(upbeat music) - [Announcer] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.

- Just ahead on "Carolina Impact..." - Yeah, grab your popcorn and buy a ticket to the newest movie theater in town.

I'm Jeff Sonier.

We'll tell you how the big screen is also triggering big changes for one Charlotte neighborhood.

- Plus we go behind the scenes to learn more about a Charlotte actor you've likely seen on the silver screen.

And they're not just tasty treats, how a local couple uses their homemade cakes as a connector.

"Carolina Impact" starts right now.

(upbeat music) Good evening, thanks so much for joining us.

I'm Amy Burkett.

How do you replace a beloved Charlotte landmark on one side of town and how do you breathe new life into a forgotten Charlotte neighborhood on the other side of town?

Well, this week Carolina Impact's Jeff Sonier and videographer Max Arnall take us to Charlotte's newest movie theater, which may be the answer to both questions.

- Yeah, we're here outside the Independent Picture House, a new movie theater in an old industrial area just off of Sugar Creek Road, the Independent, bringing the neighborhood a little Hollywood, you know, lights... (upbeat music) (audience cheering) Camera... - [Producer] Showtime!

- [Jeff] Action... (guns shooting) - We got company!

- [Jeff] These are movie clips from the summer of 1984.

Modern classics all back on the big screen again, four decades later here at the Independent, along with cutting edge new films that you won't see at other theaters.

- The discoveries come thick and fast here.

They're not just throwing stuff up, going, "Hope you like it."

- [Jeff] And Lawrence Toppman, the arts critic for the Charlotte Ledger, says after two years now of coming to IPH for films that he calls hard to find and good to see, growing audiences are also discovering a similar mix of old and new that's growing up around the theater.

- Well, and it's sort of like what happened with NoDa maybe 30 years ago.

There are hundreds and hundreds of apartments going up.

I had no idea.

This place is gonna be really vibrant.

And one of the reasons, not the only one, is this house that we're sitting in, this Independent Picture House.

You'll be able to walk down and eat, get a glass of wine, see a movie.

If you feel like coming here and you don't feel like driving, the blue line puts you out within sight of the theater if you get off at the Sugar Creek stop.

- [Jeff] Toppman sums up the theater's early success with a memorable movie line.

- If you build it, they will come.

- That is going to be...

The top will be the projection booth.

- Oh, okay.

- Where the projector is.

- [Jeff] Brad Ritter is the executive director of IPH walking us through the challenges... - So again we go in the hallway, there's a little vestibule here.

- [Jeff] Of turning this old warehouse... - We wish that this was another 10 feet higher, but it's not-- - [Jeff] Into a new picture house.

- And we'll be holding film premieres, educational classes, and just all kinds of red carpet events.

- [Jeff] The Independent adding a new fourth auditorium with 150 more seats, plus a special events room expanding the theater to keep up with its early success.

There's even a new coffee shop and cafe next door.

- There's some sleepless nights, but, yeah, I think everything turned out well.

- [Jeff] Ritter himself spent 27 years at the Old Manor Theater on Providence Road working every job and hearing every rumor.

- The Manor was on life support, and, you know, the Manor's gonna close.

And then word would get out, and, you know, the community would be like, "Whoa, you can't close the Manor."

- [Jeff] But when the Manor finally did close during COVID, it created a celluloid void here in Charlotte, no space or place for these movie lovers to see the Indian foreign language films they used to show at the Manor.

- And that was devastating.

And, honestly, I think that really helped us with what we did with Independent Picture House, because there was an outcry.

We took the outcry of the community about the Manor closing and turned that into motivation.

We knew that there's a demand for a community-based cinema.

(upbeat music) - [Jeff] Today there are displays here at the Independent of faded photos and old movie ads honoring the Manor theater's 74 year history and the other old Charlotte movie houses that came and went before the Manor.

Even the movie popcorn here at IPH comes from the Manor theater's old lobby popcorn machine.

But the Independent Picture House is more than just Manor theater memories.

- With having the fourth screen, it's, like, more space means you can do more things, which means people will feel more ownership, I think, of the actual cinema.

- From his cluttered office here at UNC Charlotte, senior film lecturer, Jay Marong, is also the IPH creative director.

Not just booking art house films for the community, but also sharing the theater with the community so they can screen their own local films.

- You need those homegrown things that are here and can kind of see the shifting sands of a city.

And I think the unexpected success has at least shown us this is something people want.

There are enough people who will support these things, but you have to help them.

