"The Lonesome Place" Blog 1B

To cast “The Lonesome Place “ by August Derleth I took actors out of two ABC shows Modern Family and Nashville because the family atmosphere and character dynamics have similarities with both Stevens and Johnny’s Family.  

For Steven I would cast Nolan Gould. Nolan who plays Luke in Modern Family provides a character that has many similarities to Steven. In season 1 of the show Luke is younger and silly but still is scared, as exampled in the episode “fears” when him and his dad did not want to climb under the house because it was dark. Nolan can also play the role of an unreliable narrator, in Modern Family Luke sometimes seems confused and not that smart.

I would cast Rico Rodriguez known for his role of Manny in Modern Family to be Johnny. In the show, Manny and Luke are good friends, and often times take on activities or challenges together. Manny has a great imagination; he often writes poetry and tries to take girls much older than him on dates. Manny though has fears, in Season 1 in the episode “fears” he is forced onto a roller coaster by the family. In “The Lonesome Place”  as the boys get older they get more interested in girls, but still never linger around their fears too much. As seasons develop in Modern Family you see Manny and Luke become older and as they hit their teens become more interested in females. This picture from last season shows Manny and Luke driving a car to get the attention of a cute girl. 

Stevens’s mom is a strong female, and I could not stop thinking about how good Connie Britton would play that role. Connie is a strong southern female who has had success playing strong female leads in Friday Night Lights and Nashville. When Steven is trying to get out of going to town his mom says “You go now. I don’t want to hear another word out of you. Here’s the money.” (Derleth 192).  I could see this line being in the script for Nashville or Friday Night Lights. In her roles, she is constantly trying to establish power over her children, and she does a damn good job at it. 

I casted Ed O’Neill who is known for playing Jay on Modern Family as Johnny’s dad. Jay is an older character who is blunt. I could completely see his character spanking Johnny for thinking there is a faceless, dragon tailed bogey-man out there.