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RattleIC shows, events, and all that noise. |
Friday, October 30, 2009
Joe reminds us that amidst the bustle of wedding parties, one must not forget to pick up their tix for the greatness that will be Cortaca.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
We've got students dropping dead everywhere! Don't panic, the swine flu isn't that bad. This time it's the IC Asian Culture Club & IC Human Rights collaborating to raise awareness about famine in North Korea. I'll let the IC Asian Culture Club Vice-President, Yeana Hyun, tell you about it.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
If you've ever been friends with a theatre student, you know there are three words that are likely to come from this student's mouth after you've extended an invitation to them. Those three dreaded words? "I can't. I have rehearsal." My friends hate those words. Unfortunately for them, they've been hearing a lot more of them lately. Last week my latest show started rehearsals, and life has been crazy ever since.
This semester I'm assistant stage managing the IC theatre department's last mainstage show of the semester, Sarah Ruhl's Eurydice. The show, which is directed by Wendy Dann, an Ithaca College alum and professor, is off to a great start in rehearsals.
The first week of rehearsals is one of my favorite parts of doing theatre. At the first rehearsal we got to hear the actors read the play for the first time. This is always a fabulous experience; it is so much fun to hear the words on the page come to life. I'd read Eurydice a couple of times by the time first rehearsal came around and while I loved it when reading it on my own, I was delighted to find that the play is much funnier and more touching when read aloud by its cast.
Our cast, 10 actors from the IC theatre department, consistently impressed me over the course of the next week of rehearsals. The first couple days were devoted to table work, a process in which the actors and director literally sit down at tables and work through the play, scene by scene (You'd never guess by the name, right?). The purpose of table work is to give the actors a starting point for character work and line readings before they get up on their feet and start blocking the action of the play. Wendy Dann and our lovely actors did exactly that for the first couple of days of rehearsal, and as I said before, I was impressed. I've never worked with Wendy or any of our cast members before, and I was delighted to find that they all came into the process with a great deal of enthusiasm, professionalism, and work ethic. You'd think I'd expect that from members of the IC theatre department by now.
Anyway, when table work was over the actors got on their feet and Wendy started blocking the show. For us stage-managers, that meant that we had to tape-out the groundplan onto the floor of the rehearsal studio. (In non-theatre lingo, that means that we had to use tape to put down the outline of the set (in this case a curvaceous boardwalk) onto the floor so that the actors would know where to enter/exit and where to walk, etc.) Taping out is always an interesting process, as it involves plotting out a number of points on the ground plan of the set, and then transferring those points from the ground plan to the rehearsal space. It's like a really big game of connect-the-dots, actually, except Stage Management has to find the dots themselves. In the end, though, we had the set taped out on the floor, and we started the blocking process.
We've only had a few blocking rehearsals so far, but we've already come a long way. Blocking is interesting because it's not just about where the director wants an actor to move and what they want the actor to do when they get there. There's a certain element of that, of course, but what I find absorbing is the process of working through the motivation behind that movement. People in real life don't tend to walk across a room without a reason, and good blocking reflects that idea. I'm not doing the process real justice here, but suffice to say its interesting stuff.
So a Eurydice progress report for week one would go something like this: My cast rocks, my director is super fascinating to work with, and my stage management team is efficient as can be, and entertaining, to boot. So far, so good.
I'll be back soon with an update. Up next this week is Act (or in this case "movement") Two! Three characters named Big Stone, Little Stone, and Loud Stone are about to enter the blocking process. I can't wait to find out what's going to surprise me next!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Tuesday, October 27th
Wednesday, October 28th
Thursday, October 29th
Friday, October 30th
Saturday, October 31st
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Last Friday, St. Vincent treated a sold out crowd a Castaways to one of the most straight-up badass shows Ithaca has seen in a while. With her albums being largely soft-spoken and intricate, I was completely floored by the energy and wildness that she brought to the stage. She had the audience wrapped around ehr little finger for the whole show, and everyone loved it.
The night started off with upstate band The Red Lions, who kicked the show off right with what the Times Union calls "chamber music for the 21st century". With a keyboardist and violinist joining the regular lineup, the sound filled Castaways to the brim, and the crowd ate it up. Both melodic and energetic, it was the perfect appetizer to the main course.
