working with all these wonderful women? 

Shannon – We are actually all really great friends. So it was one of the most fun sets that I’ve worked on and a lot of us were in acting class together, and some of the cast were even actors that I would go on auditions and be against for various roles. But you know, there’s such a great community in Utah and I became friends with these ladies and we really wanted to create something fun. It was around the time of COVID, things slowed down a little bit then and we wanted to make something fun. A lot of us wanted some comedy for our real, so I ran with it and I said, I will, I will do it, I’ll write it, I’ll direct it, I’ll produce it. And of course, I’m an actress, so I wanted to act in it also.

Warren – That makes sense. The whole filmmaking process is a very collaborative effort, but there’s challenges and there’s rewards. What were some of the the most interesting experiences you had while making the real moms?

Shannon – I think the most interesting experiences were learning more about being behind the camera. My back story is I’ve been in the performing arts since about five years old. I started in dance and then I went to theater and got into film and commercials. So I did it a long time and then I got into work and became a wife and got married and had kids and that kind of fell on the wayside. So to get back into it and really be able to learn what I need to do to make a great film, it was just such a fun process to do that. There are a lot of things that, you know, I had to research and figure it out myself. So I think those things are the most fun. I love challenges and just to kind of figure it out and come out with a really great product at the end was really cool.

Warren – You have your hands in lots of pots. You’ve got the director, writer, producer hat here. You have the acting hat on, you have the mom hat on, you have this giant organizer hat on. So with all these things going on, what kind of projects do you have coming down the pipeline?

Shannon –  I just got done with a really cool project. It was a suspense thriller short. I worked on that with Alex Jones, who actually was the editor for The Real Moms. So that was fun to be on the acting side again. I have a ton of stories that I want to tell, so I’m working on a lot of different scripts. I always keep my options open and love collaborating with different talent and filmmakers here in Utah.

Warren – That’s fantastic. Now, say someone’s watching this show right now and they’re saying “I need to get Shannon on my next show or I need to have her produce my next show.” How do they find you? 

Shannon – You can definitely find me on all the social media channels I’m on most of them. I’m most active on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and I do have a TikTok account. Look up Shannon, Ryan-Angel. You will find me and definitely reach out! Don’t be shy because I love working with other people. If people have questions about stuff because I learned how to do everything, you know, basically just I didn’t go to school for this. I just researched and figured it out. So I love to help other people do that, too, if that’s something they’re looking for.

Warren – Very cool. Let’s talk about the real mom’s availability to the public. It is going to be showing at the Utah Film Festival August 6th at 9 p.m. How can they find out more about the real moms? 

Shannon –  We were actually super excited. We recently found out that we were chosen for the Mom Film Fest, which is a film festival based based out of New York. They will be doing online screeners. It’s in the end of August and we’ll have it screened there for that festival. I’m a mom and like, I feel like being a mom is like the hardest job in the world. So that festival was extra special to me because any time you can support and lift up other moms, like I’m all about it. I was really proud of that one too. The Utah Film Festival is also a great, great honor to be chosen.

Warren –  I’ll pay you later.  That that’s fantastic. One more reminder, this is Shannon Ryan-Angel. She’s the director of the Real Moms. The Real Moms is playing at the Utah Film Festival August 6th at 9 p.m. Shannon, thank you so much.

About Shannon

Shannon Ryan-Angel (formerly Shannon Roberts) is a native of Sayreville, NJ. Her love for the performing arts began at the age of 5 when she started taking dance classes, and she received numerous awards at regional and national dance competitions. She was discovered at one of these competitions, and by age 11, signed with her first talent manager. She auditioned and was accepted into Arts High School, a special release-time program for gifted and talented teens. Shannon appeared in several national television commercials and joined the Screen Actors Guild.

She continued to audition for film and television in New York City, and also got involved in community theatre, performing at various theaters throughout New Jersey. Shannon also developed a passion for cheerleading and gymnastics. She had the honor of being named both a National and Universal Cheerleading Association All Star. These awards gave her the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to perform in the Florida Citrus Bowl collegiate half-time show in Orlando, FL.

Shannon took a hiatus from her acting career and attended Rutgers University, was a Scarlet Knight cheerleader and earned a BA in Communications. She also studied Entertainment Marketing at New York University. Shannon’s corporate career in marketing took off, and she worked for some of the world’s largest financial institutions. Despite her success in the business world, she has always felt drawn back into the entertainment industry. She continued to study her craft in New York City at the HB Studio, Bruce Ornstein Acting Workshop and Jason Bennett Actor’s Workshop.

Shannon and her family relocated to Salt Lake City, Utah in 2019. She was pleasantly surprised to discover a vibrant film scene. She is enjoying the journey as she reignites her passion for creativity and performance, and recently started writing, directing and producing her own films.