The Lady of the Lake: The Legend of Lake Ronkonkoma premiered before a sold-out crowd at Sayville Theater on Sunday, August 4.
“It was a filmmaker’s dream,” writer-director and Ronkonkoma-raised Maria Capp reflects.
The creative team on hand and the community members serving as their inaugural audience came together to celebrate the release of Native American folklore translated to the silver screen for modern eyes.
The film stars Seth Gilliam (The Walking Dead, The Wire) and Nia Sioux (Dance Moms) as a father-and-daughter duo seeking answers and requiem in the face of total despair. Tragedy struck their family in the form of Nia’s older brother Brian’s death by drowning a year prior.
Now, the Schultz family and their friends must head-on confront the perhaps not-so-alleged spirit of Princess Ronkonkoma—Romeo and Juliet-reimagined as the 1600s-originated, and thoroughly backdropped Tahoma (Taylor Red Fox) within the film. She has long been purported to haunt the lake by taking the life of any man who ventures into her domain—the fatal consequence of her own love, and life, being taken from her prematurely.
In pre-production, Capp conducted extensive research, casting and crewing to prioritize culturally-consulted and considered Native American authenticity. This brought her as far as SAG-AFTRA’s Zoom seminars about the “Inclusivity of Native American Actors and Stories,” and as close by as the Ronkonkoma Historical Society, the Heritage Association, the Town of Brookhaven’s highly informative Main Office displays, and the Shinnecock Reservation.
The result: a body of work co-signed by the local native community, thereby quelling Capp’s early concerns that stemmed from the little resistance she garnered upon first alerting the community of the production’s intentions—to demystify the myth—a few years back.
Lady of the Lake checks off many genre boxes, but not that one. “This is not a horror movie,” Capp empathically stipulated in an interview with The South Shore Press. “It’s a drama, it’s a coming of age—with folklore and a supernatural thrill weaved into it.”
At the August 4 Q & A, Capp elaborated: “This is a story about loss and grief. [Tahoma] was just so sorrowful, it’s not like she was vengeful and evil. Her sorrow was just very overwhelming. And that transcended into the contemporary story, of grief and loss for the parents, the Schultz family and the surviving sibling, Jamie… so for me, there is a very profound relationship between loss, and families, and energy—what that looks like, feels like, and smells like.”
Fox also spoke of energy when opening up about her creative process with The South Shore Press. To get into character for a film she likened to a “Deja Vu episode” upon first reading the script, Fox, like with all other roles, practiced “meditation and silence” instead of listening to music.
“[My process] is to get grounded with the energy I’m trying to get across for the screen, because as we know energy cannot be created or destroyed,” said Fox. “So, I’m taking the energy from around me, and projecting it into the project.”
“The whole town is abuzz,” Ronkonkonkoma’s state representative for the past seven years, Sachem School District (’08) and St. Joseph’s College (’12) grad-turned-Assemblyman Doug Smith (R-Holbrook) shared in an Instagram video live from Sayville Theater on August 4, a day ahead of his 34th birthday. The noted supporter of the local arts scene was one of the more familiar faces in attendance for The Lady of the Lake’s lively launch.
The former educator—who is currently up for re-election in New York’s Fifth District this November—further encapsulated the airborne energy that day, and the virtue of artistic enthusiasm in general, by speaking with cast and crew, participating in the “Q” portion of the “Q & A,” and providing his additional thoughts and impressions to the media.
“I want to thank Maria Capp for her captivating retelling of the legend of Lake Ronkonkoma,” Assemblyman Smith told The South Shore Press. “I was delighted to join our community in enjoying this cinematic adventure. I was excited to see local talent and a local production on the big screen and I strongly encourage everyone who enjoys suspense to see this movie!”
Helming from the Washington Heights neighborhood of Manhattan, the film’s foremost star-power, Seth Gilliam as grieving Ronkonkoma Fire Chief Adam Schultz, notes that firefighters on the homefront are “New York’s bravest for a reason.” Gilliam expressed to The South Shore Press: “It takes, quite frankly, a great deal of love for your fellow man, to race into a building to ensure people’s safety.”
Capp extends a hearty salute to the “beautiful and generous” Ronkonkoma Fire Department for their behind-the-scenes efforts in helping provide all the elements the production required to adhere to safety mandates for riskier scenes. She also commends her own cinematographer (Elle Schneider) and first assistant director (Shannan Leigh Reeve) for” jumping into the water” to help procure complicated shots in short order, and with sheer brilliance and simplicity.
“Hire people—surround yourself with people—that know their job better than you,” Capp advises.
Gilliam was intrigued by the idea of partaking in a family-based project—but did not learn until principal photography during the summer of 2022 in Lake Ronkonkoma and Yaphank just how much of Capp’s actual family would have been involved. “That was a bonus,” he chuckled.
