"Nothing Short of a Miracle"

There were dozens of actors involved in making Episodes 1 through 6 of "Ghost Sniffers" and almost all of them were thrilled with the results. Yes, those dedicated to the show had seen Episodes 1 through 5 a great many times on YouTube and at our website long before the premiere on March 29, but no one had seen the episodes on the big screen and no one but Brianne and myself had seen Episode 6.

As a director, I have to make choices. Casting choices. Pacing choices. But never have choices been so hard as editing the length of Episodes 1 through 5 for the premiere. Moments that were funny had to be cut. Moments that were serious had to be played for laughs. Poet warriors became soldiers. Some soldiers became metaphors. The episodes were different versions of the true versions that are on YouTube, on our website and on the DVDs. They were only-on-the-big-screen versions.

But you know what wasn't hard? Reading my email in the hours after the premiere wrapped:

"I've never been so proud to be part of anything."

"You excel at everything you do."

"To watch Episode 1 to 6 in order like that, I saw what you've been saying all along. You've come so far! But you better stop saying that now, because it doesn't get better than Episode 6."

"What you have done with 'Ghost Sniffers' is nothing short of a miracle."

I have never worked so hard on anything as I did on making the premiere a success. Our family have never worked so hard. The literal days without sleep for the adults seemed like a small price for the laughter and the gasps in that dark room. The reaffirmations that what we're doing -- not just the episodes an individual was in -- means something so special to so many. I sat there and listened to the voices and the whispered comments and the giggles and I thought, "I want to work with that person again. I want to cast those two people in another project as well. I want to make that role larger because she really got that joke. I want to bring his character back because he's wiping away tears."

I think directors should be required to sit in the darkness and watch their shows surrounded by their cast and crew. It will tell you a million things that there is simply no other way to discover.

Thank you, all of you who supported each other, all of you who care about "Ghost Sniffers" and what we're trying so hard to do... thank you for sitting there with me and making me believe, anew, in our mission.

Jennifer