Good Evening,

Greg Kiernan here again and this has got to be one of the most exciting blogs I’ve posted yet – I had the chance to meet up with the star of the upcoming Blue Damen picture “Recalculating” (production set in Elgin over the next few weeks!).  This particular actor may not be a “name” as it were but he is certainly a face.  He’s that tough cop you see in movies and on television, he’s that character actor with a career that expands over thirty years and he’s that guy with lots of experience and very little regrets; he’s Ron Dean, actor.  And here’s the conversation I felt lucky to have.

Greg: So what first got you into acting?

Ron: All the pretty young actresses.

Greg: Oh yeah?

Ron: Yep.  It got to a point where a drama teacher said to me “You might as well become an actor if you’re going to spend all you time chasing actresses.”  So I did.

Greg: Well, I guess that’s as good a reason as any.

Ron: Yeah and it’s worked out well.

Greg: So did you have any formal training?  Where’d you go to school?

Ron: I went to Dekalb and then to Wright.  But I didn’t study and take many acting classes.  I worked a few odd jobs, being a doorman and at one point I drove a penny cab.

Greg: Penny cab?

Ron: Yeah, it’s like a rickshaw thing only instead of running and pulling it, the thing is attached to a bicycle and you ride it.

Greg: Oh, cool.  I’ve seen those.

Ron: Yeah, I remember the day I finally got it I was so excited that I parked it on the street, ran up to my girlfriend-at-the-time’s apartment and told her I had a surprise.  But when we got back down to the street it was gone!  She started to worry, saying that it had been stolen but then I spotted something just down the road.  I run over to find that it had just been moved – by two little pig-tailed girls.  And they were calling out to everyone in the street “Look what we found!  Look what we found!”

Greg: Ha ha.  That’s cute.

Ron: Yeah, so that was my gig for a little while.  But then I got an agent and started acting.  Work was only here and there but I managed to maintain until got some bigger roles.

Greg: What would you says was one of you bigger roles, or maybe your biggest?

Ron: I would say my first big role, or at least one that people seem to acknowledge the most of my eighties’ roles would be Emilio Estevez’s father in “The Breakfast Club.”  But I really liked my role in “Above the Law” because that was the movie that boosted Steven Seagal’s career and I was a part of that.

Greg: Nice.  And you were also in “The Fugitive” right?

Ron: That’s right.

Greg: So I says to my friend “I’m going to talk to a Hollywood actor tonight” and he sounded impressed until he heard your name (he didn’t recognize it).  So I says “Did you ever see ‘The Fugitive” with Harrison Ford?”  He says yes and I ask ‘Remember that scene in the beginning in the interrogation room?  That’s this guy!”  Then he was impressed again.

Ron: You’re like my PR guy.

Greg: Nice.  You were also in “The Dark Knight”- another awesome movie.  You may not be super famous, but there’s something to be said about being a recognizable character actor that seems just as cool.

Ron: Thank you very much.  You’re a nice guy.

Greg: So let’s talk about “Recalculating” for a minute.  How did you get involved and why interested you in this project?

Ron: My agent contacted me and said that this a job offer and an opportunity to work for a little while and I took it.  What interested me about it was Gwydhar and the group of young filmmakers she had assembled; there’s something very satisfying about working with young, energetic people who have generated the money for a film and organized themselves enough to produce it.  I know that I can add my two cents to the project and my work will be appreciated.

Greg: And I’m sure that your performance will serve to elevate the overall quality of the film.

Ron: I think so.  It’s always exciting to work with new people.  Recently I worked with Tom Whitus and his crew on the film “Sam Steele and the Crystal Chalice” and also John Burgess on his movie “One Small Hitch”.  All those guys were terrific.

Greg: One last question — what advice would you give to a wannabe screen writer like me?  Should I move out to LA?

Ron: I’m an actor so I did live in LA for many years – well, actually I was back and forth from Chicago to LA for a while.  An actor has to be on the set with the other actors and the crew, but a writer can write anywhere.  So maybe stay in Chicago for a little while and try to get something produced.  After all, a script is nothing until it becomes a movie.  But a play is easier to get made, especially a short play.  So that’s something I would advise, doing something like that in Chicago.

