Topeka-bred actor/writer/producer Jeff Hoferer is working on a screenplay that could bring his career full circle.

The film’s title has changed several times since its inception, but Hoferer’s friends know it simply as “The Topeka Project.” It is what one might safely call a pet project – a labor of love that the filmmaker, now based in Dallas, picks up whenever he has a few spare hours of time.

He is still adding pages and tweaking lines of dialogue, but is unwavering in his desire to shoot the film in his hometown – a point of artistic purity he won’t compromise.

“Honestly, I feel like we have to shoot it here,” Hoferer said. “People cheat a lot location-wise when they’re shooting films. To me, it’s important to be real, as far as the script goes. I’m going to have a tough time faking the Dallas streets for Gage Boulevard or Oakley Avenue.”

Hoferer sat recently inside Kaner Coffee, 2601 S.W. 6th St., sipping a cup of the house blend and discussing his unlikely road to the film industry. He was in town working on his “biggest project ever” – his wedding to fiancée Hilary Kennedy the following day. He came directly from the Shawnee County Courthouse where he had just picked up his marriage license.

Hoferer’s roots in Topeka run deep. He grew up near Oakley Avenue and 21st Street and attended Most Pure Heart of Mary and later Hayden High School. He spent his first 18 years in the capital city, and even made his acting debut on local television. At the age of seven, he appeared in several of his mother, Jeanne Hoferer’s, campaign commercials during her successful run for the Kansas Senate.

“The fact that I was on a local TV commercial that was running just gave me immediate street cred at school,” he said, laughing. “I even remember the teacher saying, ‘Hey – we saw your commercial.’ I was like, wow. I’ve really hit the big time.”

After that auspicious debut, Hoferer has gone on to act in television series, movies and commercials. He is also a prolific writer, producer and director, constantly juggling a variety of projects – some for others, some his own.

He has appeared in TV spots for Geico Car Insurance, Doritos, Jim Beam and Coors Lite. He writes, directs and appears in an Internet series called Dallywood – which he jokingly calls a poor man’s “Entourage” – poking fun at himself and his actor friends in Dallas.

But Hoferer always comes back to The Topeka Project. After wrapping a production job or completing an acting role, he always returns to tackle the script with a renewed vigor, ready to push it forward.

The plot centers around a 20-year-old musician with rock star aspirations. He lives in his parents’ basement, and feels stifled by his surroundings. A muse of sorts helps him navigate a tumultuous period in his life, and he slowly learns to take responsibility and steer his own path in life.

Hoferer called the screenplay a quirky indie comedy along the lines of “Juno” or “Garden State.” He envisions hiring as many local actors and crew members as possible, and is reaching out to the Kansas Film Commission in hopes of streamlining the production process and securing shooting locations.

When asked if friends and colleagues have questioned his intention to shoot his first feature length film in Kansas, Hoferer said he receives puzzled reactions all of the time – usually from people who have never visited Topeka, or even the state of Kansas.

“The same people asked me why I wanted to get married in Topeka,” he said. “When people think about Kansas, they don’t know what to think. They’re like – people actually live there? I though that was a flyover state. I always ask, ‘Have you been there?’ Topeka is so charming, and it has so many wonderful aspects.”

While other states offer sizable financial incentives for filmmakers and existing pools of production and acting talent, Hoferer is dedicated to taking the next step in his film career in the city where he got his start.

“I want people who live here and kids like myself who grew up here and wanted to be an actor or filmmaker to feel inspired and to know they can do that where they’re growing up. Living in the Midwest doesn’t mean you can’t pursue those dreams.”