When then-10 year old Khali Spraggins read for a part in one of Vera J. Brooks’ productions last year, Brooks was so impressed by her natural acting talent that she a wrote and produced a webseries starring her.
Four-part “Khali’s Homeschool Hijinx,” now on YouTube, is about Khali’s unhappiness at having to leave public school to be home schooled by a retired teacher with four other students. She plans to destroy the home school in the hope her mother will return her to public school and her old BFFs.
Brooks met an 8-year old Khali when her young actor cousin brought her to a screening of one of Brooks’ films in which he had a part.
“Khali told me she had wanted to act since she was four years old,” says Brooks of Roantan Productions.
“So last fall when I was casting for a comedy TV pilot, “Dad, Inck,” that I had co-written, I remembered Khali and invited her to read the part of the daughter of a divorced man trying to turn his life around.
“This was her first audition and she blew me and everyone in the room away – they were all mesmerized by her natural talent. The adult actors gave Khali advice and recommended that her grandmother, Renee Ross, who had brought her to the audition, get her an agent.
“Khali was quickly signed by Big Mouth talent and she’s already filmed a TV commercial with undoubtedly more to come,” she adds.
The webseries was filmed over six Sundays last March and April in Old Irving Park house owned by young actor Robert Drewke’s grandfather while he was away.
“Khali’s” supporting cast includes voiceover actress Floriana Bivona-Lockner as Ms. Lydia the teacher; Robert Drewke, 13, a veteran of eight shorts and several theatrical shows; Nina Adamovic, 10, who has two shorts and a photo shoot to her credit and new actors, brothers Bautista: Benjamin, 13 and Giovanni, 10. Making brief appearances were Tammy Turner as Khali’s mother and Michael Idalski, Ms. Lydia’s college age son.
Local cinematographer Stacy Savic also co-produced, directed and edited; Zernul R. Shackelford Jr. was the sound designer and music composer; Scott Lynch, AD/gaffer and William Sacco, audio. Production assistants were Andres Patino and May Prado-Gedrimas; makeup, Deborah Sanchez
Script supervisor was Anne Unger, Brooks’ co-founder of Chicago ScriptWorks, which staged more than 30 readings of original screenplays submitted by screenwriters around the country, from 2002 to 2010.
Brooks is currently writing additional “Khali Homeschool” episodes for Spraggins, who just turned 11 and is in the fifth grade the Beasley Academic Center in Washington Park. Brooks is also looking for appropriate festivals in which to enter the miniseries.
See the entire 15-minute series here.
