'Thundrous' New Docudrama to Star Q-C Cast
By Jonathan Turner, Dispatch-Argus
Harriet Beecher (Jess Denney) and Theodore Weld (Thomas Alan Taylor) in a scene shot at the Dillon Home Museum in Sterling, Illinois for Sons & Daughters of Thunder.
A little-known turning point in slavery in America is the subject of a new docudrama being filmed in the area, featuring an impressive cast of Q-C actors.
"Sons & Daughters of Thunder" takes place in 1834 in Cincinnati, Ohio, and depicts the first public discussions of the abolition of slavery in the United States. The shocking oratory at Lane Seminary sparked intense controversy and awakened a young Harriet Beecher Stowe to the horrors of slavery.
Sons & Daughters of Thunder Director of Photography Kevin Railsback and Director Kelly Rundle.
The feature film -- based on a 1970s play by Earlene Hawley (who now lives in Waverly, Iowa) and Curtis Heeter -- is written by the husband-and-wife team of Kelly and Tammy Rundle of Moline-based Fourth Wall Films, who have made award-winning documentaries. This is their first narrative movie, with Kelly directing and Tammy producing.
Co-producer Kent Hawley and Thunder playwright Earlene Hawley.
" 'Sons of thunder' is a Biblical phrase, and because of the role of Harriet in the story, the narrative version emphasizes that," Mr. Rundle said. "Harriet does write the book, literally, that changes history."
Harriet Beecher Stowe (portrayed by actress Jess Denney) wrote the history changing novel Uncle Tom's Cabin.
In 1852, Stowe's anti-slavery novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was published as a two-volume book and was a best seller all over the world, translated into over 60 languages. The novel was described by President Lincoln as the book that started the Civil War.
"The playwright makes the argument that Harriet was so moved and influenced by what went on at Lane Seminary and by the writings of Weld later on it prompted her to write 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,' and it literally changed the course of the nation," Mr. Rundle said.
Behind the scenes--setting up for a shot with Weld, Calvin Stowe (Daniel Rairdin-Hale) and Harriet Beecher.
Weld -- who virtually is forgotten today -- was best known for his work "American Slavery As It Is: Testimony of a Thousand Witnesses." He founded Lane Seminary in 1833, attended in his 30s and became leader of the "Lane Rebels," a group of students determined to engage in free discussion of the abolition of slavery.
A series of debates was held over 18 days in 1834, and when the school's board prohibited students from discussing slavery, over half (more than 60) of the students left Lane for Oberlin College, near Cleveland, which then admitted African-Americans and allowed free discussion of the issue.
Click here Dispatch-Argus to read the rest of Jonathan Turner's story on Sons & Daughters of Thunder.
To be a part of the new docudrama and make a contribution, visit: http://docublogger.typepad.com/thunder/how-to-contribute.html.
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