An elegantly attired crowd gathered on the red carpet outside Tryon Theater Monday, June 18 in anticipation of the premier of “Get Better,” a film featuring locals Robert Linder and Beverly Moore.
While Moore appears in the film only briefly, she said the experience was moving.
“I’m so impressed with the production, and the part I play, though small, was a very touching part – something that really chokes you up,” said Moore, who plays Mrs. Alexander, the deceased wife of Roy Alexander. “Working with all of these great actors and cast members was an amazing experience.”
Linder, who plays Roy, spent Monday evening at the back of Tryon Theatre with his wife, Mary, watching the film and observing the audience. Linder watched for their reactions, their experiences with each scene.
He said he received numerous emails about the film, including one touching one from Jeanette Shackelford.
“Robert, your facial expressions were magnificent; so poignant, so minimalist but right on target,” Shackelford’s email read.
Linder said comments like these meant so much to him because it showed how people connected with his character and with the story.
It was Linder’s first experience with the film in its entirety, though he had seen it at other edit points.
“I had seen it in various forms but it was the first time I had seen the full film,” Linder said. “When I got to the very end I felt he [creator Chris White] had made the right decisions for the film and it was pretty powerful; it moved me.”
Chris explained the film did not have a formal script. Instead the story included about 40 scenes arranged by an outline. Chris said actors were then asked, to an extent, to wing it.
“We knew what was going to happen and then we found actors that could improvise with us,” he said. “We had to find people who could get comfortable really fast or who were comfortable making stuff up.”
Chris and his wife, writer Emily Reach White, helped the actors along, of course. If they were looking for a certain word or phrase to connect with a later scene, they would guide the actors toward those needs. Linder said the actors truly had to trust each other to pull off each scene.