Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Meet The Characters: Walter Cole

Get to know the people...get to know the story. And join us in September for auditions in Fergus Falls, MN!

WALTER ABRAHAM COLE – AGE 13


HISTORY
- Born August 19th, 1919 in Sioux County, Iowa
- Son of: Rev. Arden Rollin Cole & Elizabeth Jacqueline (Harrington) Cole

o Siblings:
 Alyssa Adella Cole born 1917

PERSONAL DESCRIPTION
- Occupation: NA
- Location: Rock Valley, Iowa (Sioux County)

- Personal interview: “I don’t know what all the fuss is about. Shawn isn’t so bad. My sister might be in love with him…but that’s disgusting and pa would take her back behind the woodshed if she did anything about it…Are you going to eat that?”

- Character profile: Son of the preacher and inclined to take advantage of it, Walter Cole is anything but holy. Daring, mischievous, cunning, and terribly brilliant, Walter has managed to harness all of his energetic qualities to the carriage of his demands. His mother showers him with affection, and as many gifts as the financial stipend from her husband allows. And yet he is rarely satisfied. Ultimately, though he would never admit it---denying this as often as his mother encourages him to do so---Walter longs to be satisfied with simple, quality time. The attentive time only his father can give. Discipline appears to be his father’s only form of communication, and so Walter speaks in a language worthy of it.

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Meet The Characters: Alyssa Cole

Get to know the people...get to know the story. And join us in September for auditions in Fergus Falls, MN!


ALYSSA ADELLA COLE – AGE 15


HISTORY
- Born June 1st, 1917 in Sioux County, Iowa
- Daughter of: Rev. Arden Rollin Cole & Elizabeth Jacqueline (Harrington) Cole

o Siblings:
 Walter Abraham Cole born 1919

PERSONAL DESCRIPTION
- Occupation: NA
- Location: Rock Valley, Iowa (Sioux County)

- Personal interview: “I don’t know what my parents are thinking, living out here in the middle of nowhere at a time like this. And I don’t know who Amanda Carter thinks she is, flaunting her papa’s wealth all over the neighborhood. And now her pa wants to adopt Shawn Carter? She’ll pay for it.”

- Character profile: Alyssa, born years after her parents had tried conceiving children, was a delightful surprise to both of them. She grew up pampered and petted like a little store-bought doll. Never was she far from her father’s discipline, however, and she was reprimanded often enough for having personal dreams and wishes. Her mother encouraged the care of her outward appearance and taught her proper, Chicago-style etiquette while her father stamped out any expression of her natural-born creativity and passion for things, deeming it un-Christian to encourage personal pleasure. The inconsistency now forces her to express herself in egotistical ways in order to prove, not just to others but to herself, how wonderful she is. She has no specific hobbies and spends much of her time following others, longing for someone to notice her. She excels in school, the one area in which she’s allowed to express herself without fear of being guilty of unholy, blatant vanity. She harbors a certain amount of hate against anyone that has something she can’t have…especially if that something creates visible, genuine happiness. All pampering ceased when her baby brother was born.

Monday, July 12, 2010

Meet The Characters: Elizabeth Cole

Get to know the people...get to know the story. And join us in September for auditions in Fergus Falls, MN!

ELIZABETH JACQUELINE (HARRINGTON) COLE – AGE 47


HISTORY
- Born April 26th, 1885 in Cook County, Illinois
- Daughter of: Dr. Merlin Gary Harrington & Celestine Caroline (Bower) Harrington

o Siblings: NA

PERSONAL DESCRIPTION
- Occupation: minister’s wife
- Location: Rock Valley, Iowa (Sioux County)

