Waukon’s Katie O’Regan tells the story of a woman’s evolving relationship with her mother - and with herself - in “Painting Jane”

by Julie Berg-Raymond

With her new feature film, “Painting Jane,” Waukon’s own multi-talented Katie O’Regan - founder of the Star City Film Festival and Sacred Noise Society, Inc. - has put to work almost every skill in her considerable artist’s skill set to produce a thoughtful, deeply moving portrait of the evolving relationship between a woman and her family - particularly her mother.

“Painting Jane” is an adaptation of the stage play “Good Morning, Miss America,” which was written by Phyllis Yes, of Portland, OR, and is based on Yes’ own life. The storyline, as  described on the entertainment industry site, IMDb, is this: “When faced with the strenuous task of convincing her parents to move into assisted living, Jane, an art professor from Portland, feels powerless getting her step-father Lou and mother Doris to come to terms with their declining health.”

The play debuted in 2018 at Portland’s Coho Theater and has since had two full-staged runs - both of which were produced and directed by O’Regan (she starred in it as Jane and produced it off-Broadway in New York City). Originally bearing the same title as the play, the film had its debut at the Star City Film Festival to a sold-out house at Waukon’s Town Theater, with a red carpet and the cast in attendance. The film was extended for another five days after the first screening.

O’Regan recently signed a distribution deal for the film, which will offer streaming on more than 125 channels. In the process, she learned that the original title, “Good Morning, Miss America,” would likely face trademark issues - so she changed the film’s title to “Painting Jane.”

And it worked out well - because, in her adaptation of Yes’ powerful play, O’Regan’s film, “Painting Jane,” is ultimately the story of one woman’s transformation into wholeness, acceptance and love.

ADAPTING THE STORY FOR FILM
“‘Painting Jane’” is really the essence of the movie,” O’Regan says. “Metaphorically, she’s painting her interior - her transformation is about her acceptance of her parents’ dementia. Her acceptance of ‘this is how life is,’ is deeply transformational.”

On “Painting Jane,” O’Regan worked as screenwriter, set designer, costumer, producer and casting director - and she wrote and sang all the music (“the music is like another character in the movie,” she says). As director, she had a vision for the story that differed in significant ways from the play.

“You don’t see Jane’s backstory in the play. You don’t really see where she is coming from. She is angrier, and more bitter towards her family. She feels very much the victim,” O’Regan says. “I wanted to write a story about love and acceptance. We’re all dealing with this - with aging parents. And we have to come to terms with it. If we don’t come to accept them as they are and move on with our lives as best as can, we can become bitter and resentful.”

CASTING THE LEADS
When O’Regan was making plans for what was then called the Spring Grove-Caledonia Film Festival in 2021, she knew that her friend, the late actor Ed Asner, would be returning - after having been the guest of honor at the inaugural film festival in 2020. With such an esteemed actor at hand, she decided to produce a staged readers’ theatre presentation of Yes’ “Good Morning, Miss America” during the festival - with Asner reading the part of the male lead - the step-father, Lou.

His daughter, Liza Asner, would be returning, as well - she would be reading the part of Jane’s estranged sister, Cindy. O’Regan would be playing the part of Jane. For the part of Doris, O’Regan knew exactly who she wanted - even though she had not yet met her.

“We were friends on Facebook, and a friend of mine had entered work in Katie’s film festival,” says veteran Los Angeles-based actress Diana Angelina. “In 2021, she messaged me and said, ‘I would love for you to come to Caledonia.’”

O’Regan told Angelina she wanted her to read the part of Ed Asner’s wife in a reader’s theatre production. “I flew in, and I met Katie and Ed,” she recalls. “Katie is a force of nature; she’s a brilliant woman. When she wants to do something, she gets it done.”

What O’Regan wanted to do next, of course, was make a film version of the play - with Asner playing the father and Angelina playing the mother. When - just a month after the film festival - Asner died, at 91, his daughter said, ‘Katie, do it, anyway.’” So, she did.

