Jesseca Kusher

Today we discussed our production timeline and casting decisions. I am especially excited about our casting of the primary role: “Val.” She is a kick-butt young professor and a woman of color on an elite liberal arts campus. Val is a powerful character, especially in our current social/political world.

Claire Fort will be playing our gal Val. Claire is a Kenyon graduate from around 2007 who has since earned her MFA in acting from the University of Washington. Claire has previously worked with Jon before in his short film called “Breezewood,” which toured a series of festivals including Harlem, The San Fransisco Black Film Festival (SFBFF), and the Saint Louis Black Film Festival.

Claire has her work cut out for her.

I’m excited about having a role in this production — especially as a member of the producing team. It is a huge responsibility to be making this film and I truly believe in its message. I am ready to work hard to make it happen.

From what I’ve seen in Claire’s acting reel — she’s going to kick butt and take names. We’re going to need her to do just that. “Gotta Get Down to It” is a powerful film that touches on the really real and often scary race relations and tension on college campuses. It asks the questions no one really wants to ask. Where are the boundaries in terms of free speech versus hate speech? How much of a duty do we have to our institutions? To our morals? To our classmates and community members?

I can’t wait to watch Claire excel in this role. She’s going to make our story that much more powerful.

For more on Claire, check out her website here, or reel here.