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Praise, Publicity, and Press Releases
PUBLICITY
December 2010 - Reprinted from Madison Area Neighbors, Capital Newspapers
Action! – LA-based group prepares to film here
By Teresa Paprock
Neighbors editor
Stepping into the Prairie Splendor Farm Bed & Breakfast is like exiting a time machine that’s brought you to the year 1955. The home, located 20 minutes north of Madison, is the filming location of “The Mourning Hour.”
“One might say that her experiences … lie somewhere between dream and delusion, speckled with fragments of memory.” So reads part of the synopsis of the film “The Mourning Hour.” You won’t find the film playing at Point Cinema, however. Instead, it will be in the process of creation soon here in the Madison area, and it just might star some people you know.
Shevaun Kastl, of Los Angeles, searched coast to coast for the perfect location to film. The president of the Los Angeles-based Mad About Pictures, Kastl wrote the script for the 15-minute film, is producing it, and stars as its main character, 1950s housewife Virginia Bakelys.
Kastl was thrilled to discover Prairie Splendor Farm Bed & Breakfast, about 20 minutes north of Madison on State Road 60. The home, an 1890s farmhouse, was painstakingly refurbished in 1950s style by owner Annette Currie and is available for overnight stays, events and parties. The first week in February 2011, it will be ground zero for the filming of Kastl’s movie. (Some scenes will also be filmed at the historic Al. Ringling Theatre in Baraboo.)
But the Madison area doesn’t just provide Kastl with a location. “A lot of the cast and crew will come from Madison,” she says. “We are contacting Madison theater groups and colleges, and we’re looking for top-notch talent.” Six speaking roles will be filled by local actors, and local musicians will also contribute.
To participate in Kastl’s film would truly be something for any local performer’s resume. Her screenplay was the sole winner of the Slugline Short Screenplay Competition and a finalist for the Roy W. Dean Film Grant Scholarship. “General Hospital’s” Brandon Barash, and “Heroes” and Prison Break’s” Robert Knepper are the lead actors.
“The Mourning Hour” tells the story of Virginia, who has just learned that she’ a widow – an unexpected trauma that triggers an emotional journey of reawakening. “She finds herself traveling through two distinct spaces of time: one in her typical 1950's home with oven timers, bicycles and rubber gloves, and the other in the F.W. Walker Music Auditorium when she was a 19-year-old cellist,” says Kastl.
It sounds like a tall order for a 15-minute film, but Kastl enjoys the challenge: “I love the art of short film,” she says. “I love to tell a substantial story in a short amount of time by making wise choices.”
Prairie Splendor’s owner, Currie, is proud that her house has been discovered. “I always thought my B&B would be a perfect site for a 50's themed film,” she says. “I was thrilled when I received a call from Shauvan after she found my site on the internet. The decor seems to fit the script perfectly. I look forward to this once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
The film has another tie to Madison: associate producer Cody Boensen is originally of Wisconsin Dells and graduated with a degree in visual communication and graphic design from Madison Area Technical College.
“Madison is one of those undiscovered minefields of talent that is untapped,” says Kastl. “There’s so much potential there, and it’s not pretentious – peoples’ values are still intact. Madison has just as much talent as the coats. We don’t need to stay in LA to get what we need.”
Kastl and members of her crew will be coming to Wisconsin in mid-January, with auditions to be held in late January. Local performers who want to participate can contact her at (323) 465-1012 or SHEVAUNK@aol.com.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Business is a hidden splendor
Jim Winter
Editor
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
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Jim Winter photo Annette Currie shows off her 1950s-era kitchen in the Prairie Splendor Bed and Breakfast |
Starting a bed and breakfast was a dream for Annette Currie.
Running Prairie Splendor Bed and Breakfast is a passion.
Currie opened Prairie Splendor in August 2007 as what she believes is the only 1950s-themed bed and breakfast in the country.
In June 2008, Currie retired. Now her full-time job is marketing, promoting and running the bed and breakfast located on Wisconsin 60 between Interstate 39/90 and Arlington.
"It was a dream in the beginning, and I didn't think I could accomplish it alone," Currie said. When she started working on the farmhouse, previous renters had left it in less-than-desirable conditions. "I had a lot of help from friends and family, and then I became driven and it became a passion.
"I want to share that with the community."
The bed and breakfast features 1950s decor from top to bottom, in every room. From a Hammond organ in the room where Currie welcomes guests to a large kitchen with 1950s tables, appliances and dinnerware, everything is from the era.
"It's unique," Currie said. "It's a home where you can feel like you've stepped back in time."
When Currie opened in August 2007, the house was not quite finished. Now it is. The house, located on the Curries' dairy farm, features four themed bedrooms: Movie Stars and Cinema, Greatest Love Stories, Fashion and Music and Vintage Cars and Tractors.