Greg: Great.  Well, it was a real pleasure talking with you.  It’s not everyday that you meet a quasi-celebrity.

Ron: Who you calling quasi?

Greg: Oops.  Probably best not to mess with someone with this kind of rep.  It was nice talking with you, Ron.  Thanks again.

So that was Ron Dean, ladies and gentleman.  I was difficult for me to capture the presence the man has through this media; there are some cases where simple words fall short.  Just rent the movie “The Fugitive” and watch the part where he sinisterly asks Harrison Ford “Do you own a gun, doc?”  Then use your imagination.

Until next time, see you in the movies!

Greg Kiernan here again and I am pleased to report that this week’s post is exceptionally exciting.  As the production of Blue Damen’s latest film “Recalculating” draws near it behooves one to take a look at all the multitude of steps that it took to bring this story to life (not to mention all the steps yet to take to get that story into theaters).  The very first step, of course, was writing the script.  Without a script actors can’t act, directors can’t direct and editors can’t edit.  On that note it gives me great honor to introduce Jan Kaschner, writer of “Recalculating.”  In what started out as a simple question and answer interview developed into a candid conversation.  I hope you enjoy it:

Greg:  Hello Jan, thank you again for doing this.  I guess I’ll start out with some basics – tell me about your background.  What is your back story?

Jan: I was an educator in Minnesota for many years, teaching Senior High English, Creative Writing, and Visual Arts.  In 1994 I was on sabbatical in NYC, attending Parsons School of Art & Design.  On weekends I hung out on film sets with friends who were NYU film students.  It was then that I realized that film was my ultimate art form where I could combine my language and writing skills with my visual skills to create the total look and feel of a film as well as the dramatic story elements– The whole creative vision, hence my company name, Creative Visions.

Greg: Nice.  “Recalculating” is going to be filmed in Elgin, IL.  Is that where you’re from?

Jan: No, I hail from the Coen Brothers’ territory –Minnesota.

Greg: Yeah that’s where their film “Fargo” took place, which is kind weird since Fargo is actually in North Dakota.  Any way, let me ask you about your experiences as a writer.  What is your education and/or training?

Jan: B.S. Undergraduate degree in English and Art (Double Major) and a M.A. in Fine Art at the University of Minnesota, Mankato; post Masters work at Parson’s School for Art & Design in NYC; Playwriting and screenwriting classes at the Literary Loft in Minneapolis, Screenwriting  at Story City Chicago; Playwriting and Musical Theater at Chicago Dramatists in Chicago; and Comedy Writing and Screenwriting at the famed Second City, in Chicago.

Greg: Great.  Who or what is your writing muse?

Jan: My Muse, my biggest fan, is my wonderful husband, Les.  He’s a successful corporate-change consultant with a theater/radio undergrad degree.  He’s also an actor. He understands creatives.  I’m a big fan of Tina Fey; I’ve read several of her “30 Rock” scripts and I think she really knows how to go deep and she’s amazing with dialogue.  I also love classic scripts like “Casablanca” and “Chinatown” but mostly I’m inspired by people and their stories and behaviors.  I like to put conflicting ideas together, really push my characters to do things out of their realms.  My manager also inspires me a great deal; she keeps me going.

Greg: It’s great when family inspires you, isn’t it?

Jan: As an only child of deaf parents, I grew up in a silent world.  Sign Language was my first language.

Greg: Oh my god!  Really?

Jan: Yes.  My father was unstoppable.  He was the first deaf student to ever graduate from a trade school in Minnesota.  Back in the 20s, this was huge.  He didn’t have an interpreter either.  In the ‘60s he and some other deaf men successfully lobbied for closed captioning on TVs and for installing TTYs in every federal, state and municipal public office.

Greg: Very impressive.  How do you think that effected your childhood?