And what a main course it was! Alternating between heartrendingly beautiful vocals and face-meltingly awesome shreds, Annie Clark was a tornado of sound. Starting off the set with "The Strangers", it was apparent to everyone in the room that Annie and the band were psyched to be there. Taking a one-off from their current tour with Andrew Bird, the band seemed thrilled to be playing to a crowd who loved seeing their music as much as they liked playing it.
Playing tracks from her two amazing albums, Actor and Marry Me, Annie owned the stage. Her delicate, almost fragile voice made a great foil to the Vicious-esque guitar freak-outs, and her insistence that Ithaca was "the best show we've played on this tour" was reinforced by the two songs that she tacked on to the end of the setlist, and her twitter-raves about Ithaca the day after the show. Here's hoping we see her again soon!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Onion writer Seth Reiss brought one one of the most hilarious and delightfully off-kilter lectures I'd ever seen to Emerson Suites last Wednesday. With the wonderful sweet-yet-spicy quality of the presentation, it's not hard to imagine that Seth drew inspiration from the onion itself, that deliciously layered element of countless recipes and salads.
But while recognizing the onion-y aspects of his performance is fun, it was The Onion-y aspect that drew hundreds of students to Emerson Suites on Wednesday night. One of the most successful alternative publications in the US, The Onion has sunk the cleats of satire deep into the turf of the American psyche (it's a good thing!). It has shown that the business of journalism doesn't always have to be so deathly serious, and I think that message appealed strongly to IC kids, who themselves tend to represent the quirky side of communication education.
Seth was eloquent, though free with his... vocabulary, and quickly endeared himself to everyone in the room. He quipped "The onion has been America's finest news source since 1756", showing that even if it's blatantly false, that doesn't mean it can't be awesome and hilarious.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Your resident theatre geek is back again, here to tell you about the newest, tiniest shows on campus. This week it's senior Drama B.A. Kristin Loughry's Senior Directing project, Speech and Debate. The show, written by Stephen Karam and starring Danny Bristol, Eliza Orleans and Joe DePietro, reminds me once again why sometimes, smaller is better. If you doubt me, chew on this - Speech & Debate manages to make The Crucible and sexual misconduct funny. As tiny shows like this often do, Speech and Debate makes me remember why IC has such a good reputation for theatre. I'm biased, no doubt, but this show rocks. It's playing for one more night only (Monday October 26th, performances at 5pm and 8pm) so e-mail ICtams1@gmail.com for your ticket!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Walking home from class Friday afternoon, I spotted some ghosts on campus. No, we're not haunted by ghosts-of-students-past. Members of the IC Community had gathered together in a "ghost walk," part of an international global campaign against climate change set up by 350.org, a website founded by environmentalist and author Bill McKibben.
The "350 Ghost Walk" is organized around the idea that 350 parts per million CO2 in the atmosphere is the safe limit for humanity. Our current zone of 390ppm is already above that limit, and according to 350.org "unless we are able to rapidly return to 350ppm this century, we risk reaching tipping points and irreversible impacts such as the melting of the greenland ice sheet and major methane releases from increased permafrost melt."
That doesn't sound like much fun to me. But running around dressed up as ghosts (just in time for Halloween!) and trying to change the world? Next time, I'm in.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Hey! What are you doing this weekend? Oh, you're not opening for St. Vincent?
Congratulations, you're inferior! (Don't worry, I am too.)
On the other hand, senior Rosie Newton is doing just fine considering she and her friends in The Red Lions are slated to open for St Vincent on the Ithaca stop of their nationwide tour. Nice.
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Fall is my favorite time of year in Ithaca. I'm from Southern California, so I find the whole leaves-changing-color thing totally fascinating. It makes Ithaca College freaking BEAUTIFUL right around now. I took a walk this morning to enjoy the foliage, and here's what I found...
See? Ithaca really does deserve its "gorgeous" reputation!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
The next exhibition at the Handwerker Gallery "Threads of Hope," is something off the map, considering the normal (yet awesome) student and local art shows. A display of hand sewn Chilean Arpilleras, the exhibition provides a strikingly immediate perspective of Chilean women during the military dictatorship in Chile. Far from your grandma's blue-jean quilts, these arpilleras contain entire intricate hand-sewn scenes of life in Chile. With homemade fabric, designs, and concepts, it's definitely one of my favorite breeds of folk art.
Largely made to commemorate those relatives who were "disappeared" during the period of civil strife, the Arpilleras give an interesting look into the lives of the people who are often wrongly seen as passive and invisible in crises like these. (To quote Helen Reddy, "I am strong, I am invincible, I am woman.") These specific arpilleras come from the collection of Marjorie Agosín, a latina activist, author, and professor of Spanish at Wellesley.
