Craig Jessen
writer/director
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Jamie Renée Smith
director
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April Grace Lowe
writer/producer
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Wieslaw Pogorzelski
composer
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Matt Guerra
associate producer
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Jelena Nik
associate producer
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Craig Jessen is an award-winning writer and director whose stories find dark humor and emotional tenderness in unexpected places.
His debut feature, A PROMISE OF TIME TRAVEL, is a quirky tragicomedy in which a seemingly chance encounter draws a bookstore clerk into a plot to steal a time machine. His upcoming movie, THE END OF SEX, adapted from his 2014 stage play, is a satire about a drug that can re-map sexual sensation, but leaves the topography of intimacy completely uncharted.
A lifelong dramatist, Craig has also worked extensively on big and small stages. He has directed Shakespeare, new works, and symphony collaborations. Notable productions include ROMEO AND JULIET (The SCV Space), MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (The Attic Theatre), FEEDBACK by Jane Miller (the Lyric Theatre), and AMERICA'S JOURNEY (The Rogue Valley Symphony).
As a playwright, his work has been performed across the country. Notable productions include FLOWERS UNTIL SUNRISE (Intravenous Theatre in New York), PYLON (Portland Ensemble Theatre), BABEL BELLY (winner of the Tim Robbins Playwriting Award), ALICE THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS (commissioned by Southern Oregon University), THE END OF SEX (Vertigo Theatre, which The Oregonian hailed as “a sexy play with a big heart”), THE GOD MACHINE (Wordsmyth Theatre in Houston), MIDNIGHT REQUISITION (Skypilot Theatre in Los Angeles), and GHOSTLY (winner of the Chameleon Theatre New Play Contest, Minnesota).
Craig serves as an adjunct faculty member for Southern Oregon University’s Master of Theater Studies program, teaching playwriting, directing, and script analysis to theater educators from across the country.
This is a story I've been trying to crack for over 20 years. Growing up in a religious family that included both ordained ministers and secular outcasts (the vestments worn by Simon in the film were my grandfather's) questions of faith and disbelief were always top of mind, but not in a way that was easily articulated.
My first attempt was a farce about a preacher's son trying to get God's attention by building his own Tower of Babel… inside his stomach… made out of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. While Tim Robbins liked it enough to give me a handsome monetary prize for my efforts, I still hadn't told the story I was itching to tell.
My second attempt was a more grounded comedy – a full length play about a concierge mall service that could install any belief the user selects (and an art restorer who defaces sacred paintings with phalluses). Some very talented actors in Texas did fine work with that play, but the itch remained unscratched.
Both Babel Belly and The God Machine were enjoyable romps, but they focused too much on the wrong question (does God exist) rather than the more salient issue of how do we live in a world where that question cannot be answered.
The breakthrough came not from within but from without when my wife and creative partner, April Grace Lowe, agreed to join me in my efforts to write BEYOND METHUSELAH, and became one of the film's two mothers.
April had three key insights:
- The film could not rely on the simple polarity of belief and disbelief. It required both spectrum, and someone who was outside it. April's work crafting the character of Morgan unlocked the heart of the film.
- If we wanted a modern parallel for how dogmatic righteousness can destroy families, individual freedom, and so easily become a slippery slope to violence and terror, there was a clear analogy to pull from: abortion.
- The ending… but to say more would be spoiling.
And so what began as a story about what we believe became a story about how we can love… about how painstakingly difficult it is to maintain the bridges that connect us, and how terrifyingly easy it is to burn them all down.
The film's second mother was Jamie Renée Smith, who was a stalwart directing partner. A true actor's director in every sense of the word, Jamie helped shape the honest, nuanced, and heart-breaking performances of the film.
Thank you April and Jamie for helping me scratch this twenty year itch, and finally bring this story to life.
– Craig Jessen
Jamie Renee Smith has been professionally acting since the age of six, starring in blockbuster hits such as Dante's Peak and appearing in television shows including True Blood, Weeds, 9-1-1, Better Things, and Merry Happy Whatever.
Jamie graduated from UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television in 2012, where she began her friendship and working relationship with Craig after they were cast in the same play and became instant friends for life.
Jamie has directed a number of plays, including Alan Ball’s 5 Women Wearing the Same Dress at Two Roads Theatre, and received acclaim for her direction of the one-act Johnny & Wilma from Renée Taylor and Joseph Bologna’s famous one-acts produced at Orange Coast College.
This is her first feature film, which she co-directed alongside Craig, the creative mastermind behind this thrilling story. In addition to directing, acting, and producing, Jamie also privately coaches and trains actors at her studio in Burbank, with countless client bookings under her helm. For more information, visit thejamiereneesmith.com.
April Grace Lowe is an award-winning actor, writer, and producer whose work is distinguished by emotional depth, authenticity, and a fearless commitment to storytelling.
A Los Angeles native, she earned her BFA in performance from Southern Oregon University before moving to New York, where she co-founded the production company Doubtless Dreamers with her creative partner and husband, Craig Jessen. After relocating to Los Angeles in 2008, the duo expanded into audiobooks and independent film, building a body of work that includes the acclaimed sci-fi feature A PROMISE OF TIME TRAVEL and the award-winning comedy JAW RECORDER: CONFESSIONS OF A ROMANCE NARRATOR, for which April won an award for best comedic performance.
BEYOND METHUSELAH, which April co-wrote and produced, stands as a powerful reflection of her artistic voice and vision.
Whether acting, writing, or producing, she brings intelligence, humanity, precision, and heart to every project, while also sharing her passion for storytelling and human behavior through her current work teaching Wellness & Psychology at Geffen Academy at UCLA.
Wieslaw Pogorzelski has composed for film, radio, and ballet, and performed at the highest levels of chamber and orchestral music, with a decades-long career based in the Bay Area.
He was co-founder of the New Century Chamber Orchestra, one of America’s notable conductorless string ensembles, and also a co-founder of Stratos, whose self-titled album was released by Warner Bros.
His composing is infused with a distinctive blend of classical depth, cinematic atmosphere, and modern sonic texture.
Matt Guerra graduated from Cal Poly Pomona with a BA in theatre with an emphasis on acting. He was originally a Computer Science major until he took an intro to acting class and never looked back.
Then he looked back and went back to school and got his Psy.D. in Organizational Management and Consulting.
Matt is thankful that he is part of this production for the second time; it allows him to stay connected to performance and creativity.
With both parents having immigrated from Serbia, Jelena grew up in a habitually loud and foreign household where lamb rotated on a spit in the front yard and guests were greeted at the door with a shot of slivovitz. Cultural traditions and community mattered. There was the Serbian Orthodox church, the folklore performance group, and Christmas in January. Yes, they were the weirdos on the block.
After Jelena began her career as an actress, appearing on shows like Modern Family, she quickly realized that with her not-so-modern family, she had a lot of unique stories to tell.
Since graduating from USC with a degree in Film and Television Production, Jelena has channeled her past of otherness into projects that highlight and explore themes such as family and embracing who you are. She now works in production at Kapital Entertainment.