(upbeat music) - This is not just a movie theater that you come, you get some popcorn, and you watch a film.

But to sit in a theater and hear other people reacting to your work, that's really what it's all about.

It's an opportunity to experience storytelling with people around you.

- [Jeff] IPH board member, Setu Raval, is talking about something else that the Manor theater navigated.

- All of the movement beyond that is real movement.

The actress had something to look at the entire time.

- [Jeff] These theater talk-backs between the film experts or the film makers.

- [Jay] They force a character to make a really hard choice.

- [Jeff] And the IPH audience that comes to see these films.

- You need to be ready for the surprise.

And I think this movie does that.

- This place does want your input, because it wants your ideas to help shape what it's going to be.

- This is a space for people to come and talk about stories.

- And I think people will gravitate to that.

You don't see that at the megaplexes.

You just... You don't.

(upbeat music) - And here's one more thing you don't see at most movie theaters, Saturday morning cartoons on the big screen here at the Independent once a month, every month.

There's even milk and cookies for the kids, although it's hard to resist the old Manor Theater popcorn.

They're still popping fresh here at IPH.

Amy... - Thanks so much, Jeff.

If you're ready for your own movie night at Independent Picture House, check out pbscharlotte.org.

We'll link you to what's playing now, what's coming soon, and how you can help support Charlotte's independent film community.

Well, speaking of the silver screen, when you think of the term actor, who comes to mind?

Likely the A-listers, people like Tom Cruise, Sandra Bullock, or Denzel Washington, but there are thousands of actors and actresses not on the A list who are still earning a living in their profession, including some right here in Charlotte.

Carolina Impact's Jason Terzis joins us with the details.

- When we think of acting hotbeds, the Queen City probably isn't the first place to come to mind.

Most likely you think of Los Angeles, specifically Hollywood, or maybe New York City.

While there may be an occasional television show or movie that's shot here in the Carolinas, there are multiple actors based here earning a living in the acting world.

And we got the inside story with one of 'em.

- From where I sit, the 2013 Pilot has the kind of room you really want.

- [Jason] His face may not be instantly familiar.

- [Narrator] Preston doesn't know the cost of anything, - [Jason] But it's one you've likely seen even if you didn't realize it... - Now here's where you come in.

- [Jason] Likely multiple times... - Craig?

- Curtis.

- Everything's running smoothly out here.

- [Jason] Whether in commercials... - I'm Jerry from Carolina Air Conditioning.

- [Jason] Dramatic roles... - I had your picture pinned on the squadron board so long like it was part of the decor.

- [Jason] And just about all things in between.

- Your resume is impressive, but how could you possibly have 17 years experience in publishing?

When I tell them I'm an actor, the very first thing they say is, "What have I seen you in?"

There are absolutely things I can tell people they've seen me in, but it's not the most ubiquitous stuff out there.

What a mess.

Now I have to call legal.

And they hate me as it is.

- [Jason] Tim Perez-Ross has spent his entire life doing what he loves to do, act.

You've just likely never heard his name.

- Acting is his life.

It's his passion and he wouldn't have it any other way.

- [Jason] A self-described blue collar actor, Tim has appeared in countless roles.

- I do a lot of spokesperson work.

Choose the SharkBite product that is right for your next job.

A lot of my bread and butter work is corporate videos, training films.

I have absolutely no ego about those.

They are useful, they're necessary, they pay well.

But at BASF, it's everyone's responsibility to look out for each other.

- One time I was in the break room and I'm like, "Oh, that's my husband," he is doing a commercial, and then they're watching, everybody's watching TV, and everybody's looking at me strangely like... (Tammy laughing) - [Jason] Originally from Statesville, Tim was a theater kid in high school and he was all set to go to North Carolina State to study meteorology, but he had an epiphany while acting in his senior play.

- And I started talking out loud to myself saying, "I have to do this."

I don't know what this feeling is, but I want this feeling again.

I have to do this.

It was the right decision.

- [Jason] After attending Catawba College, Tim moved to Los Angeles where one of his early small roles was in the popular teen sitcom, "Saved by the Bell," where he loses to a girl in wrestling.

(audience cheering) - But then I got some soap opera work and some other TV work, but LA was never really where I wanted to be.

- [Jason] His decision was to come back home to North Carolina.

♪ We're the Meeklenburgers ♪ - [Jason] Where Tim was then a regular on "the Meeklenburgers."

- And to jail?

What are we gonna do?

- [Jason] A sitcom designed to teach people about Mecklenburg County services.

