Pre-Production and Casting

Since the last time Paul O’Dell and I had done an audio production the technical end of entire business had changed completely. Tape had given way to computers and thus the design of our studio needed to be radically changed. Paul, thankfully, sat down in front of our new Pro Tools 24 Mix Plus system and was using it like he'd designed it within about two hours.  Then, just at the right time, a pair of our old friends, Howard Gale and Ken Goerres, appeared with some new equipment and a great deal of knowledge that helped us produce a clean, clear sound that was beyond anything our equipment had been capable of before. Soon the search for a recording studio was on .

I have a small "editing bay" type studio in my garage but when you have to work with a great many people and get really neutral sounding recordings (the key to making actors sound like they are outdoors), nothing beats a great big, old fashioned, symphony style room. If it's a place where you can imagine Frank Sinatra recording, then you are on your way to what works for my kind of recorded drama. These days, finding a place with a smooth enough sound is a real challenge; multi track recording, sampling, and the practice of recording sessions so that only one of the musicians needs to be in the studio at any one time has removed all the reasons to build a recording studio big enough for a lot of people. After running tests in many locations we found an old room off of Hollywood Blvd. called J. E. Sound; it was far and away the best place we’d ever heard.

Casting started with a search for older actors to play Ben, Roundy and the first generation of outlaws. I wanted to work with Will McMillian again because we had a great deal of fun when he worked on Merrano of the Dry Country. I also liked the idea of him playing Ben because he is often cast as he was in Merrano, a hard case, tough guy, or villain. Ben Curry would give him a more heroic, even romantic, role. Other friends recommended people or I found them through acting classes. J. G. Hertsler seemed not so much like the Klingon he often plays on the various Star Trek series and more like a virile elder statesman from the 1960s, a perfect match for Roundy, our transcendentalist mountain man. Burr Debenning and Geoffrey Wade seemed right as the mismatched, scruffy and sophisticated, Colley and Doc, the first members of Ben's gang. Nathan LeGrande was an actor who I knew from a theater production of The Last Tycoon.

Will MacMillan	J.G. Hertsler	Burr DeBenning	Geoffrey Wade	Nathan LeGrande

After listening to many wonderful actresses who all sounded just a bit too old for Drucilla, we were pleased to discover Deirdre Delaney, an attorney (now TV producer) who just happened to be taking one of my friend's acting classes. For the role of Mike, we hired George Perez and even rewrote Mike Bastian as Mike Santos to take into account George's Latin heritage … and to give Mike's past that much more separation from Ben. Young Mike was played by George's own nephew, Julian Perez. Megann Kurth, the daughter of veteran actor Wally Kurth, was a wonderful find and perfect for the role of Julianna, Drucilla's sister. One-time American Gladiator Lee Rehrman lent the role of Kirby Perrin a surprising amount of vulnerability which helped create a much more complex character than I had ever imagined. Santa Fe restaurateur, Nicholas Ballas, the host of Louis L'Amour Theater and a close friend from my old art school and student film days, gave life to Molina.

Deirdre Delaney	George Perez & Julian Perez	Megann Kurth	Lee Rehrman	Nicholas Ballas