The First Day

On June 3rd, 2006, the movie Me & You, Us, Forever began production with its first scene shooting at a high school in Greenville SC. Director Dave Christiano and Director of Photography Philip Hurn walked into a gymnasium where the first scene was going to be produced. Philip looked around and then with a slight smile told Dave, "we're already lit". He decided to use all natural light for the scene. Dave said fine and the production had begun.

Enter 17 year old Kathryn Worsham, arriving from Houston the day before to be in her first feature length motion picture. She was dressed in a cheerleading uniform reflective for the year 1974, which was the setting for this scene. Other cheerleaders from the local high school team arrived and Kathryn was inserted in the line up. Being a cheerleader on her own high school team was a big plus for the young actress so the scene was an atmosphere she was very familiar with.

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Kathryn Worsham

"Whenever I start a project, the very first scene is one that I'm always nervous about," said Dave. "You just never know how it's going to go and you want to get off to a good start."

The first thing going through the Director's mind is the chemistry needed between himself and his actress and how they will respond to each another. For the sequence, Kathryn and the other cheerleaders were going to do a familiar cheer, 'Defense! Defense!'. They will begin cheering, their team will steal the ball, run down the court, and score a basket. Kathryn will cheer, but not over act, and the rest of the group will do the same.

Dave gives the familiar filmmaker's call, "Action!"

Kathryn and the other cheerleaders start to cheer. As the action unfolds, the camera quickly moves in on her. Wearing her white sweater with a navy blue "W", she cheers away. After her team scores, the camera is on a very close up shot of Kathryn and she begins to watch her team go down the floor again, continuing to shout out a word or two of encouragment.

"Cut!", says Dave. "Good. Lets do it again."

Me & You, Us, Forever is just what it sounds like, a love story. But it's not just any love story, at least for the filmmaker. It is based on a relationship he had with a girl from Mynderse Academy in Seneca Falls, NY back from January 5th, 1974 to June 2, 1976. Kathryn Worsham was cast in the film first and foremost for one reason. "She looks almost exactly like the real person of whom this movie is about," said Dave. "But," added the producer, "she is a very fine actress as well."

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Kathryn in the cheerleading scene for Me & You, Us, Forever

"At first I was going to try and recreate everything exactly as it was," said Dave, "but then I decided to do it differently and in the end, I think things worked out quite well." Christiano had decided he would not try to re-create the Mynderse Academy emblem for the cheering uniforms, but instead to flip the "M" and make it a "W". The "W" also worked for West Henderson high school, where Dave knew another scene would be shot for the film.

Kathryn Worhsam was born in Houston TX and has lived there since day one. In the 7th grade, an actress and acting coach named Kim Terry came and spoke to her drama class at school about taking film acting classes. "It interested me," said Kathryn, "so I signed up with a couple of my friends and immediately loved it." She continued in her classes and later on was cast for a couple of small, local independent films as well as a music video in Austin. She also became involved in musical theater at her school, Second Baptist School in Houston, and has been cast in a few plays.

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Kathryn Worsham on stage in one of her high school musicals

The first scene in the movie with Kathryn was shot many times as Dave tried to cover his bases and make sure he got what he needed. After a number of takes, the Director said "we're good" and the first scene was over. Kathryn and the other cheerleaders now had to pose for a yearbook photo which was another important sequence in the film. "It really helped that production designer Stephanie King was a former cheerleader at Clemson University," said Dave. "She made sure this photo looked right."

After the photo, the small production team travelled north for about an hour to West Henderson High School in Hendersonville NC. Kathryn would shoot her second scene which was at the high school track.

Kathryn, playing a character named Mary, was watching her boyfriend (named Dave) run a mile run against her high school. Mary is dating Dave but they are from rival schools. The scene has Dave and a few other runners in a race coming around for lap two. As they pass by the timers, the camera ends up on Kathryn who quietly shouts out, 'Come on Dave'. "The expression on her face after that line is my favorite little thing she did in this film," said Dave. "It probably won't mean much to anybody else but to me, but she really captured the real girl right there."

The day will end for Kathryn as they go to another location in Hendersonville which is doubling for western New York. Jake Goodchild, as the young Dave, and Kathryn would play out a couple of scenes together. Day one was then over for her. Two more to go. Thirty-three more for the entire film team. And for Kathryn Worsham, the long wait of two years when she was first informed about this movie had at last come to pass.

"Working on the set of Me & You, Us Forever was a really great learning experience," said Kathryn. "It was so different to anything I had ever done before."

What Christiano did here with Kathryn's character is really quite different than what most filmmakers would do. The entire story is about this young girl but she is only in the film for a few minutes. "Maybe five or six," said Dave, "but I joked with her before she left that it will be a famous few minutes."

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Kathryn Worsham and Jake Goodchild in Me & You, Us, Forever

"It was such a comfortable environment," said Kathryn,"but at the same time Dave kept us all focused. He started each day of filming with a prayer which really created a peaceful working atmosphere."

"She'll probably get her picture on the movie poster cause she is the story," said Dave. "And even though audiences will only see a glimpse of this relationship, my hope is that this will be an effective way to share the memory of a lost first love, something that I believe many people can really relate to."

"My hope," says Kathryn, "is that the movie will prove to people that it is possible to produce a quality love story without language or sex. It is a personal story to Dave and I hope that it is everything he wanted it to be."

After three days of work, it was time to say goodbye to Kathryn and 1974, and move on to the 2004 scenes in the movie which would cover the rest of the way. As Dave reflected back on those three days, he had these thoughts. "Kathryn and her Mom and Dad were there for the three days. They are really fine people and that made the experience even better. We became a film family in three days and it was sad to say goodbye. But it will be a really neat moment when the film is finally presented in theaters and we're all watching together at the premiere. You can only hope that it all comes out as intended, or if we're blessed, even better."

"I would just like to say thank you to Dave Christiano for believing in me," said Kathryn. "I know that this role is personal to him and it was an honor to be chosen for the part. I’m looking forward to seeing the completed production, and I hope that I met Dave’s expectations. Working in a Christian environment was a great experience and I feel blessed to have been a part of the process."

"She said she hoped she met my expectations?" asked Dave. "Oh no, she not only met them, she exceeded them."