- Personal interview: “Arden means well. I support him. I do. Though I wish that I could see my parents again.”
- Character profile: Elizabeth, a single child of a wealthy doctor, grew up in the luxury and limelight of Chicago at the turn of the century. Unaware of the dark parts of the city, she delighted in glittering coming-of-age parties, social dances, and birthday costume balls. She lovingly draped her arm through her father’s any chance she could get and enjoyed parading around the city with her beautiful parents. She attended finishing school and learned how to perform as a respected, eligible young lady. She met Arden at a seminary gathering, where her father spoke for a retirement luncheon. She had never seen anyone so handsome, and yet knew he was as penniless as the simplest of maids at home. He was daring. Secretive. And spiritually elegant. She hung on his every word and would meet him privately at the corner of her street whenever she could. Without so much as a word to her parents, they were married by the judge in the summer of 1920 and hurriedly sped off to the nearest Indian reservation in Minnesota for what Arden claimed as the “spiritual opportunity of a lifetime to convert the rejected.” From there they traveled all over the country and finally settled in Rock Valley, Iowa. She hasn’t seen her parents since and would never admit to anyone that Arden didn’t turn out to be the hero of ministers after all.

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Meet The Characters: Rev. Arden Cole

Christ Family Film Productions yet again is posting character descriptions of the roles being auditioned in September for He Leadeth Me. Get to know the people...get to know the story. And join us in September for auditions in Fergus Falls, MN!

REV. ARDEN ROLLIN COLE – AGE 52


HISTORY
- Born December 2nd, 1880 in Cook County, Illinois
- Son of: Rev. Albin Isaac Cole & Elenora Edwina (Massey) Cole

o Siblings:
 Casper Ottis Cole born 1882 (deceased 1930)

PERSONAL DESCRIPTION
- Occupation: minister
- Location: Rock Valley, Iowa (Sioux County)

- Personal interview: “The Lord’s work is the work of a saint. Not everyone is called to the pulpit and the Lord our God showers down on those selected the strength to be givers of truth…even when it hurts. You need to hear it and I’m here to tell it to you. Shawn Harper will bring the devil to our door.”

- Character profile: Arden, born and raised in Chicago, attended McCormick Theological Seminary and graduated in 1902. He married Elizabeth Harrington the summer following his senior year at the seminary and the two spent a number of years on the Indian reservations preaching the Word of the Lord. Disease forced the couple to flee the reservations and they finally settled in Rock Valley, Iowa, opening one of the first Presbyterian churches in the area. Arden is known for his blunt opinions and hard political stance. He is a lover of the Word, but an extreme doer of discipline which he carries over into his household. After a falling-out with his father, Rev. Cole, he has become increasingly skeptical and wary of organized religion as a whole. The country’s depression, however, has given him no other choice: preach, or starve.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Meet The Characters: Samuel Rosgaard

Christ Family Film Productions yet again is posting character descriptions of the roles being auditioned in September for He Leadeth Me. Get to know the people...get to know the story. And join us in September for auditions in Fergus Falls, MN!

SAMUEL KEVIN ROSGAARD – AGE 12 – 13


HISTORY
- Born November 24th, 1919 in Lyon County, Iowa
- Son of: Benjamin Theodore Rosgaard & Evelyn Jenny (Miller) Rosgaard

o Siblings:
 Lenora Jenny Rosgaard born 1916
 Adam Ryan Rosgaard born 1918
 Baby Rosgaard born 1932

PERSONAL DESCRIPTION
- Occupation: NA
- Location: Rock Valley, Iowa (Sioux County)

- Personal interview: “I found a book that I can’t stop reading over and over. It’s so good, but I can’t tell you what happens ‘cause then you’ll never read it. And you need to read it. It’s too good.”

- Character profile: Samuel, the shiest of the four Rosgaard children, has been labeled “Adam’s Shadow,” much to his consternation. Born early, it was believed that Samuel wouldn’t survive. When he did survive, he contracted a serious case of the measles at age two and wasn’t expected to live. Surviving that, he fell out of a climbing tree at age nine and punctured a lung. With remedial surgery, he was able to return to school within a few months but found himself sorely behind the others. With his brother’s encouragement and his sister’s tutoring, Samuel managed to catch up sufficiently but never enough to feel confident in any of his studies. His interests rest more in the discovery of new stories hidden in the pages of his parents’ books, often read during recovery from some ailment or another. Reading far beyond his grade level, he weekly devours books on all sorts of topics and ignores all of his other school work. He wants to be a sailor when he grows up.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Meet The Characters: Adam Rosgaard

Christ Family Film Productions yet again is posting character descriptions of the roles being auditioned in September for He Leadeth Me. Get to know the people...get to know the story. And join us in September for auditions in Fergus Falls, MN!