Capp’s children Steven and Raffaela, who star as Erwin and Becca, respectively, believe their mother has produced her best work yet with The Lady of the Lake. “It shows progression over time, and like with anything else, that practice makes perfect,” said Steven, adding that watching someone as deservedly high-profile as Gilliam work only made everyone else better at what they do.
Raffaela recounts Maria first proposed The Lady of the Lake as a project worth pursuing about a decade ago. At the time, eventual lead Gilliam was starring on two of television’s most popular shows—AMC’s The Walking Dead and CW 11’s Teen Wolf. Raffaela cites the latter program as integral in the development of Lady of the Lake’s teenaged characters, who must juggle conventional angst with this loaded heap of supernatural ridiculousness that’s unfortunately begun to lurk far from the shadows.
In comparing an indie effort like The Lady of the Lake to some of these bigger-budgeted projects that also meld “Man v. Man” and “Man v. the Maccabe,” Gilliam believes “there is a little more patience involved, because there are fewer people on hand to troubleshoot and problem-solve.”
“Aside from the crew being smaller [on Lady of the Lake], the passion was just as high as it was for The Walking Dead,” said Gilliam. “You’re leaning into that as an actor, that’s your support system. That’s your safety net.”
Per the turnout and overall success of August 4th’s screening, Sayville Theater invited the film back for an additional 3 p.m. screening on Sunday, August 25. A ticket can be purchased via EventBrite here.
“The audience was so warm and responsive and receptive. They loved the relationship between Seth Gilliam’s and Nia Sioux’s characters. They loved how the family was struggling and then overcame. Everyone was so touched by the native american ceremony at the end — it was sacred,” said Capp.
“Ronkonkoma Pride is loud and clear,” she adds. “People loved seeing Ronkonkoma on the screen, and I took time to show Ronkonkoma on screen.”
“It was quite exciting to see where I grew up on film,” said Deana Boles, 38, a mother of three who has lived in—technically, on—Lake Ronkonkoma her entire life. “The Lake really seemed like its own character in this interesting story about the waves of grief, something I think all audiences can identify with in one way or another. I hope this is just the first of many. I can’t wait to see the next movie that shoots here!”
Vision Films Inc. announced itself Lady of the Lake’s acquisition partner soon thereafter on August 13. In linking up with Cappricelli Productions’ latest feature foray, the distributor takes on the 90-day, North American Transactional VOD release—which commences on August 27.
After “On Demand” comes availability on streaming—with a select New York City, Long Island, and Los Angeles theatrical run also planned through November to coincide with Native American Heritage Month.
After that? Capp intends to hold annual screenings between August and Halloween every year. This means its established actors like Gilliam, and greenest-behind-the-ears up-and-comers on the call sheet alike can equally help put Ronkonkoma on the “Movie Map” year in and year out.
“Pretty much, mostly at school I’m rubbing it in my friends’ faces—sometimes they talk about their sports, and I say, but I do theater, and I’m in a movie, so…” Jackson Gill, 9, of Islip, quipped while plugging both his second screen credit and his current turn in Argyle Theater of Babylon’s Bye Bye Birdie stage production.
The unsurprising SpongeBob aficionado was just one of many sons of friends, or friends of friends who found their way into the fold. The close-knit collective fondly recalls having a “feel-good frenzy” for a set; a workplace environment defined by well-welcomed good vibes, as they helped each star feel anything but dizzy on the comedown from shooting intense scenes.
“Everybody was being kind, having a good attitude, and being professional, and were most of all ready to work. Maria has the ability to bring people together. When she dials in and says we have to focus, then it’s time to focus,” said Emery Kelly, who plays Rocky.
“One of the main reasons I wanted to be a part of it, be in my hometown, get to spend time with my family while working, it’s not something a lot of people in the entertainment industry get to do: shoot at grandpa’s house, be on the lake with the family. It was like a family function, with the cameras rolling.”
“I didn’t think a small town like Ronkonkoma on Long Island would be able to have a project like this, and it makes me very happy that it gets to see the light of day,” Kelly added. “There are so many small towns that have stories that deserve to be told. This is just one of them.”
On Saturday, August 17, at 6 p.m. ET, audiences joined the cast and crew of Lady of the Lake: The Legend of Lake Ronkonkoma for a live, interactive screening of the film on CYA.Live.
Moderated by actor Gunnar Sizemore, attendees can chat in real time with Seth Gilliam, Taylor Red Fox, Steven Capp and additional stars that could not attend the Sayville Premiere like Larry Saperstein, Sharlize True, Del Zamora, and more. Writer-director Maria Capp will also be on the virtual panel. Click here to purchase tickets, and here to watch a trailer preview.
“It’s a movie everyone can [connect with]—if you think about it, when you see something happen that you’ve been through, happen to someone else, you’re going to think of it,” Kelly concludes. “Cherish the memories you have with the people that leave. They’re not here forever.”