Rocking Horse Media visited the Telford service in preparation for their new project, ‘Karen’, which tells the story of a care home manager, her staff, and residents. Director Gareth Thomas and his crew spent time chatting with people supported at Darwin about making the 90-minute TV pilot and then filmed them. Team Administrator Zoe Carter, whose daughter is working on the pilot, said it was an incredible experience for all who attended. Zoe said:
“The people we support were fascinated to hear about the TV show and the story that Gareth and his team want to tell. They got to take a look at the cameras and how they are used to film, then some of them chose to be filmed. Gordon, Vernon, Heather, Mitchell and Brandon are all going to appear in ‘Karen’ either as extras or in speaking roles. It was terrific to see Mitchell and Vernon step up to be on camera and then watch them back to see how it all looked.”
Vernon chose to do a speech about the team who support him at Swanton and brought the house down with his passionate words and after the filming, he wrote a piece describing the experience.
“I think it was very good. I was very impressed we had the opportunity to talk on camera. I was very happy with Swanton Care [and] I got a big round of applause at the end. In the future there will be acting classes happening in January. The series will be [called] ‘Karen’, and it will be set in a residential home. [Gareth] wanted us to be part of it and make it real. Filming of the play will start in the spring. We may be in the background, or we may have lines to learn. Exciting!!!!!!!!!”
The project, by Rocking Horse Media, is being financed by crowdfunding so the pilot can be made independently. The hope is that once TV companies have seen the first episode, they’ll want to fund a full series of ‘Karen’.
