I worked today as a mime for a wonderful, warm-hearted couple, Casey and Casey Townsend, making their first independent film under the name of Gimcrackery Video Productions. The young couple posted a notice on Craigslist looking for background actors to volunteer to work as mimes for an afternoon. This was a non-paying job, with a copy of the film as the only compensation. I signed up to check it out, and was rewarded with a heart-warming experience, one I am glad I did not miss. The filming for the day was shot at Worms and Coffee, a small, family-run gas station/bait shop/store/coffee shop in Hell Hole Swamp, North Carolina. Try finding that on Google map! Worms and Coffee is nestled away at the intersection of Highway 211 and Midway Road near Southport, an old-fashioned North Carolina service station with the type hospitality reflective of Southern culture.

Having experience as a background actress in the film industry in Wilmington, I arrived two hours early thinking I might be able to help set up or sign in the background actors. Upon my arrival, a friendly looking young woman approached me and introduced herself as Casey Townsend, and then introduced her husband, the director, also named Casey Townsend. It seems these two young people met because they had the same name: the same first name and the same last name. As the fairytale would have it, these two artistic people met, married, made a film about mimes, and are living their dream. Welcome to Hell Hole Swamp, North Carolina!

The Townsend's welcomed me and put me to work instantly, making me feel like part of the group, a feeling I really enjoyed. Within minutes I was making up slogans and designing signs for protesters, while helping to assist background actors as they straggled in to sign release forms and their contact information. It was a definitively a community effort, with children, parents, young old adults alike coming to help this delightful young couple in their creative venture. Within half an hour, there were at least eight people working taping poster board on sticks, writing slogans for the signs, or coloring in slogans.

A brief introduction was given by the Townsend’s about Gimcrackery Video Productions, through which they want to promote family films without sexual content or cursing for Christians, because they truly love Jesus. The director went on to describe the scene of the film: a protest rally to protect the rights of mimes who are hunted and persecuted in this story. There are a plethora of social and political implications which can be interpreted in the storyline, but that is another topic altogether. As part of the film, children and adults volunteered to have their faces painted white to look like mimes, while others had their mouths taped shut in silent protest.

The atmosphere during the filming was marked by an air of enthusiasm, and everyone enjoyed their role as mimes, sporting signs with slogans such as “Save the Mimes!” and “Let Mimes Live.” The directors evoked a genuine sense they enjoyed every moment of the filming, and that positive energy carried over into the background actors. The film wrapped with an crowd sing-along song about mimes. By the time the filming day was completed, everyone was smiling, pleased with what they created together on this spring day. The Townsend’s thanked everyone for their participation, and the crowd dispersed with looks of pride evident on their faces. Something very special happened in this rural corner of Southeastern North Carolina. This may have been an amateur production, but I left feeling part of something much larger, a community. Gotta love Craigslist.