Just finished a folktale micro short

I'm so grateful for many things during this challenging time, including the ability to keep making stop motion films in my basement. As this crisis emerged, I felt compelled to take a pause from PV Vandegrift's fantastic script (making good progress) and create something for this moment. Since we are practicing extreme social distancing (helping my husband recover from surgery), I made this 3 minute short with what I had in the house. This folktale has been helpful to me during this time.  

Responding to the current pandemic, this is my adaptation of a folk tale.

Here is the link to this 3 minute stop motion.

"Dead" is a Finalist!

We will hear next week.  Yeah!

Love learning with our patient cast

More stills from "Clown"

Slow going but fun!!

First days of Filming "The Clown"

In addition to fun public speaking gigs, life has been especially busy.  After delays from hospital visits, big birthday party, mom's downsizing, and tax prep (!), Laura is finally grabbing her camera and heading to the basement for this new adventure.

Honored to have the voice of Donna Steele in upcoming, "Clown."

Donna founded Steel Beam Theatre in St. Charles, IL in 2001, and recently retired that position having spent the last nearly 15 years acting and directing there. She has worked on various Chicago stages, commercials, films and voiceovers. Donna was nominated for BMA Best Actress in 2015 for her role in Reversal, which played a the Midwest Independent Film Festival. She graduated from Northwestern University with a Best Actress Award and went on to study privately with the illustrious Alvina Krause.

Her MFA in Acting is from Southern Methodist University where she garnered Ft. Worth Womens’ Club Scholarship Award. A proficient pianist, Donna has taught both piano and acting throughout her career.

In 2014 she originated the role of Kate in Geezers by Chicago playwright Tommy Lee Johnston at Redtwist Theatre in Chicago.

Thrilled to be collaborating with the fabulously talented Persephone Vandegrift!

Seph wrote our upcoming, "The Clown."  We are super excited to be producing this dark comedy.


Persephone Vandegrift is a multi award-winning screenwriter and playwright. After starting out very young on the stage, Persephone pursued a degree in Theatre, and History at Suny-Albany. Shortly after graduating, she decided to take the literary path and wrote and produced her first play, "Revenge and Sorrow in Thebes", a full-length adaptation of "The Bacchae of Euripides" which was nominated as one of the Top 6 most memorable theatre productions in 2009 by The Seattle Weekly. Shortly after, she wrote, co-directed, and co-executive produced her award-winning short script "All Things Hidden". She followed up "All Things Hidden" with another award-winning short, "The Last Light", which she wrote and co-produced. Her fiction and poetry have been published in the US and internationally. Her stage-plays have been produced across the US. She is the screenwriter of multi award-winning screenplays "The Water King", "Death Of A Mortal Woman", "Esther's Den", and short script "In The Stars", and associate producer for upcoming fantasy/thriller "The Furies".