As part of the 25 Days of Sine Fine Films extravaganza leading up the 25th Anniversary I have decided to write a series of posts celebrating the 25 actors who have been the most dedicated by participating in the most productions.
I miss counted my actors and days so I have to combine Mark and Michelle, but since they were mostly involved in the same productions it actually works pretty well. Hope you don't mind sharing!
Actors of the Day:
Mark & Michelle MacLeod
Mark and Michelle have been a part of the company since the very beginning when we filmed Destiny in the summer of 1996. They have each participated in 13 productions as cast and/or crew.
FYI: I realized as I wrote this that they were probably on site and helping out for more than 13 productions. I just can't remember specific details of who was at which shoot when we filmed at the MacLeod farm for a production they didn't act in.
I met Mark and Michelle through their daughter Annamarie when she and I were in Finian's Rainbow together in the summer of 1995. The first time I met Mark was right after a performance of Finian when he ran up to me and said "You're my daughter's mother!" which was hilariously confusing. I met Michelle that same night and Annamarie introduced me to them. FYI: Michelle's nickname is Molly so I will be calling her Molly for the rest of the post because it's what I'm used to calling her.
The first time I went to the MacLeod Farm for a sleepover was mind-blowing. They had a huge ship in their barn, a tipi in the front yard, a tiny house, and road kill in the freezer in plastic bags next to the frozen pizza (they used the animals for the fur). It was wonderfully surreal and amazing. That night I met Jacob as well. I think that night was the Adventure in a Corn Field that ultimately lead to Destiny but I can't remember. It was either that night or the next sleepover, but I really think it was the first time I went there. Also my dad backed into their mailbox and broke it. The next time I came my brother backed into their mailbox and broke it. There wasn't a third time, thank god, but it became a running joke about my family breaking their mailbox.
The MacLeods were incredibly supportive of everything we wanted to do like form a Gypsy Dancing troupe. They allowed up to practice at their farm if we needed to and also helped us find gigs and even recorded some of the shows for us (thank you!). When we decided to film a movie in the summer of 1996 it was the MacLeods who supplied the camera.
Molly was the one who told me about Allerton Park when I was looking for a place to film the palace garden scenes. Without Molly I might never have known about Allerton or been able to introduce it to so many other people. On the first day of filming Mark, who had been cast as Princess Elaina's father, wasn't able to make it but Molly was willing to take over the role and so King Fredric became Queen Catherine and honestly I like the character better as a queen.
Mark was available when I needed someone to play the slave trader and it was hilariously awkward watching Chris Hutchens try to describe Annamarie (who played Melantha) to her father (the slave trader) without using words since it was for a music montage. This film shoot marked the first time Mark couldn't remember his lines which became a running joke for many years to come.
Since the camera belonged to the MacLeods they were the ones who actually filmed most of Destiny. I had never held a video camera before and I was terrified of dropping it at first. Eventually I got over that fear and by the end of the summer they allowed me to run the camera as well. Molly was often the camera operator and also served as the on set supervisor when she was there, allowing my dad to not always have to be there to watch the underage kids. Thanks Molly!
I wrote Destiny II almost as soon as I finished with Destiny and at the first of many MacLeod Fall parties I forced my friends, who were there to party, to read through the script. I'm sorry guys, I'm better at reading the room now I promise! I once again borrowed the MacLeod camera for the first shoot for Destiny II in the late fall of 1996. I filmed the rest of Destiny II after Christmas and by then my father (and the rest of my family) had bought me a camera for Christmas (Horatio!!!), so I no longer needed to borrow the MacLeods' camera.
Molly didn't have a part in Destiny II, but Mark had a major role. I like to cast family members in real life to play family members in the productions so when I needed someone to play Balthazar's father, Lord Geoffrey, I cast the actor's father to play that part. Mark agreed and showed up to the main day of filming at Wesley, script in hand. The script stayed in his hand through the whole shoot.
When we were about to start shooting the biggest scene in the movie I told Mark, and all the others, about how important the scene was. This scene wasn't just the turning point of this movie, it was the turning point of everything including the first movie Destiny. After I finished explaining the monumental importance of the scene Mark just looked at me and after a moment of silence he said, "So I should have read the script before I showed up." I will never forget that moment.
He's a terrific actor even though he didn't know his lines, but to be honest most of the actors don't know their lines and just memorize them as needed or read them if they're longer then a sentence or two. I'm not really very picky about the lines needed to be exactly right either, just as long as it's close enough to the meaning of it that's good enough for me.
When I filmed Destiny III in the summer of 1997 it was the first production that did not have either of the MacLeod parents playing a part. However they still participated since we had two or three all day film shoots at the farm and they were on hand to help out as needed. The biggest and most wonderful thing they did was cook pizza and provide food and drink for the actors, which is something I rarely ever think about. The hungry actors thank you!
