Stephanie March shows off her comedic talents in The Social Ones

Stephanie March is well-known for her dramatic role as Alex Cabot on Law and Order SVU, but she’s laugh-out-loud funny in the new film The Social Ones.

Stephanie March handled some very serious subjects in her tenure on Law & Order: SVU, but her latest role couldn’t be more different than Alex Cabot. She’s one of the stars of the mockumentary The Social Ones, which pokes fun at everyone’s obsession with social media.

Playing Dr. Miriam Spacelli, a therapist who specializes in social media, Stephanie is the straight woman to much of the craziness in the film while also being incredibly funny herself. And behind the camera, she also served as an executive producer on the film, which was entirely produced by women.

Stephanie stopped by One Chicago Center to discuss the making of The Social Ones, the differences (and similarities) between comedy and drama, and the other roles she’s done that SVU fans might not have seen yet.

Learn more about the movie in our interview with Stephanie March below, and then you can rent or buy The Social Ones now on your favorite digital platforms, such as Amazon Video.

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One Chicago Center: The Social Ones is not your first comedy; most of the films you’ve been in are comedies. So how fun was it for you just to return to the genre?

Stephanie March: Honestly, any time I do one I can’t believe I’m getting paid for it. It’s so fun and it’s a different environment on set. It’s just a little bit looser. It’s a little bit freer. I had a great time. The days go very quickly.

OCC: You’ve played these very complex dramatic roles, but there’s a challenge to comedy too, with timing and tone. So which is tougher for you, something like this or something intense like SVU?

SM: You know when you haven’t landed [comedy]. If people are not laughing, you’re not doing a good job. So it’s pretty immediate. And when you don’t get a laugh and you’re expecting one, it can put you in a rut and then you start to snowball.

But as to which is more difficult, I don’t know. I’ve been so lucky. I’ve had such good material in both areas. I’ve worked with such great people. So often how well you do is completely dependent on your chemistry with your partner, and if you have a great scene partner, they’re doing more than half the heavy lifting.

OCC: You’re also an executive producer on The Social Ones, so were you involved with the film from the beginning?

SM: I was. Laura and Danielle [Kosann] are friends of mine, actually, and we met when I was interviewed a couple of times for their site, The New Potato. We reconnected to do a new profile about four and a half years ago, and then we just became friends, and I really enjoy their company quite a lot. I have a terrific business partner, Rebecca Perkins, and I have a sister I’m really close to, so we gravitated toward each other.

When Laura wrote the script, she sent it to me and she said, I wrote something and I’d love for you to read it. Of course, my first thought was oh, no, because if it wasn’t good I’m going to have to say to somebody I really like, who’s a friend, “Gee, I respect your vision, congratulations on giving it a great try” or whatever it is you say. But I read it and I thought it was so funny. I really liked it, and I gave it to my husband and I gave it to my sister, and both of them loved it. So I thought I have to be involved with this. It’s just too good to pass up.

OCC: Did the mockumentary format change how you approached the role at all? Because that’s such a specific style of comedy.

SM: I’m a much better straight man than anything else. If I have any comedic skills, it’s by trying really hard not to be funny, so that kind of comedy suits me very well. So not having to go for big, broad laughs, maybe that was more my comfort zone.

OCC: Is there a favorite moment from The Social Ones that you’d say Stephanie March fans should look out for?

SM: One of my opening takes is where I’m talking about the brain; I’m talking about activity within the brain and how it’s activated when you’re involved with social media. It was done in one take, and there was quite a lot of made-up medical jargon in it. So the fact that it was done in one take without cutting and we did it pretty quickly, I was pretty proud of that at the end of it. I don’t know that anybody else would care or notice, but I do. I’m glad I got through it.

OCC: How did that compare to the years of legal jargon you worked with on Law & Order: SVU? Did that past experience help at all?

SM: It’s so funny. It’s a muscle that you can develop or lose a little. It can atrophy as well, so it was kind of nice to get back into that practice. At least with legal jargon, though, you have something to rely on. You have actual terminology that you learn a little bit about over the years, whereas this [was] a completely made-up vernacular. It was really fun, but it took a little work.

OCC: Is there another role that you’ve done that you wish more people would have seen? What else would Stephanie March recommend after we’ve seen this movie?

SM: I really enjoyed working with Scott Adsit and Jon Glaser on Neon Joe, Werewolf Hunter. We did it for Adult Swim about two years ago and I had so much fun. I loved working with those guys. I knew Scott a little bit from Chicago, and Jon is one of the coolest people. That was a really fun, weird role. I play an alien who’s also the mayor of Garrity, Vermont. It was hysterical. I had such a good time working on that.

I really enjoyed that episode of 30 Rock that I did about a million years ago. That was a treat. I get these little one-off, weird comedies. I’ve done dozens of things that I like to sink my teeth into.

OCC: So, ultimately, did The Social Ones change the way you use social media?

SM: One hundred percent, absolutely. The thing is that we need to and should use social media to promote the movie because that really is the most effective tool for reaching people on an individual basis, but we are making fun of social media at the same time. So there’s this weird tension between using it as a tool and then kind of hating it at the same time.

People say, why should I watch this movie? I say well, if you like social media and you like to follow people on Instagram, but also you like to hate social media and hate influencers, this is the movie for you.

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