When asked if she was interested in directing and producing an animated short film created by Betty Lynn Buckley, TAG member and Storyboard Artist Sue Perrotto jumped at the opportunity. Not only because Buckley is a legend of stage and screen, but because the project struck an emotional chord.
The Mayfly is about the brief life of Megalyn, a sweet mayfly who loves music and just wants to dance. But she is expected to do what all mayflies do—procreate and then die. Instead, she pursues her passion, and “this is what really spoke to me,” says Perrotto. “Following your heart, no matter what.”
The inspiration for the film happened just before the pandemic when Buckley attended a Judy Collins’ concert at the famed Café Carlyle in New York’s Carlyle Hotel. “As Betty was watching Judy, she saw this little mayfly dancing above her head to the music,” says Perrotto. “On the very last note of the very last song, the mayfly drifted down into Judy’s hair. It was like the end of the song, the end of the mayfly’s life.”
When the pandemic arrived, Buckley was stuck at home, and Perrotto says that Buckley heard a voice whispering to her: Tell my story. Knowing nothing about animation, Buckley reached out for advice to a mutual follower on Twitter who was in the animation industry. He connected her with TAG member Eugene Salandra, who in turn introduced Buckley to Perrotto.
Buckley sent Perrotto a script with an already finished track containing lyrics and narration by Buckley and music by composer and jazz pianist Christian Jacob. “The storytelling was locked to the track and [the animation] would have to match [it], which was a really great challenge,” says Perrotto. “Thankfully, Betty is such a master storyteller, not only as a performer, but as a writer… She had a sense of pace and timing.”
As the film’s Character Designer, Salandra had done a few sketches, “so we spit-balled and came up with some ideas for the whole film,” Perrotto says. Buckley loved them and secured funding, and she and Perrotto met up in New York in the spring of 2021 as pandemic restrictions were lifting. They walked Megalyn’s route, from the San Remo apartments through Central Park to the Hotel Carlyle, building a visual story to the established track.
Hands-on throughout the entire project, Buckley had a vision for the film’s aesthetic, says Perrotto. She was interested in light, and she wanted the film to look like a moving piece of art. An elegant rhythm was achieved, in part by Perrotto’s approach to the timing. Rather than use a stopwatch, she uses a metronome. “I think in beats,” she says.
Perrotto not only directed the short but also did the main character animation. Having started out in 2D animation more than 30 years ago, she leaned into her experience while researching the movements of dancers like Maria Tallchief and Sylvie Guillem to infuse Megalyn with balletic grace. She also studied the copious notes Salandra gave her from workshops the two had taken with Hungarian American animator Tissa David. “She was all about economy and strength of pose,” says Perrotto. “There was such nuance to [Betty’s track]. I didn’t want the visuals to overpower it.”
The resulting film is delicate in presentation and powerful with purpose. “What’s really amazing was creating art with a message,” says Perrotto. “Following your heart ‘til your very last breath doing what you love.”
To learn more about The Mayfly and request to see the film, go to tinybutmightee.com/the-mayfly.
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