SCE's Backstory -Page 4

But the lead actors continued to elude them. While they searched for their principal actor and actress, they completed the short productions, “Just Another Day in the Park” and “The Oasis,” both of which have been licensed to be filmed in 2006 and will eventually be compiled onto a disc of shorts for release from CinemaAudio Productions. Everyone who listened to the shorts gave a positive endorsement, and the pair was reinforced on the fact that what they were doing had a market and an audience. On a lark, Becca contacted an actor from the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble, or BTE, a local professional theatre company. The student of English had admired Tom Byrn since his turn as Orsino in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and his role as an exuberant dog in the company's original production, Letters to the Editor . Tom agreed to read the scripts. Days later, he called Jeff and volunteered to read for not just one, but both male leads. “Wow,” said the actor, “congratulations on two great stories.” He got both of the parts.

Now the only thing holding the duo back from beginning the process of studio recording the lead roles was finding a woman to fill the multifaceted and bilingual role of Maggie Bazarnik, the feisty waitress at the center of “Sun Moon Stars Rain.” “I considered it almost impossible to find someone of that caliber, under those terms, at a local level,” says Jeff. Just a couple days after Tom agreed to take both male roles, and perhaps just hours after Jeff and Becca had conferred on the phone trying to get ideas about where they could find someone to take on such a demanding part, Victoria Hall, a Mrs. Pennsylvania pageant contestant and parent of one of the Studio's students, stepped into Jeff's guitar teaching room. “Have you filled all of these roles yet?” she asked, pointing to the casting call. Victoria had previous theatre and comedy experience, spoke Spanish, and could modify her voice, allowing her to fill more than one role in both productions. But the best thing about Victoria was that she had the liveliness and vivacity of Maggie already. And she was thrilled to be a part of the production. Jeff called Becca. “You won't believe what happened. Maggie literally walked into my room today,” he told her.