Brillion grad set to make film debut

By David Nordby

The Brillion News

A small town bar, a hometown football hero, his twin sister, Christmas Eve and blood.

Those are some of the ingredients in Hope Klessig’s movie debut, a short film titled “A Scream Story: Vermillion Lake” directed by Brett DeJager.

“Oh boy, I can’t share much. All I can say is that there are some great plot twists for a short film,” Klessig said.

Klessig plays Aubrey, the twin sister of Casper, a football star returning from college for Christmas break. Aubrey has stayed home to take care of their ailing mother with Casper at college, but the two go out for a drink on Christmas Eve.

“I guess you’ll have to watch the movie to see what happens there,” Klessig said.

Klessig has studied musical theatre at Millikin University in Decatur, Illinois since graduating from Brillion High School in 2016. Her program focuses on acting, singing and dancing for stage performances. She’s had a wide range of travel and performances for her stage acting since graduating high school.

“Although my major specializes in stage acting, I’ve always been interested in getting my feet wet in film,” Klessig said.

Klessig says she is always looking for new work to audition for.

“That’s 80 percent of an actor’s job. I joined a Facebook page for actors in Wisconsin and came across a posting for this film. I submitted my headshot and resume, then waited for a reply,” Klessig said.

DeJager contacted her to read for two characters – one of them Aubrey.

“I sent him back a self tape of me reading for both characters … A few days later Brett let me know that I booked (the) role of Aubrey,” Klessig said.

The film is scheduled to be available by late spring or early summer streaming on YouTube and Vimeo.

Please see the complete version of this story in the March 5, 2020 edition of The Brillion News.