Published Wednesday, August 21, 2002
for TV series
Herald Staff Writer
A 400-acre farm near Volant is star-struck as Hollywood comes a-knocking this week in the form of "The West Wing" production.
Jeff and Roberta McConnell's dairy farm in Washington Township, Lawrence County, will be one of the stops on fictional President Josiah Bartlet's campaign trail. The production agency needed a soybean farm for the president, portrayed by Martin Sheen, to visit and the McConnell's farm fit the bill.
"Its so exciting. And its crazy," said Mrs. McConnell, who will also be an extra in the two-hour season premier. "We're trying to keep our place looking presentable. When you're going to have 600 or 700 people here, you want your place to look nice."
A casting call two weeks ago yielded about 300 local extras for the two-day filming, said Joanne McBride, executive director of the Lawrence County Tourist Promotion Agency. More than a hundred more extras were called up for a crowd scene being filmed Friday afternoon.
The portion of the episode that will be filmed here will be similar to a "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" adventure, according to Nancy Mosser, who owns the Pittsburgh-based casting agency that handled the casting call. Sheen will be joined by castmates Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, Bradley Whitford and Janel Moloney.
"Our driveway is like a highway. Our poor dog is not sure who to bark at," said Mrs. McConnell about all the production workers coming and going on her property.
According to Mrs. McConnell, filming started last Wednesday at the Washington Township municipal building, which was outfitted to look like a gas station. The crew will be filming today near a covered bridge near Volant.
Preparations to get the farm ready for filming Friday and Saturday included moving calf hutches used in the dairy operation and building a stage for the president when he greets the crowd on his campaign stop.
"They only want certain things in the background. It's all controlled. Jeff has been at their beck and call," she said, speaking loudly today over the drone of a low-flying plane that was part of a crop-dusting scene. "I feel like my house is being buzzed," she added with a laugh.
Mrs. McConnell said the roads near their farm and other areas of filming have been shut down, and though she knows it's an inconvenience to neighbors, she said it's all part of the fun and will only last a couple of days.
She and her family are able to stay in their home, since only the outside of the house will be filmed. As well as Mrs. McConnell, her daughter Julie, daughter-in-law Caroline, and family from Ohio will be extras. "Jeff and my son Brian did not want to be in the film, but are helping out the production company."
A former Wilmington High School band chaperone, Mrs. McConnell got the band in the filming as well. "They needed a band playing for the president. I told them I knew of just the one," Mrs. McConnell said. About 40 to 45 band members will play, and -- for fairness' sake -- the rest will get to be extras in a crowd scene on Friday. "They (West Wing producers ) will make a nice donation to the band for their part," she said.
The owners of the 100-head dairy farm are still incredulous about the event. It's not the first time the fourth-generation family farm has been considered for filming.
"We thought we were going to be filmed for a Superman movie a while back and got our hopes up, and then it didn't come through," she said. "When I heard their message on our answering machine I just couldn't believe it. I told my family, 'You're kidding, right?'"
But reality is setting in for the McConnells as producers, crew, and soon actors and extras, show up at her house.
"The crew has been so nice, very down to earth people. We've really enjoyed working with them," she said. "Its amazing what they've done in such a short amount of time. We're looking forward to Friday and Saturday.