A very timely drama equipped with a top-notch cast, Rain Beau’s End tells of a couple who adopts a child mislabelled with a genetic predisposition for violence and must face the ghosts of their past and contend with their hard-lined stance on acceptance. On the eve of the film’s release, we spoke to star Amanda Powell (TV’s “Utopia”).
First of all, congratulations on Rain Beau’s End – it’s such a timely, affecting movie.
Thank you!
Tell us about Jules Paradise.
Jules is a humanitarian who practices yoga, runs a café, and is married to Hannah Driver. She came from a family by whom she felt rejected. She suffers from infertility and in this story, she adopts a child with her wife.
Is there a lot of her in you?
Though I like it, I’m not much good at practicing yoga [smiles] And there are several things about Jules that I wish I had more of, namely, her commitment and dedication to her projects. For example, she wants to run a café, and so she goes through the enormous work of making that a reality. I’m not terrible about follow-through, but I could use some more discipline in some of my creative projects.
Did you have a backstory created for Jules, even if it wasn’t necessarily in the script?
There is one in the script – Jules was made to feel unwanted by her family. As a lesbian in the 90s, she faced discrimination and harassment in a homophobic society. I come from a loving family and her circumstances don’t exactly match up to my own, but I asked myself what would this be like and feel like if it were me in these exact situations? Putting yourself in someone else’s shoes is a journey and a joy of working as an actor.
How did you get involved in the production?
I had previously worked with the producer Joe Orlandino’s wife Lucia Mauro on her film One Year Later. They emailed about my availability when they were ready to cast Jules, and although I was also doing Ike Holter’s excellent play Red Rex at Steep Theatre at the time, both teams were very generous and flexible and we worked it out!
Had you worked with any of the other cast before? I believe everyone was a local, right?
I had done a staged reading of Brett Leonard’s play The Long Red Road with Christian Stolte many years ago. Neither of us was in the final production, but Christian was so wonderful in the reading I remember his performance still.
It was all shot in Chicago?
Yes, and McHenry County, Illinois.
Knowing your work from UTOPIA and CHICAGO P.D, I have to asl – Is it different working on TV to film? How so?
Even on TV shoots where my character recurs, I spent much more time alone than I did on the set of Rain Beau’s End. I had less of a sense of journey and completion while filming those TV projects, mostly because my scenes were grouped together to be shot in a week or under, and once you’re done, you just wait for the show to air! I felt a strong sense of togetherness shooting Rain Beau’s End, but all these projects were thrilling experiences, and I love to do both TV and film.
How was it working with Tracey Wren – who, I believe, is relatively fresh to the feature film game?
It was wonderful. Tracy is incredibly patient. She is calm and is always willing and ready to work with whatever pops up, and on our shoot she always took the time to hear an idea if you had one and incorporate it into the work. She brings a soothing energy to a field that can be chaotic, and I felt very supported by her.
What’s next for you?
My partner and I just moved to Atlanta. So now we’re in a brand-new big market, and I’m excited about all the opportunities here.
RAIN BEAU’S END is now available from LesFlicks