DANVILLE — After three painstaking years, Mike Boedicker is ready to share his latest creation with the public.

His movie, “Revolting,” already has received positive comments from test audiences, and now the general public can view the 81-minute comedy-drama.

Those involved with the filming say “Revolting” isn’t some backyard video, with shaky footage and corny dialogue. Instead, the locally-made film has a professional quality.

“It’s a really nice project,” said Julia Megan Sullivan, who has worked as a professional actor and who plays one of the main characters.

“It’s nice to work in a professional piece without having to leave central Illinois.”

The first public showing will be Saturday night at the Kathryn Randolph Theater. Admission is $5, with proceeds going to Red Mask Players.

Other showings are set for Aug. 20-21 at the Fischer Theatre; Sept. 25-26 at the Art Theater in Champaign; and Oct. 23 at Sleepy Creek Vineyards near Oakwood.

“Revolting” is the brainchild of Boedicker, audiovisual director at the Danville Public Library and an independent film maker.

Boedicker described the movie as a tragicomedy, with both humorous and serious scenes.

“It’s funny,” he said, “but the hero is a tragic figure and a pawn to his creations.”

The play covers 24 days from spring to fall, and focuses on a playwright who’s tried for years to duplicate his initial success in theater. When he tries to write a sequel to his first hit play, the characters/actors revolt.

Boedicker came up with the initial script, and then he called in his longtime friend, Brian Wilson of Chicago, as a co-writer. The two men had collaborated on another feature-length film, the drama “Show” released in 2005.

Boedicker began writing the script in fall 2007, and filming began a year later. It took six months to do a rough cut. He had to cut 30 hours of filming down to 80-90 minutes.

The cast and crew are from Vermilion and Champaign counties, and many scenes were shot in the Danville area — mostly at Boedicker’s home and the Kathryn Randolph Theater. Other scenes were shot at Kickapoo State Park, the Jewell House on Hazel Street, Crave Coffee Bar and a couple places in Champaign-Urbana.

The core group of actors includes: Bill Kephart as the playwright Jeff; Sullivan as Penelope/Tanya, who describes herself as a sassy muse and the first character to revolt against his writing; Sharon Tipsword as Susan; Eric Sizemore as Frederick/Blaine; and Leslie Boedicker as Janice/Gwen. Leslie also is co-producer, along with her husband.

Eric France and Chad Myler recorded sound, and Matt Hester was script supervisor/continuity.

Sullivan, who has appeared in another independent film, noted that Boedicker used professional equipment, saying, “It’s not a haphazard YouTube video. There’s a lot of technical prowess.”

The film was finished this spring and screened for cast and crew on May 22. There also were two screenings at the University of Illinois last fall for people with no connections to the film.

Boedicker said he was pleased at the positive reaction from the test audiences. After the screening, filmgoers gave suggestions, and he ended up shooting another scene to explain an ambiguous relationship.

“I was nervous,” Boedicker said about his reaction at the screenings. “You never quite know what will work. Different audiences will laugh at different things.”

Boedicker also said he’s excited about premiering the movie at the Kathryn Randolph Theater, which he described as a second home to Red Mask actors.

The movie is dedicated to Barbara Greenberg, Sullivan’s mother, who died in February.

On the Web

Learn more about “Revolting” at the Web site http://www.revoltingmovie.com

Showings

8 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 14, at the Kathryn Randolph Theater, 601 N. Vermilion St. Admission is $5. DVDs will be for sale.

8 p.m. Aug. 20 and 21 at the Fischer Theatre, 158-164 N. Vermilion St. Admission is $5, and DVDs for sale.

Sept. 25 and 26 at the Art Theater, 126 W. Church St., Champaign, with times and admission to be announced.

At 8 p.m. Oct. 23 at Sleepy Creek Vineyards near Oakwood.