The 5th anniversary of a dream that came true!
I believe it was February 2018, around 5 months after my mother had passed when my good friend Kent Arceneaux suggested that we do a short film. This was a brilliant idea to create a comedy that helped me escape from the grief of losing a parent. I had an office in the historic Jenkins Building located in Downtown, Alexandria. This office is where I wrote and created ‘Brunch Before Baptism’.
After writing a brief synopsis, I knew instantly who I wanted to cast. I found photos of each actor (and soon-to-be actors) and pinned their pictures on a bulletin board in front of my desk - even before I asked these talented individuals to take part in the short film. I’d look at the photos of my friends and start writing away. I’ve often wondered if there was anyone in the hallway of my office who could hear me act out each character as I wrote - If they were, I’m sure they thought I was suffering from schizophrenia which I don’t mind. I love being creatively crazy.
Adam Salandra and Nicholas Bordelon were the only two cast members who were professional actors. I met Adam in Los Angeles when I was in Byron Lane’s web series, ‘Last
Will And Testicle’. I knew right away that if I ever wrote a comedy, I’d cast Adam because of his God-gifted talent and comedic timing. The actor who was supposed to play the main character in the film had other commitments therefore Kent suggested Nicholas Bordelon to play the lead character, Waylon St. Romain. This is a case where the second choice turned out to be the best choice. Nicholas was brilliant! I can’t think of anyone else who could have done a better job being Waylon. Both Nicholas (a.k.a. Waylon St. Romain) and Adam (a.k.a. Sky St. Romain) received numerous awards and nominations for their outstanding acting in ‘Brunch Before Baptism’!
I was at a fundraiser when I spotted Tom Spencer from across the swimming pool. Tom is a charming man with a quick wit, who could literally sell you some oceanfront property in Arizona. Right away I thought to myself he would be perfect for Johnny Edwards, the antagonist in my story. I walked over to Tom and asked, “Would you be interested in playing a part in my upcoming short film?” “Sure… What part would I play?” asked Tom. I answered, “I need an arrogant sleazeball with a used car salesman’s mentality who wouldn’t mind showing his bare ass on film.” “I’m your man!” replied Tom.
Finding a young actor to play Liam St. Romain was easy. I was on location in Natchitoches, Louisiana for Kent Arceneaux’s film, ‘Mommy’ when I met Liam Conn. We were filming the horror short film at Liam’s house, and he was very much part of the production. His interests in acting and cinematography impressed me as well as Kent. I immediately thought of this incredible young man when casting the role of Sky St. Romain’s laid-back son.
Searching for the actresses to be in ‘Brunch before Baptism’ was not a difficult task because they are all friends of mine. I knew I needed a funny person to play Billy Joe Edwards, the over-the-top controlling mother/cosmetic salesperson, and Susan Freundlich was the obvious pick. Susan is naturally funny and not afraid to try anything. She was the breakout star in this comedy.
Cathy Rodriguez shined in playing the role of Cheyenne, the ex-wife of Johnny Edwards. In fact, because of her comedic performance, Cathy was the first one of our female cast members to take home the award for Best Female Actress in a Supporting Role at the Atlanta Comedy Awards.
Lee Dufour who had no acting experience, nailed the part of May Lee St. Romain who is the pot-smoking mother of Sky and the grandmother of Liam. Lee’s role was extra humorous because she was Korean and spoke with a Southern accent.
Farrah Reyna Kaplan took on the role of the bitchy newscaster, Katheryn Edwards. Farrah was a former news anchor and she and Tom Spencer had great chemistry together playing husband and wife.
Best Short Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Comedy, Best Writing, and Best Ensemble are just a short list of categories the amazing cast and crew of ‘Brunch Before Baptism’ have won from a variety of worldwide film festivals! It’s amazing that what started out as a suggestion to distract me in my time of grief turned out to be a dream come true.
I wish to thank these extremely talented individuals who played a major role in the huge success of ‘Brunch Before Baptism’: Andre’ Arceneaux, Dawn Arceneaux, Kent Arceneaux, Nicholas Bordelon, Manch Codwallader, Liam Conn, Adrienne Dole, Steve and Abbie Dubois, Lee Dufour, Susan Freundlich, Dan Forest, James Hopewell, Brandon Masters, Carstens McConville, Rowan McConville, Farrah Reyna, Sean Rhodes, Cathy Rodriguez, Adam Salandra, Tom Spencer, Dave Strong, Dawson Warner, and Cynthia Williams.
To view the trailer for ‘Brunch Before Baptism’ or purchase the film in full, visit bestofluckcomedies.com/films.
