Halestorm Entertainment: Arizona singles shed light on "The Real Life Singles Ward"

PHOENIX, AZ, April 06, 2011 (Press-News.org) Real people, real stories, and real-life connections to the Arizona Latter-Day Saint singles community make a new, light-hearted documentary a must-see DVD for Arizona saints.

Unlike the well-received original "Real Life Singles Ward" movie, a comedic spoof of singles wards released in 2002 and its sequel released in 2007, "The Real Life Singles Ward" allows singles to share what it's really like to be single and LDS in the latter days. Fittingly, it premiered in Utah this spring at the 10th Annual LDS Film Festival where numerous LDS-genre films delighted audiences.

Mid singles Dana Harper of Mesa and RuthAnn Hogue of Maricopa were each invited to make the trek to Salt Lake City to talk on camera about what it's like for them to be LDS and single. Each had previously worked with John Moyer on "The RM" after meeting through the production and promotion of the original "Singles Ward" movie.

Moyer, the standup comedian, filmmaker, screenwriter and actor behind this newest release drew on each of these talents in the creation of the DVD. Still, there were challenges.

First, it was done on a shoe-string budget.

"From a creative standpoint, you have a story you want to tell," Moyer said. "We have to make sure we can share the message while making sure we don't hit the people watching it over the head too hard. I definitely have a message I want to say about the whole LDS culture that I think is quite peculiar. It had to be packed in a way it could be received. You can't make it too brutal or blatant. You want to make it somewhat funny."

Jim Harnack, a single Latter-day Saint in Buckeye, said the final result was a success.

"You will align with one of the personalities," Harnack said, referring to Moyer's lineup of interviewees who ranged from single teens to those in their 50s. "You'll say to yourself, 'I know where he's coming from,' and immediately relate to something they said."

For Harnack, 50, a retired law enforcement officer, one woman's comment about going to a singles event and never going back hit home.

When you walk in, Harnack joked, it would be easier if singles could fill out a form through an acceptance board of three people who could ask all of the questions. They could make a little baseball-type card singles could simply hand out saying "Here's my stats."

Watching the DVD also proved educational to Harnack, who had never previously heard the term NCMO, although professional counselors and professors from Brigham Young University clearly had. For those in the dark, NCMO refers to Non-Commital Making Out.

Harnack said he could relate to men who might not be able to trust a woman who is known for "making out with this guy and that guy."

"You want to be special," he said. "You just don't want to be the kissing booth."
Harper, a long-time Arizona real estate broker, former television show host and organizer of Dana Harper and Friends in Utah and Arizona, revealed on camera that he saves his kisses as well. He made time for the interview over Fourth of July weekend while visiting family in Orem, Utah.

"We did the interview right there at the kitchen table," he said, adding that he was not at all nervous.
Hogue met up with film editor Mario DeAngelis in Sugar House Park while staying with her daughter in Salt Lake City during Labor Day weekend.

"It was so much fun because as a little girl I remember playing in Sugar House Park," Hogue said. "I never would have guessed that one day a camera crew would have been meeting me there to talk about being single. I also never would have guessed that at this point in my life I would even be single."

Like Moyer, Both Harper and Hogue have prior ties to LDS films, including having played complementary husband-and-wife roles in Halestorm's "The RM." Each has been involved in promoting other LDS films which have played in Arizona theaters and have always been willing to lend a hand in getting the word out to family and friends. They also have each been single in Arizona for more than 10 years.

"The fascinating thing for me was talking to people 25 and under who were not dating anybody," Moyer said. "They would say, 'I will meet somebody in a year and everything will be great. By the time they are 30 and have never been married, they have a more realistic perspective. You could do a documentary simply on the over-30 crowd."

"The Real Life Singles Ward" DVD is available for purchase online, in Deseret Book Stores and at a handful of independent book stores. For more information visit http://www.reallifesinglesward.com. Purchase for $14.95 at http://www.halestormentertainment.com/p_products_details.asp?pID=195&category=1&size=0&search=&page=

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