Beneath the Dragonwood Trees: A Story Book Movie

Good News!

We've shown a rough edit of the film to an audience of children, parents and grandparents to a resounding, “We love it!” The audience enjoyed the feeling of being read to by the storyteller/narrators and the kids liked seeing simple drawings come to life!

The Musical Story-Book Film:

Peter Piper, a young boy, gets lost in the enchanted forest of Ficklewood with his talking animal pals, on a search for the wolf (Ravenous) so he can win a Badge of Honor. Along the way, he encounters Witches, fairies, elves and Giants. Ultimately, Peter learns a great lesson – that the love between family and friends is more valuable than a badge of honor.

I’ve had fun creating a multicultural fairy tale: think … Wizard of OZ, Peter and the Wolf … with dialects from Yiddish to the Deep South. BDT is a combination of live-action, puppetry and animation. Set in an Enchanted Forest with puppet narrators, a wild-haired Witch and her talking Broomstick, a Wolf with attitude, leprechauns and elves.

As the author of Beneath the Dragonwood Trees, books one, two, and three, book one is a 90 minute film for television and includes original songs and music. BDT embraces characters from seven to seventy (or maybe 80?) in a visual fiesta sprinkled with fairy dust.

How You Can Help:

The soundtrack and most of the film is complete, thanks to generous contributions of time and talent by a host of professionals and theatre lovers. However, we need funds to complete the edit. Our target goal for completion is November - just in time for the holidays. Editor/cameraman Barry Stone CSC.

With your generous tax-deductible support, we will finish part one of the trilogy as proof of concept, to pursue funding for books two and three.

(Margot’s 501c3, the West Coast Arts Foundation, created in 1998, raises sponsorship funds for children who wish to learn the craft of theatre and dance and provides them the opportunity to perform with professional mentors, where creativity and diversity come together. Beneath the Dragonwood Trees is one of those opportunities.)