Jan: When we got a TV, my parents kept the sound muted, but I created my own dialogue.  An aunt gave me a two-story doll house with all the miniature furnishings, down to the tiny dishes.  I soon became bored with the same old dolls, so I started cutting out characters from the Sears, Wards and Spiegel catalogues and then eventually designed and created my own paper dolls for the characters and created wardrobes for them.  Soon my locations expanded out of the doll house onto the floor for doctors’ offices, classrooms and restaurants. I was doing these elaborate little plays and sitcoms, creating the stories & scripts, designing all the details, creating the sets and designing the costumes.

Greg: It’s funny you should talk about making your own toys.  I had plenty of toys to play with as a child but I wound up making my own action figures by cutting up paper cups and taping them back together.  It got to a point where my parents simply stopped buying paper cups because I would use them all up for my toy set.

Jan: That’s funny.

Greg: Okay, let me take a minute to ask about your current project.  How did you and Gwydhar, the director of “Recalculating”, meet?

Jan: I did the costume and set design for one of her previous projects “The Visionary.”

Greg: How did you come up with the “Recalculating” story?

Jan:   I was talking with Gwydhar about doing the “Homecoming” themed short for Insomniac Chronicles; it was going to be about a man, while searching for his wife, finds acceptance for the future by recalculating the mistakes of his recent past.  My husband and I were driving somewhere with a new GPS (2009 version), and it kept saying this most annoying “recalculating,” and we thought  that this GPS-Genie would be the perfect guide as well as a comic foil for Tom, the main character.  I developed the GPS as a character, a genie for Tom, and I had to create conflict between them.

Greg: Oh, so this was a projected conceived specifically for Blue Damen?

Jan: Yes, I was writing this specifically for Gwydhar and Blue Damen Pictures.  I wasn’t promoting it elsewhere.

Greg: Cool.  At one point I was hoping to write a feature for Blue Damen but I guess that wasn’t meant to be.  I just want to say to you that I find this whole thing pretty impressive; I’m something of an aspiring writer myself but I have never sold anything.  And that is definitely what separates the pros from the wannabes.  So congratulations to you.

Jan: Thank you.  This is the first script I’ve sold, but I have written a total of five feature-lengths projects.  One of them, titled “Freedom Cab”, is being shopped around by my manager and read by producers in Hollywood.

Greg: Whoa, that’s even more impressive.  I’ve written five scripts myself but, frankly, they’re pretty sh*tty so I have not earned representation yet.  Any advice to a struggling novice like me?

Jan: Absolutely.  First of all your first script (or even your first few) are going to be sh*tty.  They just are.  It’s a learning process so I would recommend taking as many screenwriting classes as possible, read at least five books on screenwriting and purchase Final Draft software for your writing.  Also do NOT rely on parents and other loved ones to critique your work; you should join a screenwriting group that will dish out some tough love.

Greg: I have to admit I do hand my work to my family members hoping for some honest feedback,  which is to say I know that they’ll be nice.  Too nice, I guess.

Jan: Yeah but that doesn’t help your writing.  You should search on meetup.com for advanced screenwriting groups that will give feedback that is worthwhile.  Then you should attend the Sherwood Oaks events they have at the Mariott and get some practice pitching.  Also keep one thing in mind – if you’re in the Midwest it’s VERY challenging to get your stuff read.  That’s why I’ve been involved with indie films mainly, because I’m in the Midwest.  So get out to LA as soon as you can but most importantly never give up!  Let me know about your plans and maybe joining the meet-up advanced screenwriting group.

Greg: Thank you again, Jan. It was great talking to you.

Okay, well, it was kind of hard for me to hide my jealous there but it’s best to swallow your pride and ask for advice from someone who has more experience and more accomplishments than you.  Filmmaking, after all, is a collaborative process; it’s important to be humble.  And even the top guys in Hollywood don’t know everything; it’s important to keep learning and writing.

Until next time, see you in the movies!

1. Hold Auditions.
2. Pick the Actors that seem right.

To some extent this is still how we work. As a matter of fact we will soon be having auditions for some of the roles in “Recalculating” (hint, hint to any aspiring actors out there: check back for times and dates. As soon as I schedule it I’ll post it on this blog). At the same time, as we have gotten bigger we are starting to discover that the process of casting is infinitely more complex than we once thought.

