Longtime Mandeville resident keeps expanding her performance chops

Act in a movie? Jo Ellen Burnevik had never done that before, but that wasn’t going to stop her from giving it a go. No script? No real budget? No problem.

After all, the longtime Mandeville resident (now living in Texas) had performed at Playmakers in Covington. She had been the society editor for our very own St. Tammany Farmer publication for a couple of years, created an over-the-top alter ego as entitled Blanche Magnolia Beauregard, and became a semiprofessional singer in 2013 on nothing more than a notion.

Now she can add “lead actress” to her resume, as she starred along with her husband, Dan, and scene-stealing 92-year old father, Herman Farrington, in “Lone Stars,” an independent film by young filmmakers Chet Hamilton and Dru Miers, DruChetti Entertainment, that is receiving critical acclaim.

“I have always wanted to act and be an actress, I have just not pursued it,” Burnevik said from her present home outside of Austin. “It was a blast. I didn’t have a script to study, and when the filming was over, Dan and I would go back to our normal lives. It was surreal.”

Loosely, the plot of “Lone Stars” involves a talented singer, played by Burnevik, who pens and belts out a song that references Lone Star beer. The song talks about finding an old flame and asking them if they still drink Lone Star.

Naturally, that sounds like a song that Lone Star beer would be interested in as an anthem, and the Burneviks get mixed in with a con man acting like a Lone Star beer representative who says he’s interested in buying the song. High jinks ensue as everyone pretends it’s legit.

The mockumentary was filmed in and around the Texas neighborhood. The directors would suggest things to be done in each scene, but not write it all out.

Burnevik’s father, Herman Farrington, makes his film debut, playing the role of her father.

“I kind of enjoyed it,” Farrington said. “I tell you what I really enjoyed, seeing my name in the credits. That’s where you really get a charge.”

The family moved across the lake from Metairie to Mandeville in 1973. Farrington worked — and still does — for P&W Industries on the northshore. Burnevik attended Mandeville High School and LSU before moving to Texas in 1996.

She loved to sing — at first just for her cats — but was often told she had a good voice; she eventually formed a group with friends called the Sassy Cats that would barnstorm local karaoke spots. She was the “Cajun Queen.”

One thing led to another, and she took her first real singing gig in 2013. When COVID happened, she would perform outdoors. Hamilton and Miers heard about her, saw her sing and offered to make two music videos for her, one of which became “Lone Stars”.

“They said we want to make it a bit longer … we think we might want to make it a 5-10 minute thing, and then 30 minutes … and then a feature film,” said Burnevik. “When we met Drew and Chet, it was magic, the four of us just meshed creatively.”

Burnevik won the Best Actress award at the Battle of the Sketches Film Festival in Austin, and the film was named Best Feature at Austin’s International Film Festival.

A sequel, tentatively called “Chasing A Six Pack,” is already in the works as the now-star singing duo has to deal with the realities of their new fame.

“I am so proud of the end result,” said Burnevik. “Everyone just willingly donated their time, and we’ll all do another one. I don’t think that’s the way most movies are made.”