We didn't film again at the MacLeod Farm until the summer of 1998. I needed a place to film the Fairy Dance which would take several hours and we would be playing loud music so the MacLeod farm was perfect. Honestly, their farm is a magical place to me for many reasons so I have always enjoyed filming there. And they feed the actors. Bonus!
I'm pretty sure Mark was busy that day or out of town on business or something because it was only Molly there at the time. Although she did not participate as a dancer, she operated the boom box and helped out with doing the hair and make up for the extras. There was a heavy downpour after we filmed one of the minstrel scenes so we took shelter in the house, but Molly said it would probably clear up before the evening and we would probably still be able to film. She was right and the sunset that day was glorious.
In the summer of 1998 I filmed a production called The Vigil about a girl named Julie having to come to terms with her own sudden death while her family and friends come to terms with it too. The vast majority of the actors in the company were teenagers at the time, so when I needed an adult I often went to my dad or the MacLeods. I needed multiple adults for The Vigil so I asked all of them to participate. I cast Mark as Julie's father, Dr. Garret, and Molly as Cathy Ryan, Dr. Garret's friend. Although I didn't have a hospital to film in I was able to get ahold of some lab coats curtesy of Molly who is also a nurse.
There's one moment at the vigil when Dr. Garret breaks down sobbing and Cathy Ryan comforts him. When Mark burst into tears and Molly hugged him while he sobbed it was genuinely heart-wrenching, and I remember trying to help back tears while I was filming it so I didn't burst out crying too.
At the end of the summer in 1998 I held the first Frank Awards (and the Weiner Awards for Bloopers) which took place in the Crystal Lake boathouse where we had an awards ceremony and a desert buffet. Both Molly and Mark helped set up the tables and decorations with my mother and brought food as well. I wasn't able to get there on time so I left all the set up to the adults. Thank you!!
I didn't film with either Mark or Molly, or even at the MacLeod farm, again until the summer of 1999 when I was shooting Pandora's Box. Several episodes had scenes filmed at the farm were messed up the grass with fake blood, tacked posters onto their trees, and rummaged through the garden. Mark even built a platform in the shed at one point so Virginia McCreary could hide behind the boat that was suspended from the ceiling with ropes. That was amazing that he was able to just whip it up like that. Oh yeah and during a fight scene in the cellar we accidentally broke a spare window. I'm so sorry!
Once again I needed someone to play Jacob's character's father, so of course I asked Mark if he could play the part. He agreed, and actually knew his lines this time which was surprising because it was a long standing joke that he never could and I remember not being sure of what to do when he get it right take after take and we filmed the scene much faster then I expected.
There were also several scenes in a tavern where I needed extras so the tavern looked busy. I didn't have anyone show up who wasn't already needed elsewhere, so I quickly called my parents and Molly to see if they could come to the location and be extras. All they had to do was sit and talk and drink water out of flagons so it wasn't hard, but it really helped make the tavern look busy.
Once I moved away to college in Carbondale and began to film productions there it was a long time before I returned to filming at the farm and even longer before I got the chance to film with Molly and Mark again. In the spring of 2002 the cast of The Gift Bearer went to CU to film several scenes at the Homestead and we also filmed a few scenes at the MacLeod farm. We also shot a short film called the Medea School of Melodrama in the summer of 2002 at the MacLeod farm, but in both cases I don't think either Molly or Mark were there at the time. I know Annamarie was there, but I'm not sure if Mark or Molly were.
The next time I was able to film with both of them as actors was in the summer of 2004 when we filmed Episode 2 of Eidolon. The episode took place on a farm in the middle of nowhere that was the home of a trio of organ traffickers. In the script there are ghosts from three of their victims who are trapped there and can't move on. Two of the ghosts are a kind, older couple named Frank and Joanne. Obviously I asked Mark and Molly if they would be willing to play the parts and they both agreed. It was really nice to film with them again.
In 2006 we celebrated the 10th Anniversary of Sine Fine Films with a production in the spring and a party in the summer. The Cursed Destiny of Pandora's Gift Box has the final scene set at the MacLeod farm and after we were done filming Mark and Molly had prepared food for us and started a fire so we could roast hotdogs and marshmallows. It was awesome.
That summer was the first real reunion party and after watching Cursed Destiny and the 10 Year Bloopers Reel in an actual movie theater (so cool) we all went out to the MacLeod farm for food and fun. I remember that it was hot and Mark filled up some balloons so we could have a water fight. We also took a group photo on the road that we had filmed on so many times before.
When I was finally able to film Quatrain in 2008 (I wasn't sure we would ever actually be able to film it, long story) there were once again several scene we needed to film at the MacLeod Farm. Molly was there and helped out with filming, even being in one of the scenes when we needed extras for a birthday party.
