Chartarum

Last night (Thursday, October 4) was the Chartarum premiere, which took place at The Main in Royal Oak, MI. What an absolute rush to see Chartarum up on the marquee! I immediately posted this picture to my personal Facebook wall, but had to wait until this morning to do it justice for the site and Chartarum Facebook page:

Chartarum on the marquee at The Main in Royal Oak, MI on October 4, 2012.

John and I arrived early (we had quite a drive to make near rush hour, plus we needed to set up), and were able to have a poster on an easel in the lobby, along with a table for handing out the passes and taking donations. Several cast members from Michigan and Ohio came, and brought family, friends and co-workers to show off their hard work. It was great to see: Roberto, Julie, Russ, Scott, Brandon, Jennifer and Jeanne, and it was fabulous for us all to see the fruits of our labor up on a big screen! (John posted a picture of the screen during the hardware test on the Facebook page last week, check it out!)

John paced, but I was able to sit down after a while and enjoy the movie on the big screen, surrounded by a laughing and cheering crowd, which is an experience I will never forget.

After the movie was over, we had a Q&A with the cast (much of which we caught on camera – we’ll be posting it in the coming days). We were able to share some behind-the-scenes stories with the audience (which reminded me that we need to arrange the recording of a commentary), and give kudos to some of the unsung heroes of the shoot.

When our time was up, we returned to the theater lobby to hold the drawing for the props. I’d like to thank my goddaughter, Sarah, and her friend Courtney for helping me keep everything straight. One of the highlights of my night (there were so many!) was watching Roberto* and Brandon autograph two of the prizes: jackets they’d worn in the production.

There was one unclaimed prize from the prop drawing so, as promised, here’s that number: 610321. There’s a phone number on the back, so we’ll be calling it a little later today to arrange for shipping of the “Mr. Tooloo print #4/10.”

For everyone that came: thank you! We hope you had as much fun as we did (or more). For everyone that missed it, there may be a repeat screening, albeit at regular admission rates. We’ll keep you posted!

*We had a surprise bonus drawing: Roberto brought in the camo shirt/jacket that he wore during – I think – the final battle scenes. If the person that won it would contact me, we can work out a way to get a certificate of authenticity like all the other props had.