Independent feature film sets dates for open casting call
Skoche Films recently announced details on its “open” Ohio casting call for the upcoming feature film, Old Fashioned, which will be shooting in Tuscarawas County and surrounding areas this fall. In addition to casting sessions for professional actors being held around the country, the production wanted to offer local residents (with or without acting experience) a shot at stardom and has scheduled two special casting sessions on June 26 and 27 at the Performing Arts Center at Kent State Tuscarawas.
“There is a lot of great natural acting talent that never gets the chance to shine,” said Ohio native Rik Swartzwelder, the film’s writer-director. “This is that chance. We’re thrilled to give Ohio residents the opportunity to audition. There is an authenticity to the people here that just cannot be faked. I’m very optimistic about what we may discover and fully expect to cast some roles as a result,” added Swartzwelder, who now lives in Los Angeles but was actually raised in New Philadelphia and is a graduate of Tuscarawas Valley High School.
All ages and types are encouraged to apply and should have a current photo to bring to the audition. Previous acting experience is a plus, but not required. No appointment is necessary. On Sunday, June 26, auditions will be held from noon to 6 p.m. On Monday, June 27, auditions will be held from 3-9 p.m. Both sessions will be at the Performing Arts Center at Kent State Tuscarawas, located at 330 University Dr. NE in New Philadelphia.
“We are pleased Rik Swartzwelder is considering our beautiful campus as a possible location for his movie, Old Fashioned,” said Dr. Gregg Andrews, dean and chief administrative officer of Kent State University at Tuscarawas. “Our new Performing Arts Center is a perfect venue for the casting call. The theatre stage will provide an excellent setting for auditions, plus the center has ample space for interviews and reception areas. The film company is also considering using the different areas of the campus for filming.”
The Performing Arts Center at Kent State Tuscarawas is a spectacular, 50,000-square-foot facility that opened in November 2010. The center features a beautiful, 1,100-seat theatre designed to accommodate traveling Broadway shows, national touring plays, concerts and dance performances. Additional features include a box office, coat check, two versatile lobbies, a rehearsal room and classrooms. The 2011-12 schedule is currently being planned, with a goal of 30-34 diverse events that will begin in September.
For interested locals that would like to be involved behind the camera or help with the production of Old Fashioned in other ways, official calls for crew, volunteers, and community partners are forthcoming. For more information, contact oldfashionedmovie@gmail.com or call 330-602-2420, ext. 220. Filming of Old Fashioned is expected to begin in late September and will wrap in early November. Limited preproduction activities, including location scouting and casting, are already under way.
A romantic-comedy, Old Fashioned centers on Clay Walsh, a former frat boy in his mid-30s, who gives up his reckless carousing and now runs an antique shop in a small Midwestern college town. There, he has become notorious for his lofty and outdated theories on love and romance. When Amber Hewson, a free-spirited young woman with a gypsy soul, drifts into the area and rents the apartment above his shop, she finds herself surprisingly drawn to his noble ideas, which are new and intriguing to her. And Clay, though he tries to fight and deny it, simply cannot resist being attracted to her spontaneous and passionate embrace of life. Ultimately, Clay must step out from behind his relational theories and Amber must overcome her own fears and deep wounds as the two of them, together, attempt the impossible: an old-fashioned courtship in contemporary America.
Skoche Films of Burbank, Calif., the company producing Old Fashioned, has multiple active feature projects in various stages of development. Old Fashioned marks the first of the company’s slate to move into production and is the feature-film directorial debut of Swartzwelder, who is a veteran director of numerous acclaimed short films.
Swartzwelder is a writer-director-producer whose films have screened at more than 145 film festivals worldwide and garnered over 50 major awards, including a Crystal Heart Award (Heartland Film Festival) and a Best Ohio Short Film Award (Cleveland International Film Festival) for his 35mm short The Least of These and the Student Emmy for his highly acclaimed graduate thesis film, Paul McCall. Other honors include two CINE Golden Eagles plus one CINE Special Jury Award, four ITVA-DC Peer Awards, and the Sprint PCS Filmmaker of the Future Award.
His projects have found nationwide and international distribution via First Look Entertainment, Big Film Shorts, Comcast OnDemand, Frontier Airlines, and more. He has received press in numerous publications, including The Washington Post, The Guardian Unlimited (UK), Scripps Howard, The Desert Sun, Christianity Today, The Indianapolis Star and The Revealer. Swartzwelder earned his M.F.A. in Motion Picture Production from The Florida State University and is invited regularly to teach and speak on film, including engagements at the Damah Film Festival, La Sierra University, and Calvin College.
In 2008, Swartzwelder was invited by the Heartland Film Festival (Indianapolis) to lead the very first workshop offered (The Craft of Film Directing) as part of their newly launched Heartland Truly Moving Pictures Institute.
In 2005, Swartzwelder joined legendary producer Ralph Winter (X-MEN series, Fantastic Four) and TV writing/producing veteran Luke Schelhaas (Law & Order, Smallville, Touched by an Angel) as part of an interactive panel for the 168 Hour Film Project in Los Angeles.
