What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/1072716
BECCA MARTIN-BROWN NWA Democrat-Gazette F irst-time travelers to Fort Smith might still stop today at the simple clapboard house with dormer windows that stands alongside the Arkansas River. Inside, what is now the city's visitors center might even look something like it did at the turn of the 20th century — when it was one of the most celebrated bordellos in the Southwest. Miss Laura's Social Club was just one of many "houses of ill repute" in Fort Smith's infamous red light district known as "The Row." Built in 1896 as the Riverfront Commercial Hotel, the house at 123 First St. was purchased by Laura Ziegler in 1898 for $3,000, which she borrowed from a banker. She opened the brothel in 1903 — and repaid her loan in only 17 months. That much is documented. And it's also fact that the house is the only former bordello in Arkansas listed on the National Register of Historic Places. But much less is known about Miss Laura, and the challenge of bringing her to life in a short film titled "Step Into Miss Laura's" fell to Los Angeles-based director Devon Parks and Fayetteville actress Missy Speer Gipson. "I love period pieces, and to get to imagine and then exist (even for a short while) in that world is really unique and a treat as an actress," says Gipson. "But one of the reasons you usually see Miss Laura's profile or back of her head is that no known pictures of her exist. No one knows even what she looked like." Parks, who grew up in Van Buren, says creating an historical drama like "Step Into Miss Laura's" requires equal parts fact and fancy. "If you don't tell history as it happened, you're not telling the true history," he says. "But it's important to bridge the facts with expressionism to create and tell the story; it's what separates narrative filmmaking from documentary filmmaking." "Miss Laura's" is the second of two films in what Parks calls the "Step Into" series. The first, "Step Into the King Opera House," was shot in 2013 in Van Buren. "It's used by the city of Van Buren now as part of its tourism angle," he says. "When people come into Van Buren on the A&M train, they can take a tour of the King Opera House and watch the 18 minute film." "Step Into Miss Laura's" followed in January 2017, shot on location in Fort Smith and Van Buren, Parks says. "The principal cast was six. Four of those were cast out of Los Angeles by former Arkansas native Liz Barnes (Emmy nominated casting director) which all turned out to be Arkansas natives as well who are working in L.A. Missy and Hannah Lovins were cast locally as principals. And all of the extras (20- plus) were local." The process of shooting, Parks says, was not an easy one. "It was four straight, 12-hour days and nonstop set dressing, costuming and makeup, and rolling the camera," he remembers. "When shooting a period piece, you usually have to transform the entire world before you can shoot it. In our case we had some help from the staff at Miss Laura's for letting us shoot inside the original building, making things a bit easier for our art department." His biggest joy in the project was also the biggest challenge, Parks admits. "I enjoy most being able to create an environment from a different time period. When you walk on set or step behind the monitor, you see a world that existed in our history, and we're all working to re-create that. Every detail has to be properly planned for, which is extremely challenging when looking at all of the moving parts." For Gipson, "on-camera work is so minimized. Every gesture, facial expression, intonation, it all reads so much bigger on screen, which is usually the opposite in theater. It's a nice challenge for myself to flip between the two. I do enjoy on-camera quite a bit because I find the emotional quality of the quieter dialogue and smaller movements thrilling to do." The AETN broadcasts of "Miss Laura's" are the pinnacle of Parks' hopes for the film. "We created the series to feature some of the stories behind amazing historical venues that still stand in Arkansas' River Valley." But that doesn't mean he has no bigger ambitions. "Since filming 'Step Into Miss Laura's,' I released the feature film 'The Riot Act,' which was also shot entirely in Arkansas," he says. "And I'm continuing to explore some of the stories of Arkansas' history that could and should be told on a large-scale film platform." JANUARY 20-26, 2019 WHAT'S UP! 7 FAQ 'Step Into Miss Lara's' WHEN — 6:30 p.m. Jan. 24 WHERE — Arkansas Educa- tional Television Network COST — Free INFO — madpossum.com; aetn. org Step Back In Time Miss Laura's comes to life on AETN Photo courtesy Manit Attakul Fayetteville actress Missy Speer Gipson portrays the proprietor of one of Fort Smith's historic bordellos in "Step Into Miss Laura's," premiering this month on AETN. RIVER VALLEY