Press - Destiny

14 January 1999: ‘Destiny’ in The News-Gazette, Champaign, Illinois

Caption: Eleanore Stasheff, left, films a scene from ‘Destiny’ in her Champaign home last Saturday night. Jacob MacLeod, a Champaign Centennial High School sophomore, and Jenny Weber, a Western Illinois University sophomore, act out the scene. ‘Destiny,’ a six-hour mini-series, premieres this week on Parkland College TV.

‘Destiny’


The News-Gazette


Champaign, Illinois


Thursday, January 14, 1999

Broadcasting major at Parkland College puts together ambitious television production

By Paul Wood


News-Gazette Staff Writer

CHAMPAIGN – Bright costumes, sword fights, flights of fantasy, epic themes – “Star Wars” isn’t out until the spring, but “Destiny” is already on the tube.

The locally produced mini-series premieres this week on Parkland College TV, channel 9 on Time Warner Cable, Mondays at 4:30 p.m. and Sundays at 5:30 p.m.

Episode 1 is “Dreams.”

The six-hour fantasy “Destiny” is the brainchild of 19-year-old Eleanore Stasheff, a Parkland broadcasting major who began recruiting fellow actors while at Champaign Central High School.

She lives across the street from the high school, and younger friends still drop by to talk theater on their lunch hour.

Throught their connections – the Stasheff family has a long history with the Station Theatre – she was able to recruit actors ranging from 2 months to 52 years of age.

Most of the actors are of high school and college age, studying at Central, the University of Illinois, Franklin Middle School, University High School, Parkland, Illinois State University and Urbana Middle and High schools.

Also helping out were her parents, Christopher, a best-selling fantasy novelist, and Mary, a veteren costume designer, and her brother, Edward, who plays Sheik Ali-Jinil.

More than 150 costumes were used, borrowed from stocks at Central, Uni and the Station.

Barbara Gladney, the program director at Parkland’s television station, said she hopes to see more student productions on the station.

“I think she’s done a great job,” Gladney said.

“Eleanore’s a very talented person. She’s been in a number of plays at Parkland, and I have a lot of respect for her.”

Gladney said “Destiny” is more ambitious than any previous student productions at the college.

“We’ve had some student productions before, but this is a very large undertaking, really difficult in the logistics,” she said.

The college is airing high school quiz bowls after “Destiny,” hoping the show will work as a lead-in to the popular match-ups between area schools.

The mini-series stars Tanino Minneci as Esteban, Jacob MacLeod as Balthazar, Chris Hutchens as Prince Ketlan, Annamarie MacLeod as Melantha, Jill Hutchinson as Princess Elaina, Jenny Weber as Erion, Kate Weber as Molly and Rachel Anderson as May.

In the mini-series, Prince Ketlan loses his throne by trickery, only to regain it from an evil king to killed Ketlan’s parents. The saga follows Ketlan’s dynasty.

The students spent 18 months filming the mini-series. Stasheff said she learned a lot.

“I’d never held a camera before,” said the cinematographer, who initially used a borrowed video camera.

Money from Stasheff’s job helped purchase tape, camera batteries and some of the costumes.

“Everybody chipped in as best they could,” Stasheff said.

Ryan Segovich, a Central student who played the brother of a king, said that cast members, too, learned to tone down their stage acting and play to the camera, as taping went on.

“There was a lot of maturing on everybody’s part,” he said.