You ever wonder why it seems like the only people who get cast are friends with the director? Here’s why: Agents. From an actors point of view it seems like a great idea to have an agent. Don’t get me wrong, agents work hard and can dedicate their time to finding opportunities that you wouldn’t be able to find for yourself. But to a small production company producing a small-budget short film an Agent is like anti-aircraft artillery on the frontline waiting to shoot you down. Why? Because the job of an agent is to get an actor paid, not to get an actor acting.

Ergo (Latin) it is easier for a small-time independent director to make friends with the actors in person first. The actor gets excited about the project and jumps on board for the opportunity. Then the director makes it big. Or the actor makes it big. Or both. Then the Agent doesn’t have to become the line of defense against projects that might never get made or that might ruin their actor’s career because the actor already trusts the director and the director already knows the actor.

So how do you get cast even in these smaller projects? Whether you have an agent or not this will probably boil down to auditions. There are a million tips for actors doing auditions; heck, there are whole classes on the topic that people pay to take. A lot of these deal with how you package yourself as an actor: knowing what kind of roles you look right for, presenting yourself in a professional manner, how to put together a resume/headshot/reel, etc. I have nothing bad to say about any of this. These are all great qualities to have. But as a director here are some of the things that I look for:

• Attention to detail: If I ask you to mime chopping down a tree and you decide you’re going to use a mime-chainsaw for the task remembering to turn off the mime-chainsaw may seem like a little thing, but that’s what will stick in my mind. True story.
• Engaging with the other actor: If you’re auditioning by doing a scene with another actor it pays to get to know them a little and to make them look good in the audition too. As a director I may be looking for an actor who is a great artiste, but I’m also building a team to make a film happen. I am looking for someone who will bring out the best in other performers.
• Commitment: This one is tricky- some people have the knack for it and some people don’t. This is the ability to completely accept the character you’ve been asked to play even if that character is cowardly, odious, ugly, mean, obnoxious, stupid, etc. This is why they say the best actors play the villains: because they are willing to commit to the character whether or not the character is likeable.
• Participation: Not all directors want this in the same way. Some directors want actors who show up on time and read their lines without mumbling. Some directors want actors who will take the character off the page and add so much of themselves to it that it becomes hard to tell where that character ends and the actor begins. For my money, I look for actors who are going to make the character their own. Someone who is willing to contribute part of their own personality to a project is someone (I feel) who will give me a better performance than someone just looking to be on screen.

Lastly, the biggest secret to getting cast is so obvious it hardly bears mentioning: keep trying. It’s both the easiest and hardest thing to do. Auditioning is like dating: when the right role comes along magic will happen. Until then it’s just a matter of making yourself the best performer that you can and keep trying.

Break a leg

In times like these, as our economy staggers out of the gray uncertainty of recession we probably spend a lot time thinking about money and how much of it we should be getting. How much in wages we earn for our time and expertise. How much free time we get to enjoy the money we make. How much more money we could have if we just had more time, or used it better. How much more time we would have if we just had more money, or used it better.

Assigning a money-value to our time is a necessary evil sometimes: we need to know how much we should be earning in order to sustain ourselves and to provide basic life necessities and comforts. But at the same time, defining our personal value in terms of dollars-per-hour is a deceptively slippery path to defining our self worth by how much money we can make in a day. When we work for a wage we exchange a portion of our life for the resources that will help us experience more of it (life, that is). Work gives us food and shelter and status but is the money we receive for our work really where we should be getting our satisfaction and self worth from?

Consider the adage: “Time, Money, or People: if you want to get something done you need two of the three.” A clever turn of phrase to remind entrepreneurs that they need to have resources if they want to accomplish their goals. But what about Inspiration? In the equation of Time + Money + People where is the motivation? Are these the only reasons that anyone would accomplish anything?

