INDIANAPOLIS — Ciarra Krohne is no stranger to the stage.
“I grew up doing acting at Indiana Repertory Theater, and I did theater all around Indiana,” Krohne said.
But for the motion picture industry, that’s another story.
“It's a whole new world in terms of the business angle of things,” Krohne said. “Going to LA for film and theater specifically was really daunting because I'm really into the art aspect, but the business aspect, I was not familiar with. I had to learn quickly and figure it out.”
It’s a learning curve that would eventually reach the silver screen in Krohne’s latest project, “Chasers.” The film, directed and co-written by Erin Brown Thomas, explores the fine line between determination and exploitation among young creatives in Hollywood. Krohne is also the lead actor in the film.
“We wanted to take a lot of our personal experiences about working in the industry, what it's like being in LA, [and] coming into your own as a young person and experiencing everything for the first time,” Krohne said.
But “Chasers” is not your typical movie.
“Erin had this idea for a complete 30-minute one-shot through a party,” Krohne said. “We had to write with that in mind because without doing cuts, you can't do certain things. We had to work on the transitions in the writing and getting the character from one place to another.”
Shooting the entire film in one take added an extra layer of difficulty for Brown and Krohne.
“It was probably the most challenging experience I've had acting on set,” Krohne said. “With theater, you don't get a second chance, so I had to translate that to film.”
“Chasers” will make its world premiere in the Episodic Pilot Showcase at the Sundance International Film Festival. Krohne and Brown are in the process of developing the film into a TV series.
“We're kind of developing the seasons and what that would look like past our 30-minute short,” Krohne said. “Hopefully we can shop it to different production companies and see what works out.”
But for now, Krohne is focused in basking in the sunshine of Sundance.
“Sundance is a one-in-a-million chance,” Krohne said. “Just being able to get it seen and acknowledged is really meaningful and feels really validating as an artist.”
