Meet The Cast Of Hold My Beer: Karen Krejcha

This week, I'd like you to meet another cast member of Hold My Beer: Karen Krejcha!

Karen is playing Ellen, mother of the lead character, Val. At the beginning of the story, she reluctantly goes along with her husband's decision to give Val a tough-love ultimatum, and later, makes a suggestion that sets her son on a life-changing course.

Fun facts: Karen is the co-founder and Executive Director of Autism Empowerment, a Vancouver, WA-based nonprofit organization devoted to enriching and empowering the lives of youth, adults, and families within autistic and neurodivergent communities. I serve on the Board of Directors for the organization, which was also a coproducer of Hold My Beer. But if you've been reading this blog, then you already knew all of that.

Here's the rest of Karen's bio:

Karen has a rich background in musical community theater and high school productions, having taken on leading and supporting roles in Annie, Annie Get Your Gun, Grease, The Sound of Music, Fiddler on the Roof, The Mouse that Roared, The Night of January 16th, and You Can't Take It With You. Though these roles were in her earlier years, her love for acting remains strong, fueling her current work in films like Hold My Beer.

Thanks for being part of our cast, Karen!

Much more to come...

Free Tickets To Hold My Beer Are Now On "Sale!"

That's right, tickets for the Vancouver, Washington premiere screening of Hold My Beer at Kiggins Theatre are now on sale! And by sale, I mean free! That's right, FREE.

You can get them online at this link. The purchase page says there is a $1 booking fee, but don't worry, that fee is waived at checkout. So yes, I really mean free!

And you might want to act fast. The ticket page went live on Monday morning, and before I had even told anyone about it, we had already "sold" 20 tickets.

The event is on Thursday, January 23, 2025, from 6:00pm to 9:00pm. All ages are welcome, but note that the film (and accompanying trailers) is self-rated PG-13 for simulated alcohol use and mature themes.

There will be a "Happy Half-Hour" from 6:00pm to 6:30pm featuring $5 pints of the limited-edition "Hold My Beer Vancouver Hazy IPA" courtesy of Loowit Brewing Company, and the first 30 attendees to arrive will receive a free (there's that word again) "Hold My Beer" logo swag pack, including a 5-ounce sampler glass, coaster, and sticker.

We're planning some other fun stuff for that evening as well, which I'll talk about more in the weeks leading up to it.

Kiggins Theatre is located at 1011 Main Street in beautiful downtown Vancouver, WA. So if you're in the area - or will be/want to be - I hope to see you there!

Meet The Cast Of Hold My Beer: Kevin Coy

This week, I'd like you to meet another cast member of Hold My Beer: Kevin Coy!

Kevin is playing Carl, the stepfather of the lead character, Val. He's kind of gruff and serves as the "bad cop" to his wife's "good cop," but he really just wants what's best for his stepson.

Fun facts: Kevin also served double duty as a member of the film crew, filling in as a Production Assistant on one shoot and a 2nd Unit Cameraman on another. Also, he and I go way back, having been in a sometimes-acoustic duo (sometimes trio) band called "Lunch With Apocalypse" over a decade ago. You can see him as part of an all-star lineup that performed at the relaunch party of Joel Suzuki, Volume One (then titled Secret of the Songshell) at this YouTube link (said lineup also featured Hold My Beer cast members Rich Ray and Ian Engelsman).

Here's his bio:

Kevin is an Air Force veteran who started in the performing arts during his high school years, acting in plays and singing in choir. In college he performed in four stage plays and five children's theater plays, traveling to grade schools in the Vancouver area. Currently, he works in the telecommunications industry and spends time with his family. When he heard about Hold My Beer, he was excited for the chance to return to acting.

Thanks for being part of our cast and crew, Kevin!

Much more to come...

Thanksgiving Gratitude Post

To me, every day is Thanksgiving, but since we're here, I just want to express a big THANK YOU to all the people who have supported and participated in the Hold My Beer project. I'm so very grateful for your efforts. It's because of each and every one of you that we're able to bring this vision to life.

Hope you all have a wonderful holiday!