For independent filmmakers there is never enough Money. There is never enough Time. And there are never enough People. There are no guarantees of Status or Success and there is an obscene amount of Work that needs to be done. So how do independent films get made?  I was lamenting this lack of resources to a friend who is an industry veteran and who has a great deal more experience than I do.

“You learn to gain other currency. Creative Currency, Inspiration Currency, Celebrity Currency, Communication Currency; you use them to get the things you don’t have the money to buy.”

The bottom line is that although we all find ourselves working to earn money what we are really trying to earn is a sense of self-worth. We occasionally find ourselves drawn to projects like producing an independent film in which we earn the right to define ourselves as a filmmaker instead of earning a profit. Professional actors pursue an opportunity to communicate to an audience- occasionally at the expense of eating. (Starving Artist, anyone?) Directors and crew members will pursue creative projects that let them explore their art form and, dare we mention it: have fun. Even ordinary folks want to have their brush with celebrity- to say they met/shook hands with/rubbed elbows with someone they admire.

The point that I want to make is this: the need and desire for money is never going to go away, but not everything of value can be assigned a price. As an Artist (or filmmaker, musician, athlete, computer tech, astrophysicist, neurologist, ethnobotanist- whatever you are) you will always save your best work for yourself because no amount of money ever seems to be enough to be worth exchanging it for. If we as human beings want to bring out the best in one another- for any project- we must first realize that it cannot be bought with money and secondly discover that we may still have the currency that we need at our disposal.

In the end, time may be money, but value comes from the things we invest our time in, not the things we spend our money on.

Maybe it’s a post-quarter life crisis, perhaps it’s the knowledge that I’m simply getting older, but one thing is for sure: this is not exactly the life I pictured I would have at my age.  I mean, when I was a kid I always figured that I would have my life figured out by twenty-five.  My lucky number was twenty-five and back then I considered twenty-five dollars a lot of money.  When he was twenty-five my father got married, conceived my older brother, graduated from medical school, got a good job and had his first son all within that same year.  I guess I figured I would follow a similar path.  I’m not sure if I’m making any progress.

Now I’m twenty-six  and I have accomplished none of those things my father did at my age.  Go figure, right?  Some times I wish there was some kind of GPS device that could guide me through life — but then again, given my history with Mapquest, that would probably just lead me off a cliff or something.  Nevertheless, considering all of our advances in technology, it would be nice to have something reliable to point you in the right direction.

As it just so happens my good friends at Blue Damen Productions have another future masterpiece in the works.  But rather that give you all the story details I will point you in the right direction.  They have posted a short video online about their upcoming project “Recalculating” — the story about a miserable middle-aged man who winds up relying on his GPS device to help him reunite with his estranged family.  If this story intrigues you (as it does me) please visit Kickstarter.com, search for “Recalculating” and watch my buddy Pete have an unlikely conversation with his smart phone.  It’s both charming and informative.

This may further intrigue those of you in or around the Elgin area; the project is set for production this May and will be shooting in your neighborhood.  So keep your ear to the ground (but not if you’re standing in the middle of the street).

So that’s “Kickstarter.com”, search for “Recalculating” and at the very least enjoy the video.  And I must admit now I feel better.

Until next time, see you in the movies!

I was speaking to a friend on the phone a few days ago and we were talking about the differences between California and Chicago.

“There’s so much sunlight here,” was my comment that precipitated the converstion. “It’s always sunny. It takes some getting used to.”

This isn’t strictly true, of course, there are cloudy days and rainy days just like everywhere else, but on the balance southern California is sunny. Every day.

From a film standpoint this is an ideal place to work. Your chances of having to reschedule around inclement weather are slim and your light will always be bright and clear. As a dry climate there is less chance of interference of humidity, and as a warm climate there is less chance of struggling with trying to work in the cold. Who could ask for anything more?

To try to make films in a place like Chicago is to add a huge gamble to any project, but can likewise have an equally huge payoff. The range of weather that Chicago can experience opens up a whole palette of moods that can be applied to a scene- if you’re lucky enough to get the weather you want on the day you need it. It is possible to experience both sunny and stormy in the course of a single day. Humidity can manifest itself as softening mists or as saturating heat. A cloudy day can be cheerfully dry and overcast to damp and sullen to toweringly dramatic to outright raw.

