“Our psycho-saurus rex of a sister – did you see her on ‘Oprah’?”

The man asking the question turns from the file cabinet through which he is rifling, to face several people seated at a table.

“She was on ‘Oprah,’ spreading our family history,” he says.

The others frown and gesture to indicate disgust.

Movie director Garrett Bennett peers at them through the lens of a video camera.

“That’s good, that’s good,” Bennett says to the actors. “Let’s try it again.”

The actors auditioning for Bennett’s second feature-length film, “Relative Things,” based on a screenplay by Seattle writer Steve Edmiston, repeat the scene, improvising as they go.

The actors seem to inhabit the characters more with each repetition.

And that’s the point, Bennett says.

Bennett’s Hat Factory – a movie studio located in an abandoned-looking Winslow building still identified by its fading “Dry Cleaners” sign – is a place for actors to develop and rehearse roles as if they were staging live theater.

Bennett rented the building when he needed a production space for his first feature, “Farewell to Harry,” filmed on the island in 2000.

The project was recently named “Best First Feature” at Worldfest Film Festival and is slated for cable TV distribution by Porchlight Entertainment.

“For years I’ve wanted to establish a production center for developing scripts,” Bennett said. “I have my roots in theater, and I wanted a theater space to take the screenplay and work it out – not with computers, but with actors.”

Hollywood films are often under-developed and under-rehearsed, Bennett says, since many actors contract to be on location for only a few days.

In contrast, Bennett points to director Lawrence Kasdan’s “Big Chill.”

In planning the movie, an ensemble piece about the reunion of college friends, Kasdan demanded that the actors spend two weeks on location before filming.

This requirement, written into the actors’ contracts, ensured that they would find ways to relate that would lend depth to the performances.

Bennett says that such an approach would likely have strengthened his first feature film.

“We learned from ‘Harry.’” Bennett said. “We’re excited to put what we learned to use in the next project.”

Producers Victor Kepler and Steve Edmiston of Seattle’s EKE Entertainment have financing in place for the $200,000 that “Relative Things” will cost to make, and Bennett is ready to begin filming.

The studio is now seeking housing for off-island crew members beginning in mid-September.

In the coming weeks, Bennett will also audition islanders for non-speaking parts in scenes to be shot in October.

Bennett’s long-term vision for the Hat Factory includes expanding the existing space and building a new facility on the site that will house post-production facilities.

“Ultimately, I‘d like a ‘Sundance’-type situation,” he said, referring to the popular film festival held annually in Utah, “where Hat Factory reaches out into the community.”

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For more information, call the Hat Factory at 842-3632.