The following is a Press Release from McArts and Bluefield State College containing production details of the film Appalachian Gothic, which will be featured in a presentation by guest Jerry Conner at Technicon 23.

McArts of McDowell County, WV, Bluefield State College, and Virginian actor Jerry Vencill have produced their own little Halloweenish mystery. Appalachian Gothic, the first story in what McArts plans to be an ongoing series of the same title, is slated to be, thematically, a Twilight Zone - an Outer Limits of the Appalachians. Bluefield State has generously offered their technical services and equipment during this year long effort.

Due in large part to the content and the tradition of such stories, McArts was especially fortunate in getting Virginia's noted actor and storyteller, Jerry Vencill, (Jonah, the Mountain Man) to help develop this first video in a storytelling format. With Vencills much loved mountain manner and demeanor, the written story reverts back to the original atmosphere of such tales, which, if the visuals were not provided, would lead the viewer/listener back to those long-gone days of hearing such tall tales around the fireside.

In the first production meeting in November, 2004, which included Virginia actor and storyteller Jerry Vencil, Jerry Conner showed some of the unique visuals and special effects that he developed for Appalachian Gothic. The team began shooting in November, 2004 with still shots of Caleb and Hanna Appleby (Markella Gianato and Brother Rogers Hannan) in the Big Four area of McDowell County. The plans are to shoot as much of the film as possible in McDowell county. Mrs. Gianato is a long time associate, board member and supporter of all McArts activities. Brother Rodgers is a well-known figure in the county and since the floods, has done so much for the county. Way beyond the call of his acting duties, Brother Rodgers, now a veteran of McArts Players, shaved his decades old beard for the movie.

This story as well as others in Appalachian Gothic that will be included in the series offer Battlo's frequent setting of the McDowell County region and composite characters such as those found in four of her plays. Scenes were also shot in Bluefield and at Wardens Exhibit Old Store in Bramwell. The projected plan is to involve McArts Players in videos as well as play production in the future. The series will be sent to Tamarack to be adjudicated with the hopes of being sold there. In addition to Battlo's original stories, later tales under consideration will be various classics in the genre by Edgar Allen Poe, Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, etc.

This is McArts' second venture into film. In 2000, the actors from Terror of the Tug worked with WV's most noted filmmaker, Danny Boyd, on Smilin Sid. A presentation of Smilin Sid has been invited to several film festivals, including West Virginia's International Film Festival, the film festival in Sutton, and in 2004, at the Pioneer Theater in New York City. Steven Fesenmeier of the West Virginia Film Association asked Battlo to present the film at the West Virginia Library Association meeting in 2003.