In general, filmmakers want consistency. To allow mother nature to play a role in your film is an act of faith and a lot of contingency planning. She is the biggest diva you will ever have to work with and there is simply no placating her if she doesn’t want to cooperate. She still has the ability to add that tiny element of transcendence to a picture that can make all the difference.

Is it worth the risk? It depends upon who you ask, but for my money the palette of atmosphere that Chicago can offer is too good to overlook for long. Chicago does have great clouds.

In the course of all the excitement we were excited to have coverage of the premiere included in the March edition of “Elgin Today” which recently launched online. Here is the video: our clip is near the end (near the 26 min mark) so stay tuned!

“Dark Before Dawn” Stars Downtown Elgin

Blue Damen Pictures’ locally produced feature film “Dark Before Dawn” was premiered to a capacity audience at Elgin Cinema Thursday, joined by cast, crew and filmmaker Gwydhar Gebien, a 2009 winner of the Elgin Short Film Festival.

The movie is created in the microbudgeted “mumblecore” style, which strips away all but the most basic elements of character and setting. The term helps to legitimize this relatively new, dialogue-driven genre, and “Dark Before Dawn” demonstrates that low-tech amateur film making is capable of delivering a worthwhile story and good acting.

Set during the middle of the night in downtown Elgin, the movie is essentially one long conversation between two strangers whose painstaking personal revelations make up most of the plot. The unscripted dialogue is largely improvised by its two lead actors, Pete Garlock and Amy Karen, in scenes that move from the tracks, through downtown, to the river and back again. With occasional humor and snippets of Allenesque banter, their lines keep a steady tempo for about as long as any one movie conversation should last.

But the juxtaposition of small and enormous problems adds interest to each character’s back story, conceived individually by the actors (unknown to the other) and revealed on camera with no rehearsals. An emotional dramatic scene near the end is especially skillful and compelling, as the characters trade positions of strength and weakness in a way that we care about and will remember.

The “third star” in the picture is downtown Elgin, whose parks, facades, streets, and skylines are showcased in numerous beautifully framed shots, lit in film noir style by street lamps and electric signs. A few minor technical glitches and continuity gaps don’t detract from the fine creative direction and camera work, and a haunting musical score leaves us wanting to hear more. “Dark Before Dawn” bodes well for the future of film making in, by, or about Elgin.

For more information, visit www.darkbeforedawn-movie.com, www.bluedamen.com, or support their next project, “Recalculating,” on www.kickstarter.com.

- Jeffrey Pierce

So the big night has come and what a journey it it has been.  I leave for Elgin from Chicago taking just enough time after I arrive home work to change into my suit.  Upon arriving I am immediately struck by the beauty of the venue.

The Marcus theatre of Elgin shimmers like a mirage in the desert, so beautiful — well, actually it’s more like casino on the strip, but you get my point.  This place looks awesome.  At the end the day this is what it was all about, getting everyone together and feeling excited about watching a movie.

We set to the work with the preparations.  There are cameras to set up, photos to take, flags to unfurl, wristbands to be put on and, most importantly of all, tickets to sell.  Everyone to their part — Pete and Amy to the stage, Danellyn to the camera, Scottie to the cash box and me to the wristbands.  The result: a sold out show.

I feel the electricity in the air as I take my seat.  Then it’s like looking into the future; Gwydhar Gebien stands before a whole theatre full of fascinated people to introduce her latest film and then winning their applause.  The final touches are amazing and that makes “Dark Before Dawn”, in this humble writer’s opinion, the best Blue Damen film to date.

So the big night came and what a journey it was.  As you loyal readers remember, last week’s blog included one of the stars of the movie, Pete Garlock, having an interview with yours truly.  Here now to give her insight to the journey of this film is his counterpart, Amy Karen, who plays the lead female role in the movie.

GK: First of all, thank you for doing this.

AK: Oh, of course.

GK: So how did you first get involved with Blue Damen?  What started you on this path to this project?  Do you have any past experience with acting or in film?  What was your first impression of all this?

