Last week I was on set for another reenactment drama on Discovery ID, Deadly Devotion.
Like many of the reenactment shows on Discovery ID, Deadly Devotion highlights the dark undersides of society, bad love affairs, murders and people trying to operate outside the bounds of society. Deadly Devotion's take on the 'murder porn' genre is to spend a whole episode focusing on one story that deals with murders within cults.
The episode that I shot was about Ervil Lebaron, the leader and prophet of The Church of the Lamb of God. According to Wikipedia, Lebaron
"initiated a series of killings which ultimately resulted in his being sentenced to life in prison. Before his death in prison, LeBaron wrote a document which he called The Book of the New Covenants. This document listed a number of people who had been disloyal and "deserved to die." Copies of this list fell into the hands of LeBaron's followers, who proceeded to administer what they called "blood atonement" to the individuals listed."
The story focused around Lebaron's eventual split with the church he grew up in and then used his followers, along with members of his own family and the two sons of Bud Chynoweth, Mark and Duane to carry out his murderous revenge schemes.
Again according to Wikipedia Lebaron's Mormon sect was
"After The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) officially abandoned the practice of polygamy in 1890, some polygamous Mormons moved south to Mexico to continue the practice without the interference of U.S. law enforcement. Alma Dayer LeBaron, Sr., was one of these people, and in 1924 moved his family, which included his two wives and eight children, to northern Mexico. There, the family started a farm called "Colonia LeBaron" in Galeana,Chihuahua.[1]
When Alma died in 1951, he passed the leadership of the community on to his son Joel LeBaron. Joel eventually incorporated the community as the Church of the Firstborn of the Fulness of Times in Salt Lake City, Utah.[2] Joel's younger brother, Ervil LeBaron, was his second in command during the early years of the church's existence.[3] The group ultimately numbered around 30 families who lived in both Utah and a community called "Los Molinos" on the Baja California Peninsula."
Ervil's murderous rampage to eliminate the rival sects last throughout the 70s.
Ultimately, Ervil was caught and sentenced to life in prison. However, many of the church members continued to murder former members that had left Ervil's church, including the Chynoweth brothers.
Much of the episode's focus is spent on not only Ervil's break with his brother, Joel, and eventual violent spree but also on converting the Chynoweth brothers, especially Mark.
The actor/director Nick Rafter played Ervil Lebaron, and Bryan Manley Davis played the older version of Mark Chynoweth. I played the older version of Duane Chynoweth.
We shot over the course of last week in three different locations, the beach at the Far Rockaways, doubling as Mexico, a house in Ditmas Park Brooklyn, and Fort Tildon near the Whitestone bridge in Queens.
As long as the Sun was out, the day at the Rockaways was really nice, if not a bit windy and chilly. But, once the Sun started to set, and the wind started blowing off the ocean, the shooting conditions became less than ideal. The trick of acting was to pretend that I wasn't freezing shivering. Also, as the night wore on, the shots I was in required less and less clothes! By nightfall I felt like I was on the set of The Road, more than and a Discovery ID show.
Ditmas Park is a really incredible and unique neighborhood in Brooklyn only about 20 minutes on the express from downtown Manhattan. The blocks felt more like older suburbs of middle America than New York City. Large freestanding houses, with yards, garages, and driveways. However, the house we shot in hadn't been touched since about the early 60s. And whether or not it has been cleaned is questionable too. A great setting for lots of murders.
I had shot another show at Fort Tildon a few years ago. A really interesting setting, right on the Long Island Sound, the only drawback being lack of access to public transportation or an easy ability to get off the base. Absolutely no bodegas within walking distance.
As always with the low budget re-enactment shows, the productions are small and tight knit. Long days in small spaces force the crew and actors to become very acquainted very quickly.
On a couple of the days the make up person was my friend Mia Bauman, who I've worked with a few times before on these types of shows. Always nice to walk onto a set and see a familiar face.
If I wasn't on the active set I tried to either keep moving around or catch up with other work. The glamorous life of actor's sitting in trailers or cushy dressing rooms is far from this reality.
A nice benefit is forming friendships with actors who are just trying to do work, no matter the circumstance. I spent a lot of time chatting with Nick and Bryan while on set and having good laughs while in holding or traveling to and from set. There was the moment, late on night on set, where Bryan and I couldn't stop laughing. Maybe it was the culmination of long days, or maybe the need to bad Christopher Walken and Robert DeNiro impersonations. I was wearing a coat very reminiscent of Travis Bickle in Taxi Driver, after all!
Also, when meeting other actors, the realization is that the New York City acting world is very small with usually just one degree of separation.
Keep checking in, and I'll let you know when the episode air!
Watching as the director converses with the crew on the beach of the Rockaways.
Looking East
Looking west... the crew with Nick Rafter, in character as Ervil.
Gratuitous equipment pics
I ended up spending most of the day in the people moving van, trying to stay warm, and pumping out the jams.
Selfie of Mia and me... trying to charge our phones in the van.
On the porch in Ditmas Park. They kept shooting on the porch, the day was cold and rainy. I kept walking around the house to stay out of the shots and to avoid being inside.
On the second floor... yup....
The young actress from New Jersey playing my daughter. She's prepping for our death scene.
Fort Tildon
Mormon family dinner, along with murderous henchmen standing guard.
Looking over my shoulder to see 'my brother' Bryan.
Late night at the house on Fort Tildon
These shots were taken by Nick, as he was just outside of the shot. I'm already in character as the Producer and director give us notes.
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