Kerry Everett Carter Brand
Kerry is known for A Short History of Decay (2014), Waiting for Butterflies (2015), and Swamp Murders (2015). Kerry was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama where she began acting and singing at the age of seven. Performing and competing throughout elementary school and high school in theater productions and forensics (drama) competitions, she attended the University of Alabama on a full-tuition forensics scholarship. After graduating cum laude with her B.A. in Communication from the University of Alabama , she worked in public relations for several arts organizations including Spoleto Festival U.S.A. She attended law school at Seattle University in Washington, and has practiced law since 1999 while continuing to be active in local theater, film, and television productions. After studying with The Film Actor's Studio in Charlotte, North Carolina, she decided to pursue her goals as a professional actor while continuing to practice law. Kerry also enjoys screenwriting, directing and producing short films.
Winner - Outstanding Acting Performance - Zed Fest 2016
James Self Liam Baker
James is known for Lovestruck Pancho (2011), Dust Devils (2012) and The Bold and the Spicy: An Apology (2015). James, a Louisiana native, has studied with Lon Bumgarner and the Film Actor's Studio of Charlotte since 2010. Prior to 2010, he studied with various acting instructors throughout the Southeast. When James isn't acting, he enjoys bartending and reading.
Caitlin Kresse Marlee
Caitlin Kresse (Marlee) is delighted to be in her first feature short film with Gothic Truth. Recent credits include industrials for Bank of America and Wells Fargo, and has recently contributed to the short film Or, To Make New. She is currently a student in Studio Class with the Film Actor’s Studio of Charlotte and has been under the training of Lon Bumgarner for 7 years. The highlight of this time was acting scenes as part of a Master Class with Academy Award Winner, F. Murray Abraham. In her past non-acting life she was working in Social Services and received a M.S. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from Nova Southeastern University and a B.A. in Psychology from Florida Atlantic University.
Lon Bumgarner Saul Brooks
For over thirty years, Lon has been a film and theatre producer, director, writer, and teacher. He holds two Master of Fine Arts Degrees, one in Theatre Production from VCU, the other in Film Production from Southern California’s Cinema and Television Department as well as graduate credits from study at the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford, England.
His film and commercial credits include the direction and production of independent features as well as numerous shorts. He was trained in film production at 20th Century Fox in Los Angeles and has produced over 60 national and international commercials. His graduate film “Three Pages” was selected as one of top one hundred films from the history of the USC/CNTV to represent the school on its 70th anniversary. In 1999 he was awarded the North Carolina Screenplay Fellowship by the NC Arts Council and since 1984 has directed over 125 plays throughout the country. His New York credits include productions of Barefoot in the Park, The Importance of Being Earnest, and The Friar and the Nurse and his regional credits are too numerous to mention. For eight years Lon served as Artistic Director of the Charlotte Shakespeare Company (CSC), a non-profit professional theatre company and during that tenure was presented one of the first International English Speaking Union’s “Excellence in English Awards” by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.
He has taught in a variety of state universities and private colleges and recently retired after twelve years from the faculty of UNC/Charlotte. He is the founder and principle instructor of the Film Actors’ Studio, which for nearly twenty years has served as a training ground for over 3500 professional actors and for a decade served as film and theatre critic/writer for the “Leader” a weekly newspaper as well as a monthly columnist for “Charlotte Arts Magazine."