By Jody Key – Managing Editor

This weekend Windmill Arts ushered in the premiere of INDEPENDENT: John Cassavetes and the Birth of American Independent Films.

INDEPENDENT is a bold and fiercely inspiring play about trailblazing actor/filmmaker John Cassavetes and the seismic mark he left on the world of cinema. Built from Cassavetes’ own words (because honestly, no one could say it better—or louder), the play takes audiences on a ride from the scrappy streets of New York City to the polished, rulebook-obsessed machine of Hollywood—and straight into the moment he decides to toss that rulebook out the window.

It’s a story about rebellion, risk, and the radical idea that creative freedom isn’t handed to you by a studio executive—it’s seized with grit, guts, and maybe a little bit of glorious chaos.

Writer John D. Babcock III—producer and co-writer of the critically acclaimed Vape! The Grease Parody, fresh off its Off-Broadway run at Theater 555 in NYC—now steps into the director’s chair with a bold and inspiring new play about legendary actor, writer, and director John Cassavetes. The production chronicles Cassavetes’ fearless journey to becoming the Godfather of Independent Film, capturing the grit, passion, and artistic rebellion that forever changed American cinema.

There is still one more performance today at 7:00 pm. Tickets $20 and can be purchased in advance at Windmill Arts Website