Our casting has been underway for End The Cycle, we changed the name from "The Cycle" to "End The Cycle". There are various reasons for the name change and we will be sure to address that in detail in a later blog post and link to it here.
The casting process has been a truly incredible part of our journey in making this film. When Tiffani Barbour and I originally wrote the film, we had done so with the two lead roles of Andrea and Denise as vehicles for ourselves as actresses.
We had both relocated to Portland to be a part of the amazing arts renaissance taking place here and were wanting to contribute our artistry as well as showcase an animation project created by my husband and myself that has been in development for two years "Ziggy Francis and her Amazing Adventures™".
After acting for over two decades in the New York and Los Angeles circuits on Stage and Screen, and with the lack of diversity for actors of color in the entertainment industry, we also wanted to guarantee ourselves roles in our careers where we could truly showcase our acting talents.
But then something incredible happened.
As we slowly started to share the script within our inner circle, and when we began the audition process a few weeks back, we realized that this little short film, began to take on a life of it's own, much bigger than we perhaps anticipated.
After our first night of casting sessions in Portland, Oregon with director Scott Ballard, we parted ways with Scott and headed to dinner at one of our favorite eateries East Burn to talk about the auditions and how they went. As we waited outside for my husband to arrive we were chatting about all of the talent that auditioned for our film that night. We were honestly floored by what actors brought to the table and how our script was slowly beginning to come to life.
We immediately looked at one another and almost simultaneously said, "We have to take ourselves out, we have to open up these roles, this project is much bigger than US and our message has to be heard and the only way we can truly do justice to our story as writers and producers, is by assembling a strong cast of actors that can be a true ensemble."
And that was it... the decision was made...
The moment we decided to open up the roles we wrote for ourselves, on our second day of casting, even more magic began to happen. One actor after the next started to appear and actually made the process even more exciting for us and even a bit challenging too.
Our co-producer Molly Preston was with us in the room that day, and we all agreed that Portland was offering us an abundance of talent to fill these roles. Sparks were literally flying in the audition room and we knew we had made the right decision.
We are so excited to be able to announce our cast in the near future, however with that said we are still searching for one role... the lead role of Andrea.
Please help us find Andrea. We know there are so many actress of color that are out there ready for an opportunity, because we have been that actress waiting for one. You can help us spread the word.
Andrea: African-American female, late 30’s. Correctional Officer, Takes shit from no one yet under the surface has a heart. Tired of her day-to-day life within the prison system.
If you know of a strong actress that fits this role please have her or her agent submit to us at info@thecycleshortfilm.com
Filming begins November 6th in Portland, Oregon. To be a part of our movement from the ground floor up consider contributing before we begin our official crowd-fundraising campaign by donating HERE or sharing this link http:///www.endthecycleshortfilm.com/donate