Lois Stephenson and Ellynne Brice Davis
Hollywood, MD – This story actually begins last December when students from Columbia University in New York City trekked to St. Mary’s County to film their Master’s Degree thesis project—the short film, In Passing. The invitation to audition for supporting roles made the email rounds, but, regretfully, I was not able to attend the audition. And then, surprise! I received a call from writer/director Bittnarie Shin who said I’d been recommended to her through the grapevine. She emailed the script to me, called me back, and I read for the role of Angela over the phone. She said “thank you very much” and I didn’t hear from her again for two more weeks when she called to give me dates and times for the actual filming which would take place at Tall Timbers Marina. She also asked if I knew of another actress who might be interested and who would be able to maneuver as a passenger on a boat during the filming. Well, I had the perfect person in mind! Fellow Leonardtown resident and thespian colleague Lois Stephenson and I (both Newtowne Players veterans) ultimately wound up with supporting roles in In Passing.
We filmed on two frigid, windy days in December. Some scenes took place on the beach or out on a boat with no dialogue for us. And then there was one memorable scene at dinnertime with the supporting players and the “stars.” How exciting! We performed the dialogue many times over, with Ms. Shin advising us to just “go with it” if anyone made an error as everything would be “fixed up” during editing.
Also participating were local actors Rick Thompson (of Newtowne Players, Port Tobacco Players, and New Direction Community Theatre), Stan Gilmer (SAG member from Ellicott City), and Shemika Berry (also of NTP and PTP) who served as the makeup designer.
We were told that the film would be shown during the 2017 30th Anniversary Columbia University Annual Film Festival at Lincoln Center in May. And that is how Lois and I came to find ourselves en route to the Big Apple by Amtrak on Saturday, May 13 to view our screen debut for the premiere of In Passing at the Walter Reade Theater in NYC.
In Passing is set in 2017. Seventy-one-year-old Chloe (Kathryn Kates) is still in love with Justin (Jon Shear). Justin has been on a calorie-restricted diet since they were in college together and has not aged one bit. They gather with their mutual friends (all senior-aged) for the water burial of Katharine’s husband. Justin is reminded of Chloe’s impending mortality. As Angela, I call attention to the wasted pleasures of his life since he does not feel free to indulge in steak and wine occasionally. Lois is the widow, Katherine, Stan Gilmer played my husband, and Mr. Thompson was another friend in attendance. Chloe still wants to pursue a relationship with Justin but Justin now has a new boyfriend (C. Bain) and the differences between the two drive them apart by the end of the 15-minute film.
Was our local ensemble pleased with the results? You could say that we were “ready for our close-ups”, and that yes, standing around in December’s freezing cold weather on the beach and in the boat at Tall Timbers was definitely worth it. We thought we looked good and sounded great during our 15-minutes of fame. And it just doesn’t get any better than that!
In Passing Writer/Director Bittnarie Shin is US-born. She was raised in South Korea, and educated in the United Kingdom. Currently, she is pursuing her MFA in Film Directing at Columbia University School of the Arts.
In Passing Producer Caron Williams is pursuing her MFA in Film at Columbia University School of the Arts. A New York native, she now lives in LA and is an executive trainee to the president of Columbia Pictures.
We greeted Bittnarie, Caron and Stan in the theater lobby before the show, and enjoyed a delightful photo-op session together there after the films ended. (In Passing was shown in a block with five other films – all very creative and all very, very different from each other.) Our friends Lisa Gregory and her daughter, Sarah, also travelled to New York that weekend and were in attendance to celebrate with us. We are looking forward to receiving copies of the professional photos as well as copies of the DVD for In Passing.
Lois and I had decided we would sight-see for the remainder of the Mother’s Day weekend in New York City and we did just that. We stayed at a reasonably-priced Marriott Fairfield Inn nearby to Lincoln Center. We treated ourselves to wonderful meals (at The Greek Kitchen, and at the Café at the Museum of Modern Art), and wine (at an Irish Pub for $12 per glass, and at our hotel for a mere $7 per glass). On Sunday we saw the sights at Times Square (the outside of the Rodgers Theater where Hamilton is playing), in Little Italy (cannoli at a pastry shop, Mass at the Basilica of Old St. Patrick’s, fresh veggies at Dean and DeLuca’s), and in Chinatown (where we stopped for lunch). Before we left NYC on Monday, we had time to spend a couple of hours at the Museum of Modern Art where we viewed Monet’s Waterlilies, Picasso’s The Three Musicians, Wyeth’s Christina, Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans, and Marilyn Monroe, and Van Gogh’s Starry, Starry Night. We enjoyed the Sculpture Garden and lunch at the Café before hailing a cab for Penn Station and the Amtrak back to New Carrollton. (We were astounded by the prices at the Café: $18 for Lois’ teeny salmon sandwich; $19 for my smoked chicken salad; $6 for Reed’s Ginger Beer. But we were celebrating the combination of our screen debut and Mother’s Day weekend so we splurged!).
The film won the Audience Choice Award at the Honors Ceremony at the Walter Reade Theater in Lincoln Center Monday night, May 15. In Passing now moves on to screenings on the West Coast and perhaps at the Maryland Film Festival and will hopefully win more accolades and awards for its creators. Stay tuned!
