For the Reporter

Steve Edmiston, screenwriter and independent film producer, shares five “Tales of Adventure from Old Military Road” on Wednesday, June 17, at the Carco Theatre, 1717 SE Maple Valley Highway, Renton.

The program begins at 7 p.m. Admission is free. A $5 donation to the theatre is suggested. The film is part of Edmiston’s work: “Finding Story in History: a screenwriter’s journey into adapting history to film.”

Edmiston, most recently known for writing and co-producing the history-based “The Maury Island Incident,” selected and developed tales of the historic road into screenplays as part of a 4Culture Site Specific Phase I project grant. The stories span more than 100 years, ranging from the plot hatched to save Chief Leschi from hanging in 1858, to a tense 1962 Cold War tale at a Nike Ajax Missile site during the Cuban Missile Crisis.

SoCo Culture, the Tukwila Historical Society, Highline Historical Society, Greater Kent Historical Society, and the Historical Society of Federal Way jointly support the project.

The evening features a “behind the scenes” presentation of the challenges in adapting history to the screen; an interview with film Director Scott Schaefer; two live Military Road script “table readings” by local actors led by Northwest Talent Management founders David Hogan and Ben Andrews; and an unveiling of the project movie poster.

Puget Sound Access will film the presentation for a later broadcast.

About Steve Edmiston

Edmiston is a lawyer, writer, director, producer, and game designer. He has written and produced many feature-length and short films which have won festival awards and accolades (including “Crimes of the Past,” “The Day My Parents Became Cool,” and most recently “The Maury Island Incident”). He is a faculty member at the Seattle Film Institute, and teaches screenwriting for short films at the University of Washington. He is an advisor to several film festivals, including the Port Townsend Film Festival and Gig Harbor Film Festival. He is on the board of the Northwest Screenwriters Guild, and the advisory board of IndieFlix and Women in Film Seattle.

About Military Road (historic photo below)

The portion of Military Road connecting Fort Steilacoom to Seattle was finished in 1860. The road would eventually reach from Fort Vancouver to Fort Bellingham. Military Road was built to provide a defense for settlers, and to provide a telegraph line and supply route for the U.S. military. Military Road’s development invokes some of the greatest names in Civil War history, among them Confederate President Jefferson Davis, Ulysses Grant, Philip Sheridan, George McClellan and George Pickett.

For more information, call the theater at 425-430-6706.