The next day we filmed for several hours from early morning to late afternoon in a graveyard. Since it was over the lunch hour Molly catered for us and brought sandwiches, chips, and drink, then set them all up in a table at the side of the road. It was awesome. It was a bit weird to have someone cater a film shoot in the middle of a cemetery but I was very grateful that she did that and so were all the hungry actors. Thanks Molly!
In late December of 2009 I filmed the first of several short films for a series called Twisted Tales. The production was called Hulde, written by Diana Neatrour, and filmed at the MacLeod Farm. There was a blizzard that day, yet we still filmed. Mark kept the kettle warm for us and helped us out as needed. I don't think Molly was there that day but I could be wrong. I think my car got stuck in the snow too, which is not surprising, and Mark helped us get it out.
In a fun coincidence we filmed the final scenes of Hulde as well as another Twisted Tale, The Stranger, exactly one year later in December of 2010. I asked Mark to play Mike Johnson, the father character, in The Stranger and he agreed. The script also called for dogs and since the MacLeods had three wonderful huskies Mark and Annamarie were able to corral them for us.
By this point I had moved away to another state but I came back in the summer of 2011 for the 15th Anniversary reunion which was, of course, held at the MacLeod farm. Mark and Molly welcomed us in as always and had set up the tipi so we could spend the night in it. Molly made delicious food, we roasted hotdogs and marshmallows, filmed some interviews and watched some bloopers.
I returned in the summer of 2012 as was able to film The Gift Bearer 10th anniversary movie Time After Time as well as Fortunate Ones: Faerie Tale at the farm. Molly was there in the evening to help us out as needed and we were all very grateful for the fans she provided because it was super hot outside!
Later that year I filmed another Fortunate One short called Only You. Although Mark and Molly weren't there when we were actually filming they set up the tipi in advance so we could film inside. They also either set up a fire in the pit or had it already burning by the time we got there. They probably just left it all ready for us since I doubt they would just leave a fire burning by itself. Or was Mark there to set it up and light it for us at the time? Wow these shoots seem to blend together as to who was there when to help out.
In 2014 we filmed the experiment gone wrong known as The Villain's Workshop at the MacLeod farm. It was a disaster. The only thing that wasn't a disaster was getting to hang out with Mark and Molly, and the rest of the gang, at the farm. They helped take down the tents, made the fire and provided food. They are amazing hosts and wonderful people. They're also silly and funny.
I didn't get to film with either of them as actors again until the fall of 2015 when we shot our 20th Anniversary production, Spoon River Anthology. Both Mark and Molly chose poems to perform. Mark did Lucious Atherton, a old man who had once been a devastatingly handsome playboy but ended up poor and alone. He did a fantastic job in capturing the tone of the poem which is both sad and bittersweet.
Molly chose to perform Hannah Armstrong whose poem is based on a real person who lived in the mid-1800s and personally knew Abraham Lincoln. After doing research and making her own costume for the part, Molly did a fantastic job with it. I only wish I had remembered to grab both her and Mark's lines for the Hill since they were only able to film with us for the first day. Oh well.
After the shoot was over we all went back to the MacLeod farm and celebrated the 20th Anniversary with a reunion. Once again Mark and Molly set up the tipi, we roasted hotdogs and marshmallows, reminisced about the film shoots of our youth and caught up with abbreviated version of each others lives. It was a wonderful ending to a memorable weekend.
Although I have seen both of them many times in the last five years, I haven't filmed with them again and I also haven't even filmed at the farm. Clearly I need to change that. I have a script written for the 25th Anniversary production that had to be postponed until 2022 due to Covid-19, and I hope that we can film it at the MacLeod farm and that Mark and Molly will both be willing to participate in the production/reunion once again.
In the last few years when I was taking care of my father who was dying from Parkinson's Disease and my mother who was recovering from a debilitating stroke I often turned to both of them for comfort and went out to the MacLeod farm whenever I needed to feel at peace. I cannot express how truly wonderful, caring, compassionate, talented, beautiful, and amazing Mark and Molly are and I would not have been able to hold onto what little sanity I still had at that time without their love and support.
Mark and Molly are part of my family. They are like my second parents and I've basically been adopted as an honorary MacLeod. From the very beginning they have been constantly supportive of Sine Fine Films and their contributions are rivaled only by my father and family's support. Quite simply Sine Fine Films would not exist without the MacLeod family and I am forever grateful to all of them for 25+ years of amazing friendship and family comfort.
FYI: It took forever for me to call them Mark and Molly since I grew up calling them Mr. and Mrs. MacLeod. Obviously I did eventually get used to it but it took awhile.
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