By Shavonne Potts
Salisbury Post
MISENHEIMER ó Mark Tyler Helms hasn’t been on the stage in about five years. On Saturday, he jumped right in, auditioning for one of the lead roles in an independent film.
The Newton native joined about a dozen others who gathered in the hallway of the campus theater at Pfeiffer University to await their turn to audition for a role in the “Cotton.”
The racially charged movie is set in the ghettos of Birmingham, Ala. It centers around the lives of two paramedics, one white and the other black. When one of the paramedics is shot, the other comes to grips with the harsh realities of the ghetto, which is portrayed in the movie as a community plagued with violence.
Steve Moon, a Birmingham filmmaker, and Kristin Thomas, a Charlotte producer and casting director, created New Moon Films and have begun principal photography on the film.
Thomas said with a $3 million budget, there aren’t many opportunities to hold open casting calls. The one at Pfeiffer will likely be the only one.
“It depends on the budget,” she said.
Thomas said the movie was possible through financing from New Balance, an athletic footwear company, as well as other products featured in the movie, including Glaceau Smart Water and Sean John Clothing.
She said Sean “Diddy” Combs was interested in providing clothing for the movie and possibly in a role.
Thomas has also received help from and worked with Charlotte producer Vicki Payne from Cutters Productions Inc.
Thomas, hoping to find new talent for the movie, wants all of the actors to come from North Carolina.
She chose Pfeiffer because her cousin attended the school and Thomas fell in love with the campus.
“It’s the feeling of family,” she said of being in Misenheimer.
Thomas, who graduated from Appalachian State University in 2007, wears many hats for the project. In addition to her role as casting director, she is an associate producer and is in charge of lining up music.
Late Saturday, she attended an amateur musician event at Julia’s Coffee in Charlotte. Proceeds from the event will be donated to Habitat For Humanity of Charlotte.
The movie will be filmed in Birmingham, Ala., where New Moon Films is based, and will be completed in August.
The filmmaker hopes to take the film to the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, the Los Angeles Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival, Thomas said.
Josh Jenkins, 20, of Winston-Salem, auditioned Saturday as a first-timer.
“I’ve never done anything like this before,” he said before going inside the theater.
But he said this was a rare, not-to-miss opportunity.
He took a year off school, but is a triple major in business administration, international business and economics.
After auditioning for the role of Tommy, one of the lead characters, Jenkins said he was not nervous and found the process fun.
“You only get to live once. Why not live it to the fullest,” he said.
Allegra Purnell, 20, a northern Virginia native, heard about the casting call through a mass e-mail sent out by Douglas Stauter, Pfeiffer theater professor.
The sophomore admitted the movie script seemed intense but was “something I think I can do.”
Najja Moon, 21, has also never acted before, but hopes for a career in the film industry as a director.
“A lot of films try to tackle racial issues. They don’t capture the feelings of the Deep South. This is a different dynamic,” Moon said.
Mark Helms, 20, also auditioned for the role of Tommy.
He said he used to be into theater, but the last time he acted was in a 10th-grade play.
He’s been busy with school, he said.
Helms said he’s worked on two movies ó “Shake, Rattle and Roll: An American Love Story,” a CBS miniseries that was partially filmed in Charlotte and “The Last Brickmaker in America” with Sidney Poitier.
When he was younger, he did print ads for Target stores.
“I think it’s awesome that the Pfeiffer community has this opportunity. The students and surrounding members of the community have the chance to participate in something very big,” he said.
Kerri Baker, an 18-year-old freshman at Pfeiffer, also has a little acting experience.
She said she’s performed in church and school plays.
“I really like the storyline of it. It’s something different. It’s nice to have that change,” Baker said.
Baker is a New York native but now calls Cleveland home.
Those who auditioned should find out in a week if they will be cast.
In recent years, a few indie films have achieved big box office success, such as “Little Miss Sunshine” and “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.”
Those working with the film hope this movie reaches the same level of success.
Contact Shavonne Potts at 704-797-4253 or spotts@salisburypost.com.