Sadie Rogers. Courtesy of Shane Simmons.

Sometimes an actor delivers a performance so vivid and indelible that it transcends the boundaries of screen time. That’s precisely what Sadie Rogers does in Stephen Cone’s masterpiece, “The Wise Kids,” a tender and insightful drama set in a Southern Baptist community that turned out to be my favorite film of 2012. Rogers plays Cheryl, a non-believer who continues to attend church and ends up sharing words of advice with the pastor’s daughter. It’s a small role, but like all of the roles in Cone’s film, it is remarkably complex and wholly authentic. Rogers makes every second of her screen time count, and her work made me an instant fan.

Turns out this film marked Rogers’ third cinematic collaboration with Cone, following his previous two features, “The Christians” and “In Memoriam” (she’s also in Cone’s next picture, “Black Box,” set for release this year). She has appeared in various productions on the Chicago stage, and will be performing a late night set with guest artist Matt Kahler Saturday, February 16th at the Red Tape Theatre.

In this exclusive podcast interview, Rogers chats about her longtime friendship with Cone, her experience acting in Red Tape’s enormously ambitious production of Caryl Churchill’s “The Skriker” and her deeply intriguing new short film.

The program was produced at Columbia College Chicago. Technical producer was Rebecca Nystedt. An Indie Outlook production.

“The Wise Kids” is available on DVD courtesy of Wolfe Video, and can be found on Netflix.