High school acting leads Warner Robins man to his own film company
Corey Dinkins, 46, of Warner Robins, was first bit by the acting bug his sophomore year at Northside High School when he auditioned for the musical "Broadway Comes to Northside," which was under the direction of the late Ray Horne. He found he enjoyed drama and auditioned the next quarter for One-Act and got into the One-Act class for "Runaways."
"At that point, overnight, I stopped playing sports school-wise, and it all bloomed ... . I knew that's what I wanted to do," Dinkins said.
But Dinkins' transition from playing sports and going into theater was just the beginning, a beginning that eventually culminated into him opening his own independent film company, MorningStar Productions, and has led to the production of 10 films.
After high school, Dinkins studied at Brewton-Parker College in Mount Vernon, where he received an associate's degree in performing arts and after graduation took some time off from acting. Then out of the blue, Dinkins said he received a call from Mr. Horne, who informed him that he wanted him to be in the musical "Chicago" that the Macon Little Theater was doing.
"If Mr. Horne wanted it, I had to make it happen ... (that's) just how it was," Dinkins laughed, adding that after the show, he remained involved with both the Warner Robins and Macon little theaters while "trying to keep the juices flowing."
Several years passed where Dinkins said he tried his hand in the "working field." He worked in stores and as assistant managers and even started a lawn care service; however, he just couldn't find the niche for what he wanted to do. Then one day, one of his mother's friends asked him to direct a play she had written called, "Sunday Morning."
"I begrudgingly said 'yes,' " Dinkins said, explaining that he "was used to being in front of the camera" and "was not sure how to go beyond to directing something."
However, with that experience, Dinkins said he realized he liked directing and needed a name for his business if he was going to produce films. Hence, MorningStar Productions was born.
"I realized I liked directing ... fell in love with it, actually. I found I had a talent I didn't know I had," he mused.
FINDING ASSISTANCE
Then things started to fall into place. While working as a Demon tour guide for a Halloween production for The Rain Church in Warner Robins, Dinkins met Renee Alday, 40, of Kathleen, who was the stage manager and producer. Knowing he was going to need an assistant director, Dinkins said "her go-getter attitude and her firmness" definitely got his attention.
"I knew if I was going to start a company for film, I knew I was going to need an assistant director and someone who was firm, yet compassionate at the same time," he said. And in 2011, Alday became his assistant director. With just the two of them working for the company, Dinkins said they are both "wearing every hat" when it comes to the business.
Alday said she had never really thought about working in film production until Dinkins approached her about it. She said they "learned as (they) went along."
Dinkins said his family, including his wife, Annmarie, his mother, Neomia Dinkins, and his children, Edward Nicklow, 26; Avery Sellers, 19; Morgan Sellers, 23; Darius Dinkins, 15; and Annihas, 8, all have been supportive. Although his wife and children are not generally involved in the creative process, he said when he decided starting his own film production company was what he wanted to do, his wife told him she would "take the load" and encouraged him to follow his dream.
STAYING BUSY
In addition to working for MorningStar Productions full-time, Dinkins also goes to college full-time at Central Georgia Technical College where he is working on a business degree; he expects to graduate this summer with a diploma in business management that he hopes will help him with the business side of his company.
Alday works full-time at Houston Asphalt as an estimator. Both stated that their dream is for MorningStar Productions to eventually become self-sustaining and can pay their actors.
In addition to producing films at MorningStar Productions, Dinkins also does some photography and has his own indoor studio. To date, he has produced 10 films, the first of which was a spin-off of his mom's friend's play, which he titled, "Church of Redemption." After making that a feature-length film of about 75 minutes, Dinkins said he realized he needed to start off with short films, films that are 45 minutes or less.
To date, Dinkins and Alday have submitted four films to film festivals, but only one, "The Reap," made it in the Top Five at the Savannah Film Festival, according to Dinkins. That honor was in the horror genre for special effects and was basically "a pat on the back" and "encouragement" to keep going, explained Alday.
She said thousands of films are submitted to different film festivals in different genres, but the accepted numbers vary depending on a variety of factors, including the length of time the festivals have for screenings. Dinkins has written all of the plays since the first one, with the exception of the most recent film, "Job Redux," which was written by fellow former Northside High School classmate Winston Lewis. Dinkins said he tries to tap into Middle Georgia's hidden talent for the actors in his films, but has used actors from as far away as Las Vegas.
"At this point, 'Job Redux' is the best we have had," Alday said. "Every film we do gets better and better, we learn every time we film. There's always improvement. 'Job Redux' is definitely my favorite at this point."
Dinkins said he is going to send "Job Redux" to the Macon Film Festival, and festivals in Atlanta, Savannah and Milledgeville.
"We really believe it has great potential to do well," said Alday. "There are tons of film festivals that are out there, there is a fee to submit ... we really think it is worth the investment; it is definitely the best we have done. The storyline, the quality of cinematography, the videography, the sounds, the editing, the transition -- everything involved in it has been better than previously. Every time we do one, it gets better ... and then it has a great storyline with a message. It definitely has a lot going for it."
In the meantime, Dinkins said he continues to stay busy with editing his current film for submission to festivals, writing a horror film and on the side and directing a play for a family member.
This story was originally published December 29, 2015 at 9:35 PM with the headline "High school acting leads Warner Robins man to his own film company ."