The exhibit opens at 5:00 p.m. today. Hit it!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Whip out your trapper keepers.
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Wednesday, October 21st - The Onion at Ithaca College - Somewhere amidst the satirical snark, the Onion found time to send writer Seth Reiss to IC to, presumably, teach us the same. Emerson Suites at 8pm, sponsored by SAB
Thursday, October 22nd - IC Standup - Your favorite IC Comedians in a special halloween show. 7:30 pm, in the Pub.
Thursday, October 22nd - St Vincent at Castaways - The totally amazing Annie Clark and her band bring their show to Ithaca in support of their equally amazing new album, Actor. $15 at door, 7pm.
Friday, October 23rd - Hubcap at Castaways: - Equal parts The Replacements and Uncle Tupelo, Hubcap is a deserving fixture on Ithaca's local music scene. Killer live show as well. 7pm
Friday, October 23rd - IC Voicestream Block 1 concert & CD Release - Ithaca's only coed A Cappella group has prepared an awfully fun set of all your favorite alternative music! Come at 7:30 pm to Emerson Suites to her the music and purchase their first-ever CD.
Friday, October 23rd - International movie night - An evening of the best foreign films, Sponsored and put on by IC's international club. 5pm in Textor 101
Friday, October 23rd - Open Mic night - Always a fun time. 8pm - 10pm in IC Square
Saturday, October 24th - Women's club Soccer v Cornell - If you can drag yourself out of bed by 1pm on Saturday, check out what's sure to be one of the funnest club games of the season. Upper terrace at 1pm.
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
In the last couple of months I have come to appreciate the fact that IC pretty much constantly has speakers or presenters on campus. Whether they are writers, photographers, business people or artists, visitors to IC are always knowledgeable and frequently fun and/or interesting. On Tuesday night, I went to hear photographer and photo-editor Jason Fulford speak in Park. Fulford, who has had his work published in the New York Times, Harpers Magazine, National Geographic's Green Guide, and a variety of other places, turned out to be knowledgeable, fun and interesting, all in one.
Fulford is a free-lance photographer who co-runs J&L Books, a non-profit publisher of artists' books based in Atlanta & New York. He spoke about his experience both as a photographer and an editor, and wowed the crowd with a slideshow of photos. His work, which is beautiful and often whimsical, is influenced by a variety of things. To give you one anecdote, a project of his was once inspired by found photographs taken by an amateur mushroom collector. If that isn't enough to make you curious, I don't know what is.
So if you get bored during this luxurious fall break of ours, head over to Fulford's website and explore his work, or check out J&L's website and see what mysteries it holds. Speaking of which, Fall Break calls. Have a great one!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
As a current student, the best part of alumni weekend was seeing how awesome I'm going to be in 30 years. This was cemented at the Big Bash, Alumni and Homecoming Weekend's great coming-together of new and old students in the name of having a blast and eating great food.
Parading some of the best talent IC has seen, the Big Bash featured performances from IC Circus (leotards, slightly awkward; skills, beyond reproach), past and present bands Bombermania and Caution Children, IC Comedy (it would be a crime here not to mention that Joe Pera kills, and could hold his own against any professional comedian), and some of the best damn food I've had catered on campus in my stay here.
Other than a place to show off how wildly talented Ithaca College students are, the Big Bash was a great place to connect. The lovely "man handshake with back slap" could be seen far and wide, connecting old classmates, current students, and mixes of the two in a beautiful harmony of useful networking and jolly guffawing.
Whether you graduated in 87' or were born in 87', it was a good time all around. Benn Bartishevich and Tom Walker provide some insight on what made their Alumni Weekend great.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Fall break edition!
Have all your favorite on-campus activities gone into hibernation for the long weekend? Perfect excuse to get out and about in town, and see for yourself why many call Ithaca one of the best college towns in the nation!
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Wednesday, October 14th - Wine Dinner at Blue Stone: If you're of the over-21 persuasion, start your fall break right with a 6 course wine dinner at Blue Stone Bar & Grill. for 35 a person, you get 6 different wines by Lucas Vinyards and some of the best food Ithaca has to offer. Great date idea! 6pm.
Friday October 16th: Califone - Califone brings their new film AND album to Willard Straight hall this Friday. Come watch Red Red Meat veteran Tim Rutilli and friends give a live rendition of All My Friends Are Funeral Singers, their stunning new album. Tix at the Cornell Box Office 7pm.
