(Newswire.net — November 17, 2014) Thomson, Illinois — The producer of a series of new children’s audio theater projects had a scary brush with street violence in St. Louis recently — an incident he says underscores the very reason he is making the CDs.
“Ironically, we were at a conference trying to figure out the best way to tell folks just how bad our country has fallen and offer at least one small solution,” said Bill Heid, the Executive Producer of In Freedom’s Cause (2014) and Under Drake’s Flag (2013). “So my family and a few staff members were staying in downtown St. Louis (a few minutes from Ferguson, MO) when the shots were fired. The cops came quickly to get us back to safety, but not before a human life was taken seconds before we walked on to the scene.”
If Heid had stepped out of the hotel seconds earlier, he may have witnessed a murder. The story, he said, gets even worse.
“Here’s what’s so tragic and has me awake at all hours of the night: Deadly violence like this is now so common that Americans no longer even pay any attention to it,” Heid said. “Believe it or not, I checked the newspaper the next day and the shooting at our hotel didn’t even make the paper!”
Parents, Heid said, must work overtime to guard their children from a violent culture and to provide their children true heroes.
Heid’s newest project, In Freedom’s Cause, tells the true story of Scottish hero William Wallace and his fight for independence from England. It follows a boy, Ned, as he watches history unfold and tags along with Wallace and the eventual king of Scotland, Robert the Bruce. Wallace is best known to moviegoers as the subject of Braveheart, which was loosely based on Wallace’s heroics.
“The new story is designed to teach kids (of all ages) about the true nature of freedom,” Heid said. “That freedom isn’t free. That there is always a cost. And in this remarkable story, William Wallace pays the ultimate price for his country and for freedom.
“With the release of In Freedom’s Cause, I’m providing families with stories about real heroes that are willing to take a stand. Our Founding Fathers understood this well and we need to get back these very principles — the ones that built this country.”
In Freedom’s Cause is the second project from Heirloom Audio Productions, which last year released Under Drake’s Flag, another historical drama that recounted the story of Sir Francis Drake, who is best known for being the first Englishman to circle the globe and for his role in the defeat of the Spanish Armada. Both are based on G.A. Henty novels.
In Freedom’s Cause features Joanne Froggatt (Anna Bates of Downton Abbey), Billy Boyd (Pippin of The Lord Of The Rings), Skandar Keynes (Edmund of The Chronicles of Narnia series) and James Cosmo (Campbell, Father Christmas of Braveheart and The Chronicles of Narnia, respectively), as well as a score by composer John Campbell (Lamplighter Theatre, Focus on the Family Radio Theatre, Adventures in Odyssey). It is narrated by Brian Blessed (Return to Treasure Island, War and Remembrance, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves).
Each 2-CD set is accompanied by a study guide and discussion starter, and each story emphasizes faith and moral values. Heid believes history has been sanitized of both elements.
“What we’re trying to do is put faith back into history,” Heid said. “Everything in our world is sort of sterilized and secularized, and the faith of the men has been taken out of textbooks in America and around the world. These projects are all about putting Christ back into history.”
For more information, visit InFreedomsCause.com.