Tonya Mosley

I think you're right.

I mean, that's when you say safety comes in conformity.

I mean, I thought about all of those things.

I actually want to play a scene that really gets at the heart of this idea of safety, this conformity.

And it's also at the heart of the dynamic between Hedda and

and her former lover Eileen.

So in this scene I want to play, they've stolen a few moments alone at this party.

And Eileen, who is played by Nina Haas, she's an academic.

She's a rival, as I mentioned, to Hedda's husband in the academic world.

And she's basically telling Hedda, you're wasting your life playing a housewife.

Let's listen.

You could be so much more.

That was a scene from the new movie Hedda, written and directed by my guest today, Nia DaCosta.

I'll tell you, I had to Google that roach can live without its head for.

Were there a lot of ad libs in the film?

There's so much tension in that scene, because it's not just about their romantic past, it's

It's two completely different survival strategies.

So Eileen thinks she's free because she's refused to marry.

She has this career.

But Hedda sees something else.