A 99-seat theater turns itself into an indie filmmaker

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Joseph Paul Stachura is a do-it-yourself kind of guy.

While working as an actor in L.A. in the late 1980s, he began making extra money by fixing up and selling houses. In the early ‘90s, he founded the Knightsbridge Theatre, which started in Pasadena and now is in Silver Lake. In both places, he renovated the company’s 99-seat spaces himself.

It’s no surprise, then, that when Stachura got an idea for a movie three years ago he and Knightsbridge decided to make the picture on their own. ‘We had the talent,’ he tells Culture Monster, ‘and now there’s affordable technology that makes it possible to do high-quality stuff.’

The result is the full-length feature ‘Redemption,’ a post-Civil War drama about a Southern family struggling to find a new life in California.

Doing a period piece was ‘a natural because ours is a classically based theater,’ says Stachura, the company’s managing artistic director. ‘But the real spark was hearing about our current soldiers going through post-traumatic stress. We thought it would be interesting to tell the story of a Civil War soldier and his family who lose everything and try to start over.’

The cast is made up of 11 Knightsbridge actors, all of whom are stage veterans but most of whom don’t have a lot of Hollywood experience.

Stachura has worked on occasional movie projects over the years, however his focus also has been on the theater--he has produced or directed more than 300 plays. Besides serving as ‘Redemption’’s producer, director and writer, he operated one of two high-definition cameras he had bought for the film.

‘We all wore four or five hats,’ Stachura says, noting one company member, an associate producer, took stills on the set, was in charge of continuity and handled publicity.

He adds that Knightsbridge did enlist filmmaking professionals to help with production and post-production.

‘Redemption’ was shot in the spring and summer of 2008 near Stachura’s home in the Angeles National Forest. Cast and crew members would drive as far as they could and then hike a mile or so to their location, lugging equipment, food and water and often enduring high heat or dodging rattlesnakes and a swarm of bees.

Post-production took up most of 2009, in part because of disruptions caused by the Station Fire and subsequent mudslides.

Stachura says he used money from his savings to cover the film’s $45,000 in costs --’we were under the Screen Actors Guild’s ultra-low budget status.’ Actors received union scale. Most others were paid on a deferred basis.

‘Redemption’ was screened at Warner Bros. in February. Three distributors showed up as did an entertainment lawyer, who offered his help. ‘He took the film to the Cannes Film Market and got a tentative offer,’ Stachura says.

Even so, he adds, ‘we’re aware the odds of this making it to the big screen are limited. But we’re very hopeful. Perhaps ‘Redemption’ can serve as a calling card that will attract some attention. We’d like to be able to do another movie.’

That doesn’t mean Knightsbridge is losing interest in the stage. The company has maintained its regular production schedule, Stachura says, and ‘theater will always be our first love.’

‘One hope is that maybe film work can help subsidize our theater work. Wouldn’t that be great?’

--Karen Wada