The show was long on awards, but short on viewers.

- Well, a lot of people are like, "Oh, you're doing 'Meeklenburgers,' "that's a terrible show," or whatever.

I was in 33 episodes of that show.

I would just say, "Hey, laugh all you want.

"This is one of the best jobs I've ever had."

- [Jason] For one episode Tim even dressed up and sang as a banana.

♪ B-A-N-A-N-A, na-na-na-na ♪ ♪ Bananas are good for you ♪ - The banana video.

I don't think it rings bell, no.

(Connor laughing) ♪ He's a banana ♪ - I'll need to be filled in there.

- It was fun and I'm glad I did it.

I have no regrets.

It was a blast.

- [Jason] In the years since, Tim has done a little bit of everything in the acting world from a slew of commercials... - We brought three new models Downtown-- - And, bam, people started sharing their Honda stories.

- [Jason] To corporate training videos... - It's time to re-think retreads with Michelin re-tread technologies.

- [Jason] And television appearances like this one from "the Vampire Diaries."

- I never heard of Mystic Falls.

- I've never heard of you.

Where's your badge?

- [Jason]] Airing on Amazon Prime now is a movie about George Washington, entitled "Washington's Armor."

Tim plays the role of real life character, Christopher Gist.

- And the movie was set in 1753.

So we're in period costume, we're riding horses, we're shooting muskets, we're walking across a frozen lake in upstate New York in February and 10 degree weather.

But it was just an amazing experience.

- [Jason] Currently Tim is a regular on a couple of shows, "the Big Door Prize" on Apple TV+.

- I've been on eight episodes.

- [Jason] And "County Rescue" on Great American Family.

- Timothy Magnum Cum Laude.

- Yes, sir.

- I don't care.

All that matters is what happens in the field.

But you did graduate pre-med.

My money's on you.

"County Rescue," I'm one of the regulars and that's also been an experience that as a blue collar actor I haven't had very often where I'm there every episode and almost every day.

- [Jason] To always be ready for that next call and potential role, Tim has converted a bedroom in his home into a studio, complete with everything he needs to record an audition.

- But then my main setup is just the DSLR camera with a really awesome little light on top and a boom mic.

And I have lights on either side.

And that's how I do every audition that I do.

One of the things that people not in my world will never understand...

Most of the time I have no idea where my next job is, when I'm gonna get it, or if I'm gonna get it.

I'm so used to it, it doesn't freak me out.

But can you imagine a normal person saying, your job is gonna last the next five days and then you have no guarantees of your next job.

- [Jason] And sure enough, just as we were wrapping up our video shoot with him, Tim got an email about a job.

And within minutes had his studio ready to go, recruiting son, Connor, to help with lines.

- [Connor] What you're describing is impossible.

- It's a lot, I know, but it's very much possible.

I could get a spokesperson audition right now with three pages of copy and in 10 minutes I could have it set up here, and 20 minutes after that I can deliver that audition to them.

So even the fact that they're saying, "Wow, I mean, we just sent this to this guy an hour ago "and he's given us what we're looking for."

That can be a huge advantage, because when they see what they believe they're looking for, a lot of times they don't wait for everybody else to turn stuff in.

They're just like, "Let's get that guy."

- Okay, I love this story and it seems like he really has this thing down.

- He does.

Years of experience and he kind of knows what he's doing at this point.

Now, the one thing where Tim says that he's been ahead of the curve on is investing in himself and his career, having all that equipment ready in his home.

And he also has another kit of stuff packed away that he brings on the road with him, so if he gets a call while he's out on another job, he can actually record an audition from his hotel room, which is kind of a cool little thing that he's able to do.

And one other thing, we're here in our studio here at WTVI PBS Charlotte, "the Meeklenburgers," the show, a lot of those scenes were filmed and taped right here in this very studio.

So it is kind of cool.

- Thanks so much, Jason.

All your stories are cool.

Well, if you've been to downtown Fort Mill recently, you've seen how vibrant it is.

Years ago, that wasn't the case.

When I moved there 11 years ago, there were empty shops everywhere.

But a local woman saw an opportunity to follow her dream of opening an art gallery and studio space.

Videographer, Russ Hunsinger, takes us inside to see it all.

Plus the surprise in the back.

(upbeat music) - My business is all about supporting the arts.

When we lived in Charlotte, I had some ducks.

So I thought I would name my business after all of my favorite ones.

The concept when we first moved on Main Street was to have a clay studio and a place where people can exhibit their work.

