By Paul Sloth
Journal Times | Posted: Sunday, October 5, 2008 12:00 am
BURLINGTON - As he walks his fifth-graders through their French lessons, you might not guess that Peter Morse is an actor.
He studied French and theater in college. After studying theater in California, he landed roles in television shows and he's done work on industrial films. Since moving to Wisconsin with his wife, Jan, he hadn't acted in a film.
With twin sons and teaching jobs in Burlington and Milwaukee, he's busy.
He'd auditioned for a film that was going to be shot in and around Baraboo, but he didn't expect to land one of the film's six major roles.
Morse, a teacher who lives in Mukwonago, waited. He was on summer break from his job teaching French in the Burlington Area School District.
Morse wasn't expecting the offer. With less than a week before the filmmakers were to start shooting, Morse, 49, scrambled to find out if he'd be able to accept the offer, which included taking a short leave of absence from school at the beginning of this school year.
There were some drawbacks. He wasn't sure if he should take the role. He hadn't spoken with anyone at school in Burlington. Morse, 49, has acted in New York and California and he's active now in Milwaukee-area theater, but he's not tied into a big market like Chicago, he said.
"I thought it was a great opportunity. The opportunities to do this type of thing, you know they really don't come my way that often, simply because of the fact that I'm not pursuing it with that much energy," Morse said.
With everything squared away at school, Morse accepted. He'd found out about the film through a Milwaukee talent agency he works with, Jennifer's Talent Unlimited Inc.
Morse plays a Desert Storm veteran in the film, which is tentatively titled "Motel, Gas Station."
The film was written and directed by Wisconsin native
Mary Sweeney, a producer and editor who has collaborated with director David Lynch on films like "Blue Velvet," "Mulholland Falls" and "Wild at Heart."
Sweeney co-wrote the screenplay for "The Straight Story," a film about Alvin Straight, a man who rode his lawnmower 240 miles from Iowa to Wisconsin to visit his ailing brother.
This is her first feature film as a director. At the moment, Sweeney is focused on editing and finishing the film. Then she will see what it looks like and what her prospects are.
Sweeney was born and raised in Wisconsin and educated at University of Wisconsin-Madison. She's spent the summers here since her son was born 16 years ago. She has a very big family here.
With deep roots in Wisconsin, Sweeney wanted to set her film here and shoot it here, she said.
"I wanted to work with actors native to the place in which the story was set. I was interested in veracity of people and place. I found a mother lode of talent in the Milwaukee and Madison theater communities," Sweeney said by e-mail.
Many of the actors on the film were like Morse, Sweeney said, people who hold down day jobs to support themselves and their families. Many of them focus on theatrical work in addition to their work as actors.
Sweeney said it was a pleasure working with Morse, whose character is a fishing guide living at the motel and is one of the six ensemble leads in the film.
"He was serious, professional and sensitive," Sweeney said. "He gave my direction all his attention and consideration and always gave me what I needed for the character."
Morse, who teaches at both Karcher Middle School and Dyer School, was given the star treatment by his co-workers upon his return to Dyer School. Teachers signed a piece of red construction paper that was supposed to be the red carpet.
Around the schools, his students didn't treat him any differently when he returned from shooting the film, he said.
Many of Morse's older students know that he is an actor and have seen him in some of the work he has done, like playing a bad guy in "Walker, Texas Ranger."
The news of his role in the film generated a little bit of excitement among his colleagues, said Principal Joyce Uglow.
"We've never had somebody in a movie before," Uglow said.
After two weeks of shooting, Morse returned to the classroom. He couldn't attend the wrap party, which was on Sept. 14, because he his first day back to school was the day after.
He doesn't know what will happen with the film. He's been told that Mary Sweeney would like to have a rough cut of the film completed by the end of the year. In terms of whether it goes somewhere, he's not going to worry.
"Part of me doesn't care if I never see it," Morse said. "There's another part of me that is intrigued, because I want to see the whole thing. I want to see what it looked like."