ADAM RYAN ROSGAARD – AGE 14


HISTORY
- Born February 9th, 1918 in Sioux County, Iowa
- Son of: Benjamin Theodore Rosgaard & Evelyn Jenny (Miller) Rosgaard

o Siblings:
 Lenora Jenny Rosgaard born 1916
 Samuel Kevin Rosgaard born 1919
 Baby Rosgaard born 1932

PERSONAL DESCRIPTION
- Occupation: NA
- Location: Rock Valley, Iowa (Sioux County)

- Personal interview: “I’m like my pa. That’s what everybody tells me. I want to see our farm be rich again. I don’t think my pa’s done a bad job. I just think it’s this stinkin’ weather. And no one wants to buy what we grow anyway.”

- Character profile: Adam, the oldest son, has always assumed that the family farm would be his someday. In the 1920s, he was more than proud to admit this. Now that the stock market has fallen and with the crop prices plummeting every day, he ignores any sort of conversation about agriculture. He’s a headstrong young man with a heart for the homestead and a mind for numbers, and he refuses to see his family give up on the land. At the same time, his boyish interests distract him long enough to find joy in the simplest of things. He spends much of his time in school and favors the games over eating his lunch. He’s a class clown and yet at the top of his class in academic areas such as math and science. He’s a diligent worker, a respectful son, and worships his father. He finds a best friend in his younger brother Samuel and between the two of them keeps the family in high spirits even as the depression seems to be closing in around them.

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Meet The Characters: Lenora Rosgaard

Christ Family Film Productions yet again is posting character descriptions of the roles being auditioned in September for He Leadeth Me. Get to know the people...get to know the story. And join us in September for auditions in Fergus Falls, MN!

LENORA JENNY ROSGAARD – AGE 15 – 16


HISTORY
- Born October 12th, 1916 in Sioux County, Iowa
- Daughter of: Benjamin Theodore Rosgaard & Evelyn Jenny (Miller) Rosgaard

o Siblings:
 Adam Ryan Rosgaard born 1918
 Samuel Kevin Rosgaard born 1919
 Baby Rosgaard born 1932

PERSONAL DESCRIPTION
- Occupation: NA
- Location: Rock Valley, Iowa (Sioux County)

- Personal interview: “I don’t know if there’s anywhere I’d rather be. Except maybe somewhere where the dust doesn’t blow so much. Mama wants us to sweep up the floor every day, all the time. It’s all that dust blowing in from the south. It isn’t fair. It’s a relief to go to school. Maybe it’ll rain today. I’m worried about Pa and his fields.”

- Character profile: Lenora, born on the eve of one of the wealthiest, inflated decades of the 20th century, only ever knew what it meant to be the daughter of a wealthy farmer. It wasn’t until crop prices began to fall after the market crashed in 1929 that Lenora began to realize the importance of familial cooperation. Raised in a paternally conservative home, Lenora knew what it meant to work hard, save money, and invest wisely but didn’t really understand the importance of scrimping and saving for survival. When the depression hit, she learned the lesson fast. It was all her family could do to keep Lenora in school. Determined and dedicated, Lenora found a job outside of the home and now works after school every day for two hours at the general store. Vehemently opposed to it, her father daily orders her home by dinner time and expects all of her chores to be finished before homework. Lenora is wholeheartedly supported by her mother, however, who has taken an unusual liking to the idea of female independence. Lenora has learned one lesson above all: working fast and hard allows for a little extra time with her most important friend, Amanda Carter. Intimate companionship during these difficult times has become, for Lenora and many others, more valuable than gold.