Sympathy Pains

RIVER VALLEY and OZARK AREA — When Kat Dull of Conway suspected she was pregnant, her husband, Joe, got morning sickness.

It was just that once, but it inspired Dull, a University of Central Arkansas associate professor, to write a screenplay about it.

Sympathy Pains, a full-length feature film, is being produced by UCA and Daringly Dull Productions.

“Danny is the world’s worst comedian, and the film starts the morning of discovering they’re pregnant,” Dull said.

“The first draft was finished about 1 1/2 years ago. Then I’ve been rewriting it since.”

It’s being shot primarily in Conway but has scenes filmed in Little Rock and Russellville.

Dull said Parkway Street in downtown Conway was closed for a car scene. Pizzazz, a women’s clothing store downtown, was turned into a “maternity store” for the movie, and a scene was shot at King’s Dueling Piano Bar around the corner.

“A lot of stuff we’ve been able to do at UCA. We found the world’s ugly bathroom there,” he said. It is in the Lewis Science Center, an older building on campus.

Part of the University of Central Arkansas Health Center is being turned into a delivery room. “You won’t actually see the baby,” Dull said.

One of the “craziest” things that happened, Dull said, was that he had talked to a Little Rock airport employee for two or three months to arrange to shoot there.

“We showed up, and no one had ever heard of us,” Dull said. “No one could get in touch with [the employee], so they let us do what we were supposed to have done. They were very, very kind to us.

“Most people are surprised we’re filming it with a DSLR camera,” a Canon 7D, Dull said. “It’s a still camera, but it takes amazing video, also.”

The film includes nine primary cast members and 200 extras. He said extras will be needed through the end of filming, which will be Aug. 12.

Danny is played by UCA theater faculty member Chris Fritzges, who played a chef in Table at Luigi’s, UCA’s first feature-length film.

“I wrote the script for him,” Dull said. “He was just so great and so awesome to work with.”

Stephanie, the female lead, is played by Courtney Bennett of Little Rock, a UCA graduate.

Dahren White of Conway, also a UCA graduate, was cast as Tammy, a matronly comedian who “sets her sights on Danny,” Dull said.

“It’s great fun,” White said. “This character’s a different character for me. Joe said itfirst, then he retracted it: It’s a cougar type.”

White said her take on Tammy is that “she’s not meaning to hurt anybody. She takes an interest in Danny because of his burgeoning comic career.”

However, White said, “She shows up and crashes their baby shower.

“As an actor I love it, because it’s certainly not me.” She laughed, adding, “I would never crash a baby shower.”

White is a veteran actress with a long list of credits on her resumé. She was also in Table at Luigi’s.

Dull’s daughter, Emma, now 2, makes an appearance in Sympathy Pains. “Danny baby-sits; he’s practicing,” Dull said.

Dull said the budget for the film is $6,000, and most of it has come from donations. Previous fundraisers have not gone that well, he said.

“We’re still actually looking to do more fundraising to do the finishing of the film and get it out to festivals,” Dull said.

Table at Luigi’s won several awards, including Best in Show at the Indie Fest in California and Best Romance Film at the Bare Bones Film Festival in Oklahoma.

“With most of the films I do, I really enjoy the editing process. Usually when I’m out filming, I’m looking forward to it being done so I can edit.

“Our cast is so good, our crew is so solid. … I’m enjoying this more than almost anything I’ve ever done.”

The project gives UCA students hands-on experience that many college students don’t get, Dull said.

He said a university in Florida produces feature films in its graduate program, and a few other schools might do one.

“I’m only aware of our program doing this on a regular basis,” he said.

The 90-minute film is due out next year.

“Over the fall, we’ll be doing some sneak previews just to get audience feedback,” Dull said. “The real premier is going to be in September 2013.”

Senior writer Tammy Keith can be reached at (501) 327-0370 or tkeith@arkansasonline.com.