Sweat rolled down Taylor Kofron’s face as she picked up her headset to make sure the actors were on set and ready to begin their scene; ten seconds later, she did another check with the cameramen.

Erika Lecaj ran past, carrying a police uniform and looking for other parts of the costume that would be necessary once the crew moved from Wesleyan to the ISU Police Department.

Thomas Quinn was seen briefly as he moved from the set to the lounge then back to the set, trying to get some air before he was back on camera.

The chaos of the set was evident immediately, but the cast and crew were determined to keep working. The air conditioning was turned off, makeup was patted on the actor’s faces to mask the heat and a snack table filled with beverages helped them get through the twelve-hour day of filming.

College students are used to interacting with teachers on a daily basis, but the usual student-teacher dynamic was lifted a notch when Quinn, Illinois Wesleyan professor of theater arts and his student, 2010 graduate Lizzy Schwarzrock, decided to write a screenplay together.

The two had worked together previously when Schwarzrock took one of Quinn’s classes during her college career. After the class, she approached him with an interest in on-film opportunities and the idea for “Using” was born.

“I asked if she wanted to write a screenplay. We began working together and out of that came an idea to create a non-for profit studio to provide apprenticeship for students and members of the community who aspire to work in motion pictures,” Quinn said.

The cast and crew of “Using” are made up of mainly Wesleyan students and alumni who are grateful for the chance to work on a movie set under Quinn’s direction.

“That was the intention and the original spark of inspiration was to provide apprenticeship for students … I have professionals in each department, they have students working with them and learning from them,” Quinn explained.

“Of the three principle women, two are current students and one just graduated. The PA (production assistant) and designer are students as well,” Kofron, production assistant, said.

The cast and crew work five to six days a week for about 12 hours a day, but they agree the long hours are worth it.

“It’s a unique thing we’re being exposed to, we are really lucky. On a real movie set we wouldn’t have the responsibilities that we have now. There are stressful days that ask a lot, but once we see it at the premiere it will be really rewarding to see,” Lecaj, senior musical theater major and art department assistant, said.

The film deals with the topic of addiction, which Quinn feels is a universal topic.

“I don’t know many families who aren’t touched by this issue, by experience from my extended family I was moved to write a story about it. I found it an extremely complicated issue: how do you love someone without enabling? It is a perfect conundrum. It makes for a very telling story,” Quinn said.

“Gwen, the main character, has a cocaine addiction. In a way it’s written where everyone has some sort of addiction. Eddie’s is work, and then it’s alcohol. Blaire has not an addiction but a need to use her body to get what she wants. It deals with a lot of issues,” Kofron said.

“We are trying to make a meaningful film, there are all sorts of levels contributing to the community and culture,” Quinn added.

Shooting in Bloomington started July 5 with the cast and crew heading to Chicago July 28-Aug. 2 to shoot exterior scenes, Kofron said.

The experience for students is not the only benefit of the show.

“Beyond all that, what has happened is a secondary mission because of the subject matter. Because we are a non-for profit we will give away profits to the Salvation Army Safe Harbor shelter in Bloomington and Teen Challenge in Illinois, which provides drug and alcohol treatment for teens. Both will get five percent,” Quinn explained.

Quinn explained the people he is working with to produce the show are the reason the show is coming together so well.

“It’s exciting and scary and sometimes amazing and sometimes I wonder what’s going on. I’m pinching myself because I’m surrounded by such wonderful people,” he said.