Bonnie Root to Star with Filmmaker Katie Prentiss in Heartfelt ‘Wake Up Maggie’
Actress Bonnie Root (Don’t Let Them Out, Cold Case) will star alongside Katie Prentiss (Going Home), who makes her feature film directorial debut with the dramatic indie, Wake Up Maggie.
Broadway alum Vin Shambry (Rent) and newcomer Zoey Domino also set to star in this sincere drama written by Prentiss and inspired by her experience as a family caregiver.
Wake Up Maggie follows the unraveling of Maggie’s tightly wound life after getting a call that her estranged sister is in deep trouble. Their reunion reveals a startling diagnosis that leads Maggie to her own unexpected awakening.
Cara Mitsuko (The Country They Call Life) and Ari Johnson (Bury Me in Color) join the project as producers with Prentiss, under her Sunshine Soul Films production banner.
“Wake Up Maggie is a coming of (middle) age film written as a love letter to caregivers, born from my own experience caring for my mother with frontotemporal dementia (FTD),” shares Prentiss. “The film will shine a light on the often invisible, heavy burdens carried by family caregivers, raise awareness of FTD, and be a balm to many who’ve walked or will walk a similar journey.”
FTD affects an estimated 60,000 people in the United States. It is one of the most common causes of dementia in younger adults, typically appearing before age 60 and is frequently misdiagnosed. There is currently no cure.
The film is set to start shooting later this month in Portland, Oregon.
Bonnie Root has gained attention for starring in the Sundance Foundation film, Eden, opposite Dylan Walsh and Sean Flannery, the indie comedy Coming Soon, alongside Ryan Reynolds, Mia Farrow and Ryan O’Neil, and the romantic comedy The Weeds, with Molly Ringwald and Ellen Pompeo. She has guest starred and recurred on over 50 network shows, most notably Cold Case, Blue Bloods, Criminal Minds, Justified, Without a Trace, Law & Order and CSI. Bonnie Root is repped Kevin Turner at Daniel Hoff Agency and Michael McConnell at Zero Gravity Talent.
Katie Prentiss is best known as Beth in Winter Island and her recurring role as Sadie in two seasons of Going Home. In 2020, she founded Sunshine Soul Films and has received attention for her award-winning film Front Porches (Best Director-Atlanta Women’s FF, Best Oregon Film-Oregon Short FF) and micro-series Gamer (Best of Oregon-Portland Festival, Best Micro Comedy-Oregon Short FF). Katie Prentiss is repped Mary Dangerfield at Dangerfield Talent (LA and Portland) and Melissa Baldauf at Big Fish Northwest (PNW).
Originally announced as a quiet but emotionally charged independent project, Wake Up Maggie has continued to resonate in the indie film space for its intimacy and performance-driven storytelling. In 2026, the film is increasingly viewed as an early marker of a creative partnership built on restraint, character, and emotional precision.
Bonnie Root’s casting drew early attention for good reason. Known for grounded, psychologically sharp performances, Root brought a lived-in authenticity to the role that anchored the film’s emotional core. Rather than leaning into sentimentality, her performance emphasized stillness, tension, and the unspoken weight carried by the character of Maggie.
For filmmaker Katie Prentiss, Wake Up Maggie represented a defining step in her evolution as a director. The film favored close observation over exposition, allowing character behavior—rather than plot mechanics—to do the work. In retrospect, the project signaled Prentiss’ long-term commitment to character-first storytelling within the independent film landscape.
The film’s strength lay in its refusal to over-explain grief, healing, and interpersonal fracture. Scenes unfolded with deliberate pacing, trusting the audience to sit with discomfort rather than rushing toward resolution. That choice has aged well, especially as 2026 audiences show renewed appetite for quieter, performance-led dramas.
Industry-wise, Wake Up Maggie also became a reference point for low-budget filmmaking done with discipline. Minimal locations, controlled production design, and a tight narrative scope allowed the performances to dominate. The collaboration between Root and Prentiss is now frequently cited as an example of how actor–director alignment can elevate modest material.
In 2026, Wake Up Maggie stands less as a single release and more as a foundation—an early collaboration that helped define the creative trajectories of both Bonnie Root and Katie Prentiss within contemporary independent cinema.
