Colony Bay Productions, an independent acting group, is taking up the story of early America with a passion some well-known commentators might think no longer exists. Lead by James Riley, a reenactor of Patrick Henry and owner of Riley’s Farm, this group is producing an ambitious DVD series called Courage, New Hampshire. It’s goal is to tell the story leading up to our independence, season by season for the remainder of the decade. They started in the winter of 1770 with the story Sarah Pine, an unmarried, young woman who gave birth to a child she claims to be by a British soldier named Bob Wheedle. The story primarily introduces the characters and the small town of Courage. No appearances from Ben Franklin or Paul Revere. The Boston Massacre occurs during the time of this story (March 5, 1770) and is the only reference given to the history of the world beyond their border.

There are two episodes available today; the third is coming in several weeks. My wife and I watched the first one, “The Travail of Sarah Pine,” and loved it. The music by Rotem Moav is perfect. I love the authentic sound of the many references to the Bible in the dialogue. Costuming and setting all look beautiful and genuine, though at one point I thought they should have aged a man’s clothing to take the straight from the catalog look away.

There is a community theater aspect to Courage. Some of the acting isn’t as polished as I’d like, because in the end, viewers want to enjoy the story and not think about the last few lines sounding off a bit. Some of the actors are fairly new or untrained in their art, but many of the cast have experience with Shakespearean plays, movies and TV, and some famous people play a part here and there, like Andrew Breitbart in episode two.

I can’t discern a political agenda in this story, unless stories about colonial America without touching on select hot spots makes a story politically incorrect. I look forward to seeing the big historical names, if they ever get out to Courage or if the story ever goes to Boston. I see that episode three has a much lesser-known figure, a black soldier named Caesar, who fought in the continental army.

You can buy a DVD or steam the episodes through their site. If you like period drama, this is worth your time. I’ll let you know what I think of other episodes when I see them. (Thank you, Ori Pomerantz, for promoting this series to me and sending me this DVD.)