John Severson and Jonathan Lacocque of Smiling Toad Productions are ramping up fast with their year-and-a-half-old company?between them they have an active production slate of national spots, features, documentaries and corporate videos.
Former owner of St. Louis-based Wateringman Productions, Severson founded Smiling Toad last year with longtime friend Lacocque. Now based in Oak Park, they’re in the process of moving the company to Rogers Park.
Lacocque is producing Eric Battersby’s feature “Fool’s Gold.” The high school drama, a co-production with Battersby’s Hollywood 27, shoots its final five days in late September. With Hollywood 27, Smiling Toad is also co-producing the documentary “Walking the Path of Frontotemporal Dementia and Primary Progressive Aphasia.”