THE PROCESS: ACTING
“We filmed for 14 days last December, in Sheboygan - with a couple of days in Caledonia,” says Angelina. “It was just a wonderful experience. As a director, she knew exactly what her vision was. She had produced the play locally and off-Broadway, and she was so prepared with how she saw this film; she had given it so much thought… She staged our scenes; she had costumes for us to wear; she did our make-up.”

Angelina says that O’Regan even taught her some make-up tricks she didn’t know - particularly as involved making her look old enough to play Doris.

Though it might seem counter-intuitive to a non-actor, Angelina says it takes a lot of physical strength to portray someone who doesn’t have a lot of strength - like the elderly woman she portrays in “Painting Jane.” She says she drew on her dance training and relied on being in good shape from that training, to create the effect of having physical limitations.

The scene where her character falls, she says, required core strength and great control. “Katie and the crew were very careful how they choreographed that scene, too,” she recalls. She also began “observing old people,” she says - “using canes, and in wheelchairs.”

Having studied theatre performance with the likes of Charles Conrad, Stella Adler and Salome Jens, it is no small thing when Angelina says she believes working with O’Regan “was completely meant to be.”

Originally from New Jersey, Angelina started acting in high school and planned to move to New York to pursue acting. Instead, she says, “I went to the Jersey shore one Labor Day, and met my first husband.” She put her dream of acting aside; but, she says, “I always knew I wanted to go back to it.”

She moved to California in the 1970s; and over the course of the next 40 years, amassed a lengthy list of acting credits - in soap operas, commercials, television and live theatre - and won or was nominated for many awards. She also is a dancer (she learned jazz, ballet and tap at the Dupree Dance Academy in Los Angeles) and does stand-up comedy.

She lives in Los Angeles with her husband of 37 years, comedian Randy Lubas. She is a member of SAG/AFTRA and Equity.

“We had so much fun,” says Angelina of working on this film with O’Regan. “We’re friends for life, now.”

THE PROCESS: DIRECTING
“I always intuitively cast,” O’Regan says. “There has to be some magic between an actor and a director that creates trust… It was a gift to play (Diana’s) daughter in the film, because I just knew she fit the role so well and it felt very natural to work with her. I would work with her in anything I could.”

O’Regan also was successful in casting the role of the step-father, Lou, with Dean Scofield. Scofield has a long industry resume - which includes having played the role of Veronica’s nephew and Archie Bunker’s waiter, Fred Rooney, in the sitcom television series, Archie Bunker’s Place. O’Regan completed the lead casting for her film with Liza Asner, as Cindy.

O’Regan says it helps immensely to be an actor if you are a director; and that doing both in the same production works for her. “I have to be the director first when I am acting and directing myself. I make sure everyone else is okay with their characters before I become the actress. There is always a point in the show when I tell my cast. ‘Okay, you all know your characters, you have your direction, blocking, and voice, now I am just your castmate. Let’s go!’”

AT THE END OF THE DAY
O’Regan considers her first job as a director as being “to inspire. I only direct stories to help inspire audiences,” she says. “That is my responsibility to my audience.”

Angelina says she thinks that’s exactly what “Painting Jane” will do. “Can’t all of us relate to these family dynamics, in one way or another? These daughters who love their mom, but they really don’t know how to care for her and have their own lives? I think it’s universal, and I think people will be moved. I hope that a lot of people get to see it.”

“Painting Jane” was directed by Katie O’Regan. Screenplay by Katie O’Regan, adapted from the original stage play, “Good Morning, Miss America,” by Phyllis Yes. Lead cast: Katie O’Regan as Jane Nelson; Dean Scofield as Lou Anderson; Diana Angelina as Doris Anderson; Liza Asner as Cindy Nelson.

For more information about the film, go to https://sacrednoisesociety.org/.