Mike Salsbury/The Olympian
Backstage is a busy scene as actors prepare for the production with hair and makeup artists after getting into wardrobe.

Mike Salsbury/The Olympian
Camera operator Marge Brown (left) makes adjustments as the actors (from left) Carrie Brownstein, Lola Rocknrolla and Tony Wilkerson take part in a stretching exercise prior to filming on Friday in Olympia.

Mike Salsbury/The Olympian
Nomy Lamm as "Pipi" awaits filming on Friday.

'Group' therapy -- uncensored

Olympia filmmakers keep cameras rolling, invite public to watch online

ROSS RAIHALA, THE OLYMPIAN

OLYMPIA -- Violet shakes as she describes the sexually active teen-age niece that has been foisted upon her. Grace attempts to hide her anger behind a meek faade as she tells about her father's affair with a high school student. Rachel breaks into tears as she wonders aloud whether she can trust the other eight women in the room.

This is group therapy, and there are no boundaries. Addiction, attraction, ambition and assault -- sexual and otherwise -- are discussed frankly and openly.

But there are six cameras rolling to capture every emotion and reaction, from waves of nervous laughter to stinging tears of despair.

And we're invited to watch it all.

Welcome to "Group," the first feature-length film from Wovie, a recently launched local media company.

Currently filming in Wovie's downtown Olympia studio, "Group" follows eight characters -- portrayed with an almost uncomfortable conviction by regional actresses -- through 20 weeks of group therapy. The cast includes Olympia activist Nomy Lamm and Carrie Brownstein of the Olympia-bred punk rock trio Sleater-Kinney.

Overhead camera

To feed the voyeuristic tendencies of a culture fascinated by "Temptation Island" and gossip about Russell Crowe's latest bed partners, the public is invited to watch the process of creating "Group" live on the Internet.

Each day, an uncensored overhead camera broadcasting live on wovie.com shows the entire day's action, from the tedium of sweeping the floors to the excitement of the actual filming.

Marilyn Freeman and Anne de Marcken gave birth to "Group," which threatens to become a model for adventurous 21st century independent filmmaking.

"Whenever we've encountered a problem during this entire process," Freeman says, "we've asked ourselves, 'What serves the story best?' That has been our rule. And it's answered all our questions."

With a cast and crew of more than 40 -- the majority of whom are women -- "Group" is scheduled to shoot through April 9.

Therapy sessions

The story unfolds over 20 group therapy sessions, each of which is shot in an hour of real time.

The eight actresses -- in character -- are guided through each session by an actual therapist.

Instead of following a traditional script, Freeman and de Marcken meet privately with each actress before and after each session to discuss her character's motivations as well as issues that need to be revealed.

Once the six cameras start rolling, the actresses improvise their way through an uninterrupted hour. Freeman keeps a watchful eye over the process from the balcony while de Marcken darts in and out of the action with a handheld camera.

When the film wraps production on April 9, Freeman and de Marcken will be left with 20 of these sessions, each captured from six different angles. The duo will edit those 120 hours of footage down to a 100-minute finished product. They'll then enter "Group" into national and international film festivals and shop it around to distributors.

Along the way, the pair will fill the Web site groupthemovie.com with the vast amount of material that won't make it into the final film. Audition clips, behind-the-scenes interviews and snippets from journals will further explore the characters and their motivations.

In theory, the "Group" Web site will develop into a fully functioning and equal entity that enhances the film instead of simply promoting it.

Inspired by experience

Freeman and de Marcken started work on "Group" in 1999, spurred by their own experiences in therapy. After four drafts of a traditional script, they decided to experiment with a more nontraditional approach.

They asked a therapist and seven actresses to take a trial run through an improvised group session, shot it on several cameras and realized they found a innovative plan of attack for "Group."

The duo cast the film, recruited a crew and spent months in preproduction preparation, meeting extensively with the cast and conducting test runs with all the technology.

And after Thursday, the first day of the shoot, they found the formula was more than a novel idea.

"All the work we've done has paid off," says Freeman. "The acting, the concept and the technology all came together beautifully."

The only hitch they've encountered thus far is that they've already got too much of a good thing.

"The first two hours of footage are so fabulous," says de Marcken, "it's hard to imagine cutting this all into just one movie. We're going to want to make eight movies. Or 20 movies."

Freeman smiles and adds: "That's a good problem to have."

Ross Raihala covers music and entertainment for The Olympian and can be reached at 754-5406 or OlyRoss@aol.com.

Wovie

- What: A new Olympia media studio that develops films and entertainment as well as Web sites. Marilyn Freeman and Anne de Marcken founded the company, which was incorporated in June. The film "Group" is Wovie's current project.

- Where: 106 Fifth Ave. E., Olympia.

- For information: Call Wovie at 236-1605 or see wovie.com.

'Group'

- What: A feature-length film about group therapy, currently in production in downtown Olympia. The cast and crew of more than 40 are working on a deferred contingency plan; they will be paid once the finished film is sold to a distributor.

- Where: A camera capturing each day's events is broadcast live at wovie.com.

- For information: Call Wovie at 236-1605.

On the web:

WOVIE.

Online Forum

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