When it comes to improvements to the home, Currie is a bundle of energy.
"There's always stuff to do in a house this size," Currie said. "I'm just as wound up now as I was in the beginning."
Currie's work on the house includes the constant search for 1950s decor. She's found her share of bargains, including kitchen chairs for $1 each, now worth $50. She has an inventory of every room's contents.
Finding 1950s decor may be an ongoing process, but it's becoming more difficult.
"I don't go to movies, I don't do anything else, so it's good exercise," Currie said. "Now I'm not finding things I already have in here. The antique markets are drying up."
Despite all the work Currie has put into the business, it isn't as successful as she would like it to be.
She's had renters, and her house has been used for meetings, birthdays and family reunions, but Currie believes her business is a hidden gem just waiting to be discovered.
"We're not as busy as I want to be," Currie said. "Word of mouth is the most important."
Currie's bed and breakfast is part of the Wisconsin Inns Association. The organization reported in its last newsletter that hotel stays are down 47 percent. Business usually picks up starting in April.
Guests of Prairie Splendor will get to stay in a two-story farmhouse built in 1892 and remodeled in 1948. The wood throughout the house was first delivered to the Jamieson Brothers lumberyard in Poynette after World War II. Because materials were hard to come by, the house was finished with four woods: beech, birch, maple and oak.
The upper level of the house features the bedrooms and a modern bathroom with an upscale comfort spa and a double shower. In each bedroom, a vintage chenille bath robe is provided for guests.
It's little things like that that Currie prides herself on. That, and making sure she takes advantage of all the modern world has to offer, too.
The house's TV, in a vintage 1950s cabinet, is hooked to a satellite. The business has Wi-Fi and is Travel Green certified.
Currie spends much of each day on the computer, finding ways to market her bed and breakfast and ways to make connections with manufacturers of 1950s decor. She has even sent letters to the film industry letting it know if they need a place to film 1950s-era scenes, Prairie Splendor would be a perfect location.
The next project on her list is a gazebo. She plans to build it herself, with a little help.
Currie plans to keep the business going as long as she can.
"I'm willing to work as hard as it takes to make this place successful," Currie said. "I have boundless energy to do anything."
DEFOREST TIMES (also appeared in the POYNETTE PRESS)
1950s B&B is a labor of love
by Jennifer Fetterly
A unique bed and breakfast is scheduled to open in the Town of Arlington this fall.
Proprietor Annette Currie said her place will be the only 1950s working dairy bed and breakfast in Wisconsin.
Her family home on Hwy. 60 was the inspiration for her Prairie Splendor Farm Bed and Breakfast. The home has been in the family since it was built in 1892.
“It was remodeled in 1948. That’s how I came up with the 1950s theme, because most B and B’s are Victorian,” Currie said.
Guest will be able to step back to a time when life was a little simpler, Currie said.
“I’m going to greet guests at the door like Beaver Cleaver’s mom with pearls wearing an apron,” she said. “My idea is to get away from the stress of the 21st Century to relax and go back to the 1950s,” she said.
Currie has worked at Pioneer Hi-Bred for 20 years as an assistant researcher. She has been busy scouring antique stores and yard sales to find treasures from the 1950s. She started the project more than two years ago.
Her guide for remodeling has been a tattered copy of a 1955 Montgomery Ward catalog.
“It is my bible, the trouble is I want to call up and order things,” she said.
Each of the four guest rooms has a theme. One room recalls the days of the early big screen legends: Audrey Hepburn, Clark Gable and Carole Lombard. Another room is designed around vintage cars. Currie said newlyweds will enjoy the bridal suite.
All of the furnishings are one-of-a-kind Art Deco or 1950s-era furniture.
Currie said rates will range from $70-100 and include breakfast.
“I plan on serving a continental breakfast or a full farm breakfast with eggs, hashbrowns, bacon and a hot dish,” she said.
Guests will be able to enjoy their breakfast in the red and “happy yellow” kitchen with Formica tables and Fiesta dishware. There is even a working antique Frigidaire refrigerator and vintage stove.
Currie said the home was being used as rental property before its recent renovation. The remodeling work was done by Dykstra Construction, but Currie also pitched in.
“I have my own drill and my own tools,” she said.
Despite the challenges of remodeling, rezoning approvals and making sense of the maze of business regulations, Currie said she is satisfied to be a business owner.
“I respect people who own their own business because you have no idea what they have to go through,” she said. “I never thought about it before.”
After a few more state inspections, Currie said she plans to open her door to visitors this fall.
For more information visit the Prairie Splendor Farm Bed and Breakfast at www. Prairiesplendorfarmbandb.com.
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