It's Becoming Mostly Ghostly at Historic Smithfield Plantation

Hi, everyone! I wanted to pop in and let everyone know what has been happening for the past couple of months! Wayward is in post-production and moving forward, however, I have had another connected project that has been keeping me busy since September!

As you know, Wayward was shot in part at Historic Smithfield Plantation in Blacksburg, VA. And, the wonderful Executive Director and Program Coordinator asked me to be involved in their Hallowe'en event at Smithfield by way of writing and directing 2 programs to be held on the grounds on one night of their two-day event! The programs are a re-telling of "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and a Ghost Walk in the Preston Family Cemetery!

I am not a playwright, or theatre director, but I love history and Smithfield Plantation! So, I set out to research all about the Preston family and the inhabitants of the Cemetery up on the hill. There was a lot of digging that had to be done (no pun intended!) to find enough information to form relationships with these ghosts so I could help them come alive for one night!

After weeks and weeks of research, writing, costuming and casting, tomorrow is the day that some of the original Preston Family Members will walk the plantation grounds again and get to tell their stories! From 13 year old Nancy, to the patriarch, William Preston and his wife Susanna and another son and grandson, there are many fun stories to be told! Creepy fun will be had by all who dare to enter the Cemetery!

And, The Sleepy Hollow Storytellers (ie Washington Irving himself and his real life friend, James Kirke Paulding) will breathe new life to this fun story, making the audience laugh and shiver a bit in fright! All of the actors who are lending their talents for the night are amazing and will delight everyone who visits!

So, if you love history (I know you do!) and want to enjoy a little creepy, historic fun this weekend, come to Historic Smithfield Plantation for their Smithfield Hallowe'en! My events will be Saturday night only. Tickets are available online and at the door!

Photo Courtesy of Historic Smithfield Plantation

Another Look Back BTS (Behind the Scenes) of Wayward

It's been a week since we wrapped Wayward (well, it will be at 2 AM tomorrow morning!) and this past week I've stepped away to relax, take some headshots and de-stress. This weekend I've been cleaning and organizing costumes and props and taking a look back at our amazing week of filming.

I can't express how wonderful all of

our crew was! Most of the crew ended up wearing multiple hats on set.

Justin Patton, a very talented photographer and filmmaker acted as our 1st AC/2nd AD (Assistant Camera/Assistant Director) on Wayward. He was always buzzing around and it was rare to catch of photo of him. If he wasn't spotting Kayla while she was doing a tracking shot, watching the schedule and making sure we hit our marks, he had his own camera in his hands, taking behind the scenes photos. Here are some of those photos, beginning with one of the only ones that were captured of Justin, himself!

And, that's a Wrap on Wayward!

After 9 months of Pre-Production, Wayward filmed Tuesday, August 13- Sunday, August 18 in Blacksburg, Roanoke and Forest, VA! The cast and crew put in nearly 50 hours of set time and 15 hours of driving time over the course of the 6 day shoot! Together we used 6 cans of Deep Woods Off, over 20 gallons of Gatorade, 15 gallons of water, 300 makeup wipes, 100 bobby pins, collected 100s of chigger bites and few ticks! But, in that time and despite the heat, nature's obstacles and challenges of late night shooting in the woods and in water, this amazing crew of 18 and cast of 19 managed to create beautiful history and had so much fun doing it!

We are so amazed and astounded to have a fabulous creative team with Seasoned Film Industry Professionals, a Costumer, Hair and Makeup Artist, Special Effects Artist, as well as amazingly talented Up and Coming Film Pros whose passion and drive were evident on set every day! Our cast of talent is also comprised of seasoned pros and young, up and coming actors, all of which approached this job as professionals, coming to set each day fully prepared and ready for their scenes. And, our amazing Background actors came to set ready to tell the story of a 1781 party, and did so convincingly!

What started out as a simple story of a family divided, conceived to be told mostly through dialogue and sound with a tiny cast and crew, grew to be something I could not have predicted only a few months ago. To say I'm astounded and amazed is an understatement! This story seemed to have wings of its own and it flew! Please enjoy some behind the scenes pictures of the filming! I'll keep you posted as it goes into post-production and as information comes available for our premiere! Thank you so much for all of the support! I can not WAIT to share this beautiful product with you!

Most of the photos on this post are courtesy of Deborah Ware Photography! https://www.facebook.com/deborahwarephotography/