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When John Skipp signed up for a class at The Actor’s Lab, he wasn’t looking for inspiration. A novelist turned filmmaker, Skipp took the lessons to become both a better performer and director for his performers. What he didn’t expect was to be blown away by the talent of his fellow students—talent he wanted to show off.
“Here are these great actors that are like, ‘I’m looking for a good scene to do,’ or ‘I’m looking for a good monologue,’” he explains. “And I’m like, ‘Fuck it, let me just write you some.’”
The result is The Great Divide, a black comedy about “wealth inequality, America’s robber baron history, dysfunctional families and the meaning of life,” premiering on Tuesday, Oct. 8, at McMenamins Kennedy School, with an encore screening scheduled on Thursday, Oct. 10.
From the start, The Great Divide was a showcase for its cast, with Skipp working with each actor to craft their character and structuring the film so that everyone was given a scene to shine in.
“What I’m really excited about is helping these actors get seen,” he says, “because I think several of them have careers ahead of them. Any of these actors is good enough to be in anybody’s movie.” Skipp cites John Waters, who worked outside the mainstream to make unlikely stars out of figures like Ricki Lake, Traci Lords and Divine, as an inspiration.
In addition, several of the cast members worked behind the camera to make the film, including producer Sarah Brody Webb, producer and set designer Marjorie Marcellus, and Skipp himself, who produced, wrote, directed, edited and composed the score, and played the role of Nick. The Great Divide was clearly a labor of love. “There’s nothing better than working with your friends,” Skipp says. “There’s nothing better than making art with people you love.”
Principal photography on The Great Divide took only six and a half days, which Skipp credits to the talent and professionalism of not only his actors but also his crew. “We were able to move incredibly fast,” he says. “We got on set, you’d spend 20 minutes setting up the lighting, and then we’d get the shot in one, two takes. Everyone had their shit down, and everything felt very alive.”
The crew’s talents also highlighted what Skipp appreciates about working in Portland. “I love that this is a town that is not corporately ambitious in the way Hollywood is, that there are extremely talented people but they are not ruthlessly competitive,” he says. “I’ve made two films here, and I’ve loved working with everybody. It was very, very easygoing, and I was able to get the kind of results I like.”
Skipp kicked off his career working in the horror genre, co-authoring titles like The Light at the End and Book of the Dead. While The Great Divide will have a much lower body count (Skipp confirmed the only death in the film is Granny Fanny, who’s passing kicks off the plot), the film does boast “a lot of emotional aggression. It’s just juicy human stuff.” He adds that satire was old hat for him, saying, “Horror and dark comedy are like flip sides of the same coin…all my horror really is satire.”
As for what comes next, Skipp would happily reunite with his ensemble. “I love these guys. They’re fantastic, they’re talented, they’re good people, and we had a great time working together. I would work with them anytime.”
SEE IT: The Great Divide at McMenamins Kennedy School, 5736 NE 33rd Ave., 503-249-3983, mcmenamins.com. 7 pm Tuesday, Oct. 8, and Thursday, Oct. 10. $10.