Sisters of Satin
Story:
Beer, bowling and bridesmaids. And a fierce clash of
longtime rivals reaches its peak on the night before
Green Bay Wisconsin's annual Birch Beer Bowling
Tournament. On the eve of the showdown, Brie
Bergland's backswing and attitude are off. Her team
mates, the Sisters of Satin, need their golden girl to
throw strikes or face the humiliation of losing their
title to Clyde Jacobson and his redneck cronies. Will
a pep talk from Coach Lombardi's ghost deliver Brie to
glory, or will the Sisters be shamefully sacked?
Director's Statement:
The Birth of `Sisters Of Satin'
Years ago, I overhead two women discussing how they
should dress up in their old satin bridesmaid dresses
and go bowling. The visual took hold of my imagination
until eventually it landed on screen. I began writing
the Sisters of Satin script while enrolled in a
screenwriting class at the Loft Literary Center in
Minneapolis. At the same time, I was putting my
directorial interest to task on two experimental short
films. After improvising from an outline on these
films, I got the itch—and the confidence—to take the
"Sisters of Satin" screenplay all the way.
While the experimental shorts had been improvised by
actors, I was anxious to spend time developing and
refining the characters in "Sisters." As the women and
their story developed, it became clear to me that
their obsession with satin bridesmaid dresses, their
wedding clippings from bride magazines, and their talk
about their perfect day in white was a reflection on
our culture's obsession with weddings. Add to that the
women's groupie-like obsession with the trappings of
bowling—and the hunky bowlers themselves—the behavior
in the script signaled CRAZY for "brides and balls."
The notion of crazy worked its way into the tone of the film. I wanted a cartoon, frenetic energy. Quirky characters and bright colors would lend themselves to create an over-the-top satire.
~Sarah M. Morreim
Director, Sisters of Satin
The Production:
The project moved to a new level of reality when I
discovered the bowling alley—the Ram-Ham—that became
the film set. The mom-and-pop alley was straight out
of the 1950s. Then things started to roll—on e-Bay:
wild satin gowns, wedding garb, vintage bowling
shirts.
The 20-page script had to be shot in three eight-hour days to stay within the shoestring budget. I knew I had my work cut out for me in this crash course of filmmaking. Not only was I new to the process, I had an aspiring crew, eager to put their training to work. The biggest challenge was creating a shot list that could be humanly accomplished within our timeframe. I didn't have the luxury to compose many detailed shots.
The Cast:
A director's dream is an inspired and professional
group of talent that didn't have to be coached through
every movement. And Sisters of Satin had its share.
Among the 30 cast members were:
Cynthia Uhrich (Donna) returned to the Twin Cities after ten years working as an actor in Los Angeles. She is now the owner/instructor of "In the Moment" acting studio in St. Paul and has appeared on stage, in several short films and commercials locally.
Leanna Hieber (Jolene) is seen regularly on the region's stages and beyond. In 2003, she was voted "Outstanding New Face" by Minneapolis Star Tribune and "Best Actress" by Lavender magazine. She's recognized by the Society of American Fight Directors as an actor combatant.
Katherine Kupiecki (Casey) has worked at several Twin
Cities theater companies and has appeared in the
independent thriller "Better Left Alone."
Sam L. Landman (Coach Lombardi) who, while working on the east coast, paid his dues as "atmosphere" in the "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" series and in an HBO film. National commercials include Lee Jeans and Arctic Cat.
Additional key talent who played principal characters
included:
Tim Lober (Clyde)
Tim Swierczek (Larry Larson)
Blake Arens (Brie)
All of them worked on "Banning Meg Ryan," an
experimental short,
directed by Sarah M. Morreim in 2003.
Format:
Short Film
Running time:
20min