In 2003, Swartzwelder was invited to speak and show two of his short films as part of the Artist/Lecture series at Kent State Tuscarawas.
“There is a lot of great natural acting talent that never gets the chance to shine,” said Ohio native Rik Swartzwelder, the film’s writer-director. “This is that chance. We’re thrilled to give Ohio residents the opportunity to audition. There is an authenticity to the people here that just cannot be faked. I’m very optimistic about what we may discover and fully expect to cast some roles as a result,” added Swartzwelder, who now lives in Los Angeles but was actually raised in New Philadelphia and is a graduate of Tuscarawas Valley High School.
All ages and types are encouraged to apply and should have a current photo to bring to the audition. Previous acting experience is a plus, but not required. No appointment is necessary. On Sunday, June 26, auditions will be held from noon to 6 p.m. On Monday, June 27, auditions will be held from 3-9 p.m. Both sessions will be at the Performing Arts Center at Kent State Tuscarawas, located at 330 University Dr. NE in New Philadelphia.
“We are pleased Rik Swartzwelder is considering our beautiful campus as a possible location for his movie, Old Fashioned,” said Dr. Gregg Andrews, dean and chief administrative officer of Kent State University at Tuscarawas. “Our new Performing Arts Center is a perfect venue for the casting call. The theatre stage will provide an excellent setting for auditions, plus the center has ample space for interviews and reception areas. The film company is also considering using the different areas of the campus for filming.”
The Performing Arts Center at Kent State Tuscarawas is a spectacular, 50,000-square-foot facility that opened in November 2010. The center features a beautiful, 1,100-seat theatre designed to accommodate traveling Broadway shows, national touring plays, concerts and dance performances. Additional features include a box office, coat check, two versatile lobbies, a rehearsal room and classrooms. The 2011-12 schedule is currently being planned, with a goal of 30-34 diverse events that will begin in September.
For interested locals that would like to be involved behind the camera or help with the production of Old Fashioned in other ways, official calls for crew, volunteers, and community partners are forthcoming. For more information, contact oldfashionedmovie@gmail.com or call 330-602-2420, ext. 220. Filming of Old Fashioned is expected to begin in late September and will wrap in early November. Limited preproduction activities, including location scouting and casting, are already under way.
A romantic-comedy, Old Fashioned centers on Clay Walsh, a former frat boy in his mid-30s, who gives up his reckless carousing and now runs an antique shop in a small Midwestern college town. There, he has become notorious for his lofty and outdated theories on love and romance. When Amber Hewson, a free-spirited young woman with a gypsy soul, drifts into the area and rents the apartment above his shop, she finds herself surprisingly drawn to his noble ideas, which are new and intriguing to her. And Clay, though he tries to fight and deny it, simply cannot resist being attracted to her spontaneous and passionate embrace of life. Ultimately, Clay must step out from behind his relational theories and Amber must overcome her own fears and deep wounds as the two of them, together, attempt the impossible: an old-fashioned courtship in contemporary America.
Skoche Films of Burbank, Calif., the company producing Old Fashioned, has multiple active feature projects in various stages of development. Old Fashioned marks the first of the company’s slate to move into production and is the feature-film directorial debut of Swartzwelder, who is a veteran director of numerous acclaimed short films.
Swartzwelder is a writer-director-producer whose films have screened at more than 145 film festivals worldwide and garnered over 50 major awards, including a Crystal Heart Award (Heartland Film Festival) and a Best Ohio Short Film Award (Cleveland International Film Festival) for his 35mm short The Least of These and the Student Emmy for his highly acclaimed graduate thesis film, Paul McCall. Other honors include two CINE Golden Eagles plus one CINE Special Jury Award, four ITVA-DC Peer Awards, and the Sprint PCS Filmmaker of the Future Award.
His projects have found nationwide and international distribution via First Look Entertainment, Big Film Shorts, Comcast OnDemand, Frontier Airlines, and more. He has received press in numerous publications, including The Washington Post, The Guardian Unlimited (UK), Scripps Howard, The Desert Sun, Christianity Today, The Indianapolis Star and The Revealer. Swartzwelder earned his M.F.A. in Motion Picture Production from The Florida State University and is invited regularly to teach and speak on film, including engagements at the Damah Film Festival, La Sierra University, and Calvin College.
In 2008, Swartzwelder was invited by the Heartland Film Festival (Indianapolis) to lead the very first workshop offered (The Craft of Film Directing) as part of their newly launched Heartland Truly Moving Pictures Institute.
In 2005, Swartzwelder joined legendary producer Ralph Winter (X-MEN series, Fantastic Four) and TV writing/producing veteran Luke Schelhaas (Law & Order, Smallville, Touched by an Angel) as part of an interactive panel for the 168 Hour Film Project in Los Angeles.
In 2003, Swartzwelder was invited to speak and show two of his short films as part of the Artist/Lecture series at Kent State Tuscarawas.
Published: June 14, 2011
