Sons & Daughters of Thunder moves ahead with Kimberly Kurtenbach Furness signed on as the casting director for the new docudrama. Auditions for key roles in the movie are planned for Friday, July 26, 2013 5pm-7pm in the Quad Cities area.
"We are thrilled to have Kim, who is an incredibly gifted and talented artist, involved in this exciting film project," said producer Tammy Rundle. "We are looking forward to the next phase of Thunder, and her expert recommendations on who to cast in the main roles of the movie."
Sons & Daughters of Thunder was written by esteemed playwright Earlene Hawley of Waverly, Iowa, with the assistance of writer Curtis Heeter. The film is produced by Emmy® nominated filmmakers Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Fourth Wall Films. Kent and Earlene Hawley are Executive Producers on the project.
The dramatic story is set in 1834 at a time when polite discussions about abolishing slavery were considered inappropriate among Americans in Northern states. An eighteen-day public student-sponsored debate on the divisive subject at Lane Seminary in Cincinnati, Ohio was organized by Theodore Weld, one of the architects of the abolitionist movement. The shocking oratory sparked intense controversy and awakened a young Harriet Beecher Stowe to the horrors of slavery.
The school trustees ultimately slapped a gag order on the pro-abolitionists--thereafter dubbed the "Lane Rebels"--which induced most of the students to leave the school in collective protest. Years later, Harriet's novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was written.
Casting director Kimberly Kurtenbach Furness, Sons & Daughters of Thunder playwright Earlene Hawley and actress Jessica Sheridan during the screenplay reading in August 2011.
Furness became interested in the project early on when she organized and hosted a reading of the screenplay in August 2011 at her Curtainbox Theatre Co. rehearsal studio in Davenport, Iowa.
An acclaimed actress and director on stage, in television and film for over 20 years, Kim's work extends from the Quad Cities to Chicago and Los Angeles. She is an alma mater of The Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music in Ohio and St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa where she received her BA in Theatre and Mass communications. She has performed in over 60 stage plays, 8 films, and numerous commercials. She currently divides her time between Los Angeles and the Quad Cities, acting, screenwriting, casting and directing.
Production on Sons & Daughters of Thunder will take place beginning in late September/early October 2013 through March 2014. Those interested in audition information/details may contact Kim Furness at Kim@thecurtainbox.com.
Roles to be cast include:
Theodore Weld, medium build, 30, gloomy face, charismatic, determined and driven.
Harriet Beecher, slender build, 20s, uncomfortable at being a woman, sharp, quick.
Harriet Beecher Stowe, early 80s.
Reverend Lyman Beecher, 60, devout in faith, zestful, small in stature, roguishly joyful.
Catharine Beecher, dark hair, plain, 30s, confident, persevering, strong personality, religious.
Judge Wright, middle-aged, chairman of the Board of Trustees at Lane Seminary, suave, confident.
Lane Students:
William T. Allan, 20s, from Alabama and has southern drawl, Lane student.
James Bradley, former slave captured in Africa, 30s, articulate, confident, determined.
James Thome, 20s, from Kentucky, Southern charm, dry wit, plantation life clinging to him.
Henry Thompson, early 30s, air of easy-going prosperity, Southern slaveholder.
Augustus Wattles, 20s, quiet, gentle, devout, Lane student, mediates the debates.
Lane Faculty:
Professor John Morgan, 40s, large, Irish professor, rolling gate and expansive gestures.
Professor Calvin Stowe, early 30s, recently widowed, Lane professor of biblical literature.
Professor Henry Biggs, late 40s, Lane professor, thin, aloof, scholarly.
Asa Mahan, Seminary Board member, middle-aged minister, stern, fair, sense of humor.
Additional Roles:
Angelina Grimke, early 50s, political activist, abolitionist
Lane Seminary Executive Committee Member
Lane Seminary Executive Committee Member
Student Singer, 30s, male
Student Whipple, 30s, male
Student Ruggles, 30s, male
Student Robinson, 30s, male
Student Streeter, 30s, male
Townsperson #1 (debate attendee)
Townsperson #2 (debate attendee)
Townsperson #3 (debate attendee)
Fourth Wall Films, owned by Kelly and Tammy Rundle, is a film and video production company specializing in historical documentaries for public television broadcast and DVD home video. The Rundle's received a regional Emmy® nomination for their documentary Country School: One Room - One Nation, and have received numerous awards for their documentary film series Lost Nation: The Ioway 1,2&3, and Villisca: Living with a Mystery. In addition to Sons & Daughters of Thunder, they are currently in production on the documentaries Hero Street and River to River: Iowa's Forgotten Highway 6.
The Rundles' much anticipated documentary Movie Star: The Secret Lives of Jean Seberg (co-produced with Emmy-nominated writer Garry McGee), will have its World Premiere at the Orpheum Theatre Center in Seberg's hometown of Marshalltown, Iowa where her first film, Saint Joan, premiered in 1957.
If you are interested in supporting Sons & Daughters of Thunder, tax-deductible contributions for production and post-production can be made via the project's fiscal sponsor, The Shell Rock Historical Society. Make out your check payable to "Shell Rock Historical Society-Thunder Film" and mail it to: Fourth Wall Films, P.O. Box 702, Moline, IL 61265.
The Shell Rock Historical Society will forward a receipt for your contribution by mail, and your name(s) will be gratefully acknowledged in the film's credits and on the film's website. For more information, please feel free to email fourthwallfilms@aol.com.