AK: I first heard about Blue Damen through Pete Garlock. We met at Acting Studio here in Chicago. We had taken a few classes together when Pete asked me if I wanted to be a part of a project he was working on. He briefly explained what it was about. As soon as he told me I needed to come up with a BIG secret, I was intrigued, my mind was racing with ideas!
I then pitched a couple of those ideas to Gwydhar & Danellyn when we met for the first time. They seemed to like one of the secrets in particular and we went from there. They explained that it was a low budget, mumblecore film. At the time I had no idea what “mumblecore” was. When I learned it meant we had no script, I can’t lie, I was a little nervous. The only other experience I had other than Acting Studio classes were the year I spent majoring in theater at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, (which consisted mostly of partying) a couple of music videos, and a non-speaking extra roll in the movie “Stranger than Fiction” with Will Ferrell and Maggie Gyllenhaal. Considering I’ve never REALLY worked with a script, I was also very excited, this meant I had more creative control over my character and I like that!

GK: Cool.  That actually brings me to my next question; do you think that having a script with this project would have added or detracted to your performance, the filming process or finished project?

AK: I enjoyed not having a script! It gave us as actors so much creative freedom. If we were filming a scene, we were in the moment. Every line was improvised so if something happened, it really evolved in that moment. There were a couple times when a scene went in a whole different direction than I had expected, simply because Pete (who plays Greg) reacted completely opposite of how I assumed he would react. That’s the scary part, but it pushes you to think & come up with something better. In not having a script, I felt like we were a BIGGER part of the project, than just actors. Gwydhar put so much trust in us creatively. We got to chose our character names, where they were from, what they were wearing and especially how the story evolved!

I don’t think this story would have turned out the same, had we had a script. Some of the best moments I think happened because they were not written, but were kind of in the moment accidents. Sure if we had a script we could have come up with some crazy off the wall ideas but that’s not what it was about. I think it was the improvising that made it naturally raw.

GK: Did you do any research for you role?  Did you invest anything personally or were you particularly motivated by anything?  Have you ever felt any sort of internal conflict that the character you portray does?

AK: When I first created “Charlotte”, I had no idea how much research I was going to have to do on a character I made up. Man, was I mistaken! I read books, watched Youtube videos, talked with people of similar background and upbringing. I was pretty exhausted by the end and was still a little unsure at times if I had enough to work with. I don’t think I will ever stop researching this character! A lot of my inspiration came from past personal experiences I’ve dealt with, some issues I’ve help other friends with and some ideas really just came from out of my a**… I don’t wanna give away too much though so you’ll have to watch it if you want to find out more!

GK: A film in production typically has a number of setbacks.  What were some you can think of that happened during the shooting of this film?  Did anything in particular bother you or take its toll on you?

AK: There are always setbacks. That’s life I suppose. Nothing too bad aside from the on again off again rain, the random midnight stragglers that roam the streets of Elgin BUT hey, that’s how we met A.J. our creepy dumpster bum that spooks “Charlotte” in the alley. He was just one of those “in the moment accidents” that needed to happen!

I don’t think anything happened on set that really bothered me. The only thing that really took a toll on me was my period. UGH. I was a little bitchy the last week of filming… Sorry guys!!

GK: Oh.  That’s cool, I guess.  Any way, what do you think you take away from this whole experience?  What particular aspect of your performance makes you the most proud?  Is there anything you feel you could have improved?

AK: I take EVERYTHING from this! I’ve learned so much more than I could have ever imagined. I also met some of the best people out there. Everyone I worked with is so talented and brought something interesting to the table. I too was able to come up with ideas I never knew I had AND I got to see them come to life, I couldn’t have asked for a better or more rewarding experience!

GK: Awesome.  Well thank you again, Amy.

AK: Absolutely!

And so Blue Damen reaches a new plateau of excellence.  It’s California-bound for some of use, for others it’s still Chi-town.  What does the future hold for Blue Damen?  Tune in later to find out the exciting continuation.

Until then, see you in the movies!