Revamped Shakespearian Play Filmed at St. Agnes Mission Church

CAPE MAY POINT – A “contemporized” version of “Romeo and Juliet” played out June 16 when cast, crew and film director descended on St. Agnes Mission Church to film medieval scenes for a music video written by Juliet. 
Stewart Raffill and Diane Kirman, husband and wife team with ties to the area, are filming “First Kiss,” written by 16-year-old Izabella DeNaples, of Scranton, Pa. for an English-class project.
The poem, which was put to music by Right Touch Studios, of Northfield, tells the tale of what some might call the “greatest love story and the greatest tragedy.”
“In the poem, the girl is saying that her mom has told her the boy she is interested in is wrong for her,” explained Kirman, whose parents retired in Cape May. “In the poem, she says she doesn’t care, that she still loves the boy. Actually, she is not sure after the first kiss, but after the second kiss, she is sure.”
“The story begins in medieval times and ends up in modern times,” she added. They had four days of filming, starting in Cape May Point and ending in Times Square, New York.
DeNaples, who played Juliet, and her Romeo, played by Jacob Lilienfeld, of Margate, never met before the video according to Raffill. “She has only been singing a few months; they are all novices.”
“She’s an emerging actress and singer,” Kirman said, “and I thought why not help her? Kids today don’t really have good outlets and a music video is action-oriented. There are dancers, acting, and all sorts of activities that the kids can do by participating rather than sitting on a couch.”
Kirman and her husband produced and directed a film entitled “Standing Ovation,” which was shot in Cape May County. During the talent search for that movie, they worked with Sal Dupree, founder of a performing arts school in Linwood. “He called us saying he had a talented young lady and wanted to do a music video,” Kirman said. “Cape May is extremely film-friendly and very picturesque.”
Raffill said the “medieval-looking” church worked well with the Elizabethan costumes in the “contemporized” love story video.
“The church is over 100 years old, it is just great looking for this video,” he noted.
St. Agnes was established in 1883 as a mission parish of the Church of Our Lady Star of the Sea, Cape May. Services were held there in 1885 for the first time.
“Our plan is to post it on YouTube, and then send it to some Hollywood producers,” Kirman said. “Our goal is that they will like it enough and like Izabella’s voice and acting. She was just accepted for an audition on The Voice, so maybe this will help.”
Some of the crew, the producer, and director are donating their time to the production of the video, while DeNaples’ family is also covering some of the costs. They hope to end up with a video about four-and-a-half minutes long and have it available online by the end of the summer. “It’s our give back,” Kirman added.
Much of the cast is from New Jersey, including Dr. William Lewis, who retired from Lankenau Hospital and who has a home in Avalon. He plays a priest in the video.
Ovations Dance Studio in Oaklyn is providing rap dancers and students from the Charter Technical High School for Performing Arts, Linwood, joined the crew June 17-18 to learn how the video comes together.
To contact Karen Knight, email kknight@cmcherald.com.