Announcing Our Cast & Crew

We are so happy to be working with such a great cast and crew! Look for these Family Folklore Players at their first performance on Sunday, December 7, 2014 from 3-5PM at the Marshal J. Garden Center in the Miller Beach Arts & Creative District in Gary, Indiana.

                                    Introducing the Cast for “Butterbird Christmas”:

                                               The Cast of the Family Folklore Players

Narrator                                                 Shavon King

Mom                                                      Beckey Swerdon                             

Dad                                                        Clarence Knight

Katie                                                      Lilly Haddox

Maggie                                                  Jianna Harrison

Sam                                                       Ethan Elliott

Nina                                                      Sydney King                      

Miss Sespal                                          Mandi Renslow                  

Susie Zipperfield                                  Lilly Haddox

Mrs. Zipperfield                                   Janine Harrison

Announcer/ Gramps                             Ron Nichols

Gammie                                               Connie Nichols                 

Grandma                                              Darlene Martinez

Grandpa                                               Ron Nichols

Dougie                                                 Gabe Messer

Puppy                                                   Promise Joy Renslow-Wiler

Sound Effects                                       Dawn Haddox

                                                              Seth Odenthal

These awesome folks performed their parts for us in August. We had to do it ADR style. ADR is short for Audio Dialogue Rerecording. Normally radio plays are performed with a group of actors meeting up together. Each actor gets his/her own microphone and it is done in a fancy studio. However, our budget didn’t all that for us. So, instead we recorded everyone individually. This means that our sound editor, Jessica Renslow, will go into each file and manually piece it together like a giant jigsaw puzzle! (We’ll explain the ins and outs of post-production in a later update.)

 

Path to Funding Our First Fictional Project

With the radio play script in hand it was time for us to see about funding the project.  Our board also decided that the process of bringing a diverse community together to create a by-gone era in a repurposed art form might make for an interesting documentary. To accomplish both projects we realized we needed up-to-date cameras, mics, lights and other media equipment.

 

In our first two projects we had made due with floor model cameras and ambient light/sound.  We began by seeking corporate sponsorship with Butterball LLC since Christmas turkeys play a big role in the radio play. While we are still pursuing various corporate sponsorship, we really began to focus next on grants.

One of our previous projects “Food and Fellowship,” was filmed set in Miller, Indiana. We worked extensively with the Marquette Park First United Methodist Church congregation and neighboring community members, so, we decided to write a proposal to the Miller Community Fund for $2000.  

 

Site of Interviews and Voice Recording       

Marquette Park United Methodist Church

                                                     Miller, IN (handicap assessable)               

Happily, the MCF granted Family Folklore Foundation the monies in January of this year.  Working tirelessly to reach the grant application deadline, Family Folklore also put in for a nonprofit grant with Indiana Arts Commission, South Shore Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts. 

 

This year the IAC, SSA, and NEA awarded us with $4,800 for additional equipment for the newest media project.  We are ecstatic and can’t wait to share it with the public!