We want to wet this down a little bit.

I wanted to teach people so that they knew the idea of what goes into our... Good, Jen, whoo!

To feel how relaxing and tranquil you feel when you are engaging your creativity.

(group laughing) - I love the feel of getting my hands dirty and getting into it, but moreover I really liked the community and all of the encouragement, and everyone's so helpful and friendly, and it's become my second home.

(upbeat music) - All art's represented here, the clay, painting, music.

(upbeat music) And I really enjoy the music part now.

It's a lot of fun.

But I rotate these out and I put other artists in here as well.

And usually they're emerging artists in the area.

And I also have school art in here.

Sometimes I like to have exhibits for the schools so they can see what it's like to have their work in exhibit.

So it's just an opportunity for everyone.

- It's given me a safe space to put myself out there.

I think one of the biggest things as an artist is being perceived by others.

It can be very scary.

And so I think having a place of people who are very supportive and open has been really good, because it's given me kind of the little nudge I've needed to kind of start putting myself out there in a way that's not super intimidating.

- I can't tell you how many times I've made coffees for people time and time again and they never say a word to me, but that last time they open up about everything and it turns out they're an oil painter, or a sculptor, or a photographer, or whatever.

It's something you don't get at a lot of other places.

- I am hearing impaired.

That really did make me not go out in social environments a lot.

I am more open.

I understand it goes back to when I found it hard to be in galleries and stuff like that.

(upbeat music) - Being here is like being among my own people.

I'm not isolated.

People know that I can't hear well, so they will be happy to be repeat it.

I'm never ma made to feel uncomfortable about that.

And I think that's just fabulous.

All the people here tend to encourage others, especially newbies.

Whatever barriers there is, it doesn't impede creativity that I have.

(upbeat music) (group cheering) - It's important to me to be involved with the community, because it just raises more awareness.

- This is a 65 foot long mural that we put in last summer.

The lead on it was Debbie Wisset and it is titled "It's in Our Hands."

The mural is a community outreach and education piece that we did with the help of a bastion of volunteer artists.

And people who aren't artists came out and helped with it.

What we want folks to take away from the mural when they see it and when they interact with it is that our waterways are important.

They're important to all of us.

And we are the stewards of that waterway and we need to be better stewards of it in a lot of ways.

Art is powerful.

It is beautiful.

It's engaging.

It makes you think.

And it can just really be an emotional response for folks that maybe they wouldn't have cared so much about until they saw it and it connected for them.

- Fort Mill needs Olive's Mud Puddle.

There's not enough art in this area.

People are coming by and they're saying, "Oh, a coffee shop."

There's a ceramic studio in the back.

They're surprised.

And then they say, "Oh, can I do this?

"Can I do that?"

And we tell them, "Yes, you can."

- Thanks so much, Russ.

Debbie has led so many community art projects like the downtown Fort Mill Coloring Book.

She partnered with local artists to create pages highlighting Fort Mill and local businesses.

If you'd like to take pottery lessons at Olive's Mud Puddle, well, there's a bit of a wait.

So far the signup sheet is over 100 folks long.

Wrapping up tonight, the same way kids light up when they see an ice cream truck, a similar reaction happens when a local couple rolls to their location with their little blue wagon full of homemade pound cakes.

If you aren't smiling when you see them, you probably will be after tasting them.

Carolina Impact's Dara Khaalid and videographer Marcellus Jones show us how the pair used their business in some rather unique ways.

- [Dara] Reactions like this... - The bourbon pecan cake that I ate from you yesterday, I compare that to my grandma.

That's all I can say.

I gotta have one.

- [Dara] And this... - And they have so many different flavors.

Oh, man, I like all of them.

- [Dara] Are common comments when most people eat cakes from the Huntersville Company, BlueWagon Pound Cakes.

- I have the coconut pound cake and it just melts in your mouth.

- [Dara] With over 60 flavors ranging from lemon to more exotic ones like mango daiquiri, maple bacon, and... - Red Bull pound cake.

And that Red Bull was a smashing home run.

- [Dara] Yes, you heard that right?

A pound cake made with the energy drink Red Bull.

- When he tasted, he was like, "Man, I could feel the the acid coming through my nose, man."

- [Dara] And the people making those flavorful cakes are husband and wife, Kenneth and Reshia Dawson.

- I couldn't or wouldn't even do this without him.

- [Dara] From their home kitchen, they bake each cake from scratch with creamy butter, sugar, and a few family secrets.

- This is flour and some more stuff that can't be named, okay?