Pictured above: Feeling Grateful by Kobi Yamada and Charles Santoso (highly recommended). Photo taken at Kazoodles Toys (also highly recommended)

Pre-Release Party And Soundtrack For Hold My Beer

This past Saturday, we held an event at Loowit Brewing Company that was part pre-release party for Hold My Beer the film, and part fundraiser for Autism Empowerment. It featured the limited-edition "Hold My Beer Vancouver Hazy IPA" along with three great local bands (and Second Player Score) who are on the film's soundtrack (more to come on that later). We had an amazing turnout, and everyone was so generous with their support. Big thanks to you all!

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then here is a six-thousand-word blog post!

The beer (which is still on sale at Loowit while supplies last!)

Flying Whammy

Nowhere Fast

Monty Vega & the Sittin' Shivas

Second Player Score

And yes, these bands - and more - each have a song on the OST (official soundtrack) for Hold My Beer, which is now available at this link!

It's only $10 (plus shipping), and makes a great stocking stuffer. The other bands on the album are Veio, Stab in the Dark, Ninjas With Syringes, Humaneyes, Still Golden, French Letters, Old Cross, Laurelhurst, and Atomic Terror. Order your copy today!

Meet The Cast Of Hold My Beer: Lydia Pearl Pentz

This week, I'd like you to meet another cast member of Hold My Beer: Lydia Pearl Pentz!

Lydia is playing Shannon, a twenty-three-year-old commercial banker who knows a thing or two about Vancouver, WA's local brewpub industry and whose clients include a homebrewing supply store that our lead characters Val and Doug visit.

Fun facts: Lydia was referred to the project by Cindy Yamamura, owner of Seize the Bagel, after we had lined up Seize the Bagel as a location and, just on a whim, I asked Cindy if she knew any local actors ("As a matter of fact...") Also, Lydia and Andrew York (who plays Val) acted together in a middle school play, a fact that we discovered during this moment.

Lydia has already compiled an impressive acting resume, as you can see from her bio:

Lydia Pearl Pentz is an actress from Vancouver, Washington. She had her start in Oregon's Children's Theater when she was only five years old. Since then, she's done local theater for over a decade. Her first on-set experience was as a body double on NBC's Grimm (2016), after which she fell in love with on-screen acting. Her first feature film will be Trapped (coming January 2025), in which she plays the lead role, and she'll also appear in numerous other projects, including Hazel (2025), A Simple Machine (2025), The Death of Snow White (2025), Ever After (2025), The Wilde Girls (2025), and, of course, Hold My Beer.

You can check out her IMDB page here.

Thanks for being part of our cast, Lydia!

P.S. If you're in the Vancouver, WA area, there will be a Pre-Release Party-slash-Fundraiser for Autism Empowerment this Saturday, November 16, at Loowit Brewing's downtown location! It'll be from 4pm-9pm, and there will be live music by Flying Whammy, Nowhere Fast, Monty Vega & The Sittin' Shivas, and Second Player Score. There will also be a special "Hold My Beer Vancouver Hazy IPA" for sale in limited-edition cans. Hope to see you there!

Meet The Cast Of Hold My Beer: Ethan Blackwelder

We're back to Hold My Beer cast introductions! This week, we're featuring Ethan Blackwelder.

Ethan is playing Sky, another friend of Val (the lead character). Sky has known Val since high school and has always been there when Val needed someone to lean on. Together with Jess, the three of them make a tight and trusting trio.

Fun fact: Ethan is the son of Aaron, a teacher at Woodland High School who has hosted me in his classroom to talk about the Joel Suzuki series, and Heidi, who was the makeup artist for Hold My Beer (and will be featured in a future post).

Here's his bio:

Ethan Blackwelder is a 22-year-old neurodivergent actor from Vancouver, Washington. He started his performing arts journey in 2012 in a local youth theater group. Over the past decade, he has accumulated extensive stage experience and has worked as an extra on television, gaining valuable industry insight. Hold My Beer represents his debut on the big screen, and he is thrilled to embark on this new chapter.

Thanks for being part of our cast, Ethan!

P.S. We've launched a Kickstarter campaign to help raise funds for postproduction costs. Just $1 gets your name in the closing credits as a Kickstarter Backer, or $100 gets you a Co-Producer credit. Check it out here!