Columbus Middle School theater teacher Chelsea Petty was teaching class one day when she got a message from the front office.
“They just called down to my room one day and said, ‘The movie people are on the way to your classroom to meet you,’” Petty told The Dispatch. “And I’m going, ‘Who? What?’”
Petty’s confusion was soon cleared up after a conversation with artist and filmmaker Kevin Jerome Everson, who said he was looking for students to cast in a feature-length film called “Lowndes County.”
The film, written by Everson and playwright Talaya Delaney, tells the story of Everson’s father and uncles, both born in Lowndes County, who drove themselves and other Black students in a bus to school every day as teenagers.
“I always thought that was interesting, so we’re making a film about teenage school bus drivers,” Everson told The Dispatch. “That’s kind of the narrative, and the bus is a representation of the Civil Rights Movement because the African Americans had hand-me-down buses and the white had the new buses.”
Petty immediately started reaching out to current and former students to gauge their interest, and soon, the audition process was underway. For Lexy Magee, a 2025 graduate of Columbus High School who was one of four students cast in a speaking role, the audition didn’t come easily.
“My character has to speak a foreign language,” Magee told The Dispatch. “I was super not confident with that at all, so when I was doing my audition, I literally told Ms. Petty … I’m not going to get this role because it was so bad. I just thought I did so bad.”
But after the headshots and audition tapes were submitted and reviewed, Petty was allowed to give Magee and 22 other students the good news.
“A lot of them were just shocked,” Petty said. “They were like, ‘Really, me? I got it?’ … They were very surprised, very excited. I think a lot of them, they didn’t know what’s next. ‘I got a part in a movie. I know what comes next in a play, but what comes next in a movie?’”
Why Columbus students?
Everson, who has filmed movies in Columbus before, said there were two reasons he specifically wanted to cast Columbus students. For one, the movie will be filmed in black and white with continuous shots, meaning it is imperative the actors could think on their feet during filming – similarly to how the students act on stage. It’s a challenge Magee is looking forward to.
“Being in theater was kind of a leg up because you can’t have cuts in theater,” Magee said. “You just kind of have to go straight through with it so it will be different because the camera will be in front of my face, but as far as how it flows and the structure.”
Everson also wanted to give students an opportunity to experience the film industry firsthand.
“I think it will be important for them to see a professional crew doing a professional film in their own backyard with them in it,” he said.
Petty said her favorite part of the project so far is that it creates a local opportunity for her students, who may otherwise not have ever had the chance to be in a movie.
“Through the program at Columbus (Municipal) School District, they’ve learned a lot about theater, but they don’t get to learn a lot about film. We just don’t have a lot of those opportunities in our area,” she said. “… For most of our students, that’s just not a reality. That’s just not feasible, so getting to learn the film side of things, I think that’s just a whole different world.”
For Magee, who is planning on minoring in theater at the University of Mississippi in the fall, the experience is one she never expected to have.
“Being able to say you’re in a movie, that’s something that not everybody can say,” she said.
“So just being able to say that, that’s honestly what I’m looking forward to. And obviously when it comes out, wherever it comes out, I’m excited to gather my friends and family and see how it all turned out.”
Everson plans to have filming wrapped by the end of the month, with hopes of finishing entirely by October. He said the film will be submitted to festivals before a local screening is planned for Columbus sometime next year.
Petty said she is most looking forward to seeing her students take advantage of the opportunity to act on a professional level, especially for those that are already showing interest in a theater or film career.
“They’ll get to meet people who, this is what they do for a living. This is how they make their money,” she said. “This is their career, so hopefully for some of my students at least, they’ll say, ‘Hey, this is maybe something I want to do.’”
In preparation for filming to start next week, Magee said she has spent the week practicing her lines and getting ready for costume fittings. More than anything, she said she’s looking forward to meeting the other actors in the film and spending time on a movie set.
“I’ve never been on set before. I don’t know how that really works,” she said. “It’s going to be a long day, but I’m pretty sure it’s a long day that I’ll never forget.”
McRae is a general assignment and education reporter for The Dispatch.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 42 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