- [Dara] They make a good team.

Reshia handles the mixing and Kenneth does the baking.

- This is the favorite cake of my barbershop people.

So, yes, my barbers, the big old bust up guys, they like birthday cake.

- [Dara] Although they have dozens of flavors they bake now as a business, it all began with one simple flavor, vanilla.

It's special to Reshia, because it's the first flavor she learned as a child in the kitchen with her mom.

- My mom was a single mom.

I'm the only girl, so, hey, who ends up in the kitchen?

Me.

But I was always with her by her side learning how to bake.

- [Dara] Baking may have brought her joy, but to pay the bills she took on different careers.

- I always thought I would be a teacher of sorts or even doing hair, 'cause I went to beauty school as well.

So this baking, never anywhere in the forefront of my mind, ever.

- [Dara] Same story for her husband who's an award-winning musician.

- Well, see, I've been in sales almost all of my life... - [Dara] Despite where life had already taken them, they knew in 2017 it was time to bring their talents together to create tasty treats.

- To do it with your wife, the person that you love and you're in love with, it is so easy.

It's sweat-less.

It's like our sanctuary.

It's almost like a piece of Heaven for us.

- [Dara] And that piece of Heaven they feel is the same one they want others to feel too.

- So BlueWagon Poundcake is also a ministry.

So we go out in Charlotte, and we hit the streets, and we witness and minister to the lost.

We evangelize the gospel.

- [Dara] Reshia recalls a time when they were selling cakes, but dropped everything to comfort a woman in need.

- He called me, and he said, "I need you to come in.

"I need you to come in."

And so she was sitting there.

She was going through a very difficult time and I just grabbed her.

I just hugged her.

- [Dara] Michelle Blackett received that hug.

A hug she still feels years later.

- I was in a dark moment, probably the darkest in my life.

I had lost my husband unexpectedly.

When she entered the salon, she didn't ask my name.

It is almost as if she knew who I was.

She came in arms wide open, took me in her bosom, and prayed for me.

- [Dara] And prayer helped Reshia get through battles like childhood sexual assault and depression.

- The psychiatric ward of the hospital, they go put me on new medicines.

I'm in therapy.

So that went on for 10 years, a lifetime of working.

- [Dara] However, in the midst of her pain, she kept baking and finding ways to serve others, which helped her heal.

- You wanna live with purpose and you want to impact others' lives, because who's to say me touching her life, who is that life going to touch afterwards?

So it may touch lives I'll never see.

- [Dara] But there are a few lives she and her husband touched that she did get to see.

- The sweetest people in the world and my friend.

Hey, we're gonna get together.

- All right.

- I can see God all over you, man.

(group laughing) - [Dara] Back in 2020, during nationwide unrest over the murder of George Floyd, the Dawsons wanted to use their cakes to create unity.

- So we go to the police station in Kannapolis.

I talked to the chief, that guy there.

He said, "Hold on, Dawson, you the guy selling cakes?"

And I said, "Yeah," and he said, "Man, come on over.

"What you wanna do?"

So we went there and we ministered them and brought up a bunch of cakes, had prayer, had a beautiful time.

- [Dara] It's moments like that the Dawsons enjoy most.

(mixer whirring) (upbeat music) Even on those tough days when they're baking between 200 and 300 cakes or spending money out of their own pockets.

- My whole thing is, well, to bring a smile to someone's face, I want to...

If they were having a bad moment before they tasted the cake, when they put that in, they forget that whole bad moment, even for that small period of time that it brightens their day.

- [Dara] And if you ask these customers, they'll tell you the cakes are doing just that.

- The chocolate, oh, my God, I'm addicted to that.

The chocolate.

Now my wife loves the banana pudding cake.

- Ms. Reshia, this mango, ma'am, I'm hooked on another one of your flavors.

- [Dara] So when you see the blue wagon rolling, just know there's more than cakes coming your way.

There's a load of love too.

For "Carolina Impact," I'm Dara Khaalid.

- Thank you, Dara.

Another thing the couple enjoys is accepting off the wall flavor requests.

So don't be afraid to put in an order for them.

They're likely up for the challenge.

Do you know any fascinating people like the Dawsons?

If so, please send us an email with all the details to stories@wtvi.org.

Well, that's all the time we have this evening.

Thanks so much for joining us.

I always appreciate your time and look forward to seeing you back here again next time on "Carolina Impact."

Good night, my friends.

(upbeat music) - [Announcer] This is a production of PBS Charlotte.