Friends Don't Let Friends Date Friends (feature film)

Our location for the day

In late May, I had one of my most enjoyable days on a set when I went to Medina, NY to appear in the rom-com "Friends Don't Let Friends Date Friends".

It was also the first time I had worked with a woman director - hello? is this really the 21st century - and, I'm proud to say, Rhonda Parker is one of the most efficient directors I have yet worked with.

The porch, where we shot some key scenes

Perhaps it's because she has herself worked on-camera that Rhonda is very precise at explaining what she wants?

Most of my scenes were shot in or outside a lovely Victorian house.

Rhonda shooting footage of Della, played by Amelia Favata

My character, Shirley Regal, is a single Mom who is raising her daughter Della, and spending her free time going to bars to pick up guys, fueled by alcohol. A lot of alcohol actually...

Rhonda and I at the end of the shoot

The role of Shirley is quite unlike any I have played so far. As well as submitting my head-shot and reel for Rhonda to view, I took a couple of selfies in proposed costumes. These led Rhonda to cast me in the part.

Shirley on a good day...

...and on a not-so-good night!

The film is scheduled to be finished by September - stay tuned for more information on where you might be able to see it!

The hosts media-savvy son...

...and his equally techno-savvy older brother!

To see a current trailer for the film, go to:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/friends-don-t-let-friends-date-friends
Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer

Acting and real estate

You may be wondering what acting and real estate have in common.... although some actors and actresses do end  up owning some nice real estate!

Rochester, NY: Studio location

What I'm referring to, instead, is the great way acting allows me to scope out real estate in different parts of town, not to mention different parts of the world.

Outdoor sculpture/The art museum is close by

Sometimes I get to go to new areas when I'm auditioning, other times, the opportunity arises when I'm on location for a shoot.

Interior detail

Early March 2014 found me in Rochester, NY, for an audition for a sitcom. The actual location was in a part of town called NOTA - Neighborhood of the Arts.






Later that same month, I was in Vaughan, ON for a shoot - this landed me in a private home, in one of the newer subdivisions built to the north of Toronto. I didn't have a chance to take any photos but, a couple of weeks later, in early April, they called me back to shoot some more footage.

Yonge St., looking north

Yonge St.,looking south

This took me to North York, ON - on a stretch of Yonge Street near where my family used to live. As anyone who once lived in the Willowdale neighborhood knows, the stretch of Yonge Street between the 401 and Steeles Ave looks
nothing like it did all those years ago.

Entrance to Pinewood

Pinewood Studios

In April, I landed a small part in the Guillermo del Toro feature film being shot in Toronto - working title "Crimson Peak" - so it was off to Pinewood Studios for a fitting; the film is set in the early 1900s. It always surprises me that there are any wild, lonesome parts of Toronto left but Pinewood Studios is in a spot as-yet un-captured by the condo developers.

Wild, lonesome places

 And late May found me working on a feature film in Medina, NY... but I'll write about that in a separate post!

Copyright Deborah C. Sawyer