L-R: Stephanie Klassen, Jacqueline Peter and Brianna Popowczak

Addictions, a new independent dramatic feature length film production written, produced and directed by Port Stanley resident Matthew R. Marshall and presented by m & s Marshall Productions in association with Creative Minds, is about to be released. The Premiere of this 86 minute dramatic production will take place on Saturday, February 2nd, 2013 at Almanarah Presbyterian Church in London.

Addictions follows the story of Kayla Butler (Jacqueline Peter), who due to some reckless actions has found herself in legal trouble and has been court ordered into the Lost Sheep Addiction program. We follow Kayla's journey as she is forced to face the painful events in her life that she does not want to share and has lead her to this point. Now she must face a review panel to tell them her story and try to convince them she has turned her life around. Will Kayla show them she has changed and be set free or will she face punishment for her actions? Could her ultimate fear come true ... could Kayla be facing prison time for what she has done? Can one event in someone's life truly change it this much? Marshall comments on this, "In life we all make decisions and some times the choices we make have consequences. We have to live with the repercussions of our actions and the paths we have taken. Sometimes one event can drastically change the direction we are going. Redemption from this event may have a price."

Through Kayla telling her story, the production explores a number of common addictions that people are struggling with in society today. In the program Kayla must now admit she has an addiction and introduces the audience to a number of people she meets, each with their own addictions. "The production has a lot of interesting and complex characters. I think everybody who watches it will find someone that they relate to on some level." Marshall comments. Each character in the production must either accept or deny that they are in a state of being addicted to a substance or activity that they are dependant on and can't escape from on their own without help or a change in their environment and lifestyle. Marshall adds "Everyone struggles with something in their lives. We each grapple with our own inner darkness or demons. What that is depends on what our weakness is." Each character within Addictions has been labelled based on their social class, the people they associated with, what they have done, their life style or crimes they had committed. Each is enduring the social sentence that had been handed out to them while still being people trying to live their lives while dealing with the scares and baggage of choices and events in their lives. They must admit that they have given themselves up to and become unduly dependent upon a substance or activity that has become something harmful to their well being.

This production features the dynamic cast of Jacqueline Peter, Brianna Popowczak, Stephanie Klassen, Sara Douglas, Bethany Mink, Fern Pridham, Corina Leatherdale, Patti Muma-Cook, Rya Walford, Chesney Sickles-Jarvis, Bryce Jones, Larry Hicks, Kathleen Elizabeth Henderson, Patricia Hicks, and Mohammed Essam.

Addictions was shot locally over the past summer with scenes and footage being filmed in St. Thomas, Port Stanley and London. The Premiere starts at 7pm on Saturday February 2nd at Almanarah Presbyterian Church, 250 Hamilton Road, London Ontario. A DVD version of the production is available officially after the premiere.