October 14th thru November 1st: Kitchen Theater's First Day - the fabulous Kitchen Theater company's awesome twist on the cliched "young kid in the big city" plot. Promises to be awesome. Visit their site for more info.
September 16th thru November 30th: Farm to Fork Ithaca - a fabulous week celebrating the best of local food, wine, and farms. Too many to list here, but delve in on the Downtown Ithaca Alliance's website.
Sunday, October 18th - Climate Change Festival: Not a festival supporting climate change, but a sustainability-themed fest for all of Ithaca. Live music, refreshments by CTB, a community swap meet, and a display of some ultra-fuel efficient cars (I bet they look real sweet) in downtown Ithaca from 12 to 3pm.
And as always, Cinemapolis is showing some of the finest indie films in cinema today!
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
One of my favorite things about being part of the theater scene at IC is hearing about teeny-tiny student-directed shows. Last night I went to see an underground production of Kenneth Lonergran's This is Our Youth. Directed by Ethan Itzkow and starring Yanna Lanz, Tony Vo, and Adam Turck, this tiny production packs a big punch.
The show tells the story of forty-eight hours in the lives of three teenagers on Manhattan's Upper West Side and deals with issues like drug use, sex, and murder in a suprisingly funny way. My personal favorite line was "Chivalry isn't dead - it just smells bad," but the show has a lot of hilarious moments as well some poignant ones.
Like most underground productions, this one has a limited run -- the last performance is tonight at 9:00 p.m. in Park 220. I suggest you take a break from studying for midterms and head over there for some FREE theater tonight. You'll be thoroughly entertained, and you'll go home thankful the only problem you're dealing with is which exam to study for next.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Let me begin this blog post with a disclaimer. This is not a review. I'm a Drama major here at IC, and I've been involved in IC Theatre Arts' production of Top Girls since long before it started rehearsals. I would be remiss to think that my involvement doesn't bias my opinion, so while I saw Top Girls' opening night performance Thursday night, I am not here to write a review of the production. Instead, I offer you an inside look.
I had the pleasure of being the Top Girls’ dramaturge. The joke in the theatre world about dramaturges is that no one actually knows what they do. In my experience this is fairly accurate, so I'll take a moment to explain what that means. The duties of dramaturges vary by production and by director, at least in the world of academic theatre. My role in the Top Girls team, however, was to provide a historical perspective. I did a lot of research about the play, about the time and place in which it was set (1980s Britain), and about the playwright, Caryl Churchill. I wrote up a packet for the actresses in order to provide them with a jumping off point for their own historical research. I also attended many rehearsals and answered any questions the actresses or director had, and I wrote a note for the production's program.
With all that under my belt, I came to IC's production of Top Girls on Thursday night with a unique perspective. I had a working knowledge of the process the show had been through to get where it is now, but I was not as directly involved with the final product as the actresses, the director, or the designers had been. I had the distinct pleasure of sitting in the audience to watch a show I had worked on, something that is rare for me, as my usual position in a production involves being backstage. It was a fascinating experience, and I was pleased to discover that my involvement in the production did not stop it from surprising, interesting, or moving me.
I was reminded while watching Top Girls that it is a particularly challenging show, both to perform and to attend. One of the reasons I admire Caryl Churchill is that in a world that frequently asks us merely to watch and enjoy a play, she defies the norm and expects a lot from her audiences. Churchill expects playgoers to be pay careful attention, she expects them to be thoughtful, and most importantly in Top Girls, she expects them to be patient. Following the trend of the many audience members who walked out on the 2008 Broadway revival of Top Girls, the 15 audience members who left during IC's intermission Thursday night did not live up to her expectations.
I understand audience members’ reluctance to sit through Act Two. The show is long - about two and a half hours - and it ran even longer Thursday night due to minor technical difficulties backstage. Much of this production's length is due, I think, to the first scene. Churchill is famous for the technique of overlapping dialogue she established in scene one, which is notoriously difficult to stage and to understand because of that overlapping dialogue. Director Norman Johnson makes an admirable effort (and I think he succeeds) at slowing down the dialogue and making the first scene understandable despite that, but it does make for a long scene. The rest of the first act doesn't help impatient audience members, either. I imagine it is confusing for anyone who doesn't know the show, as it jumps between time periods and switches tacks in the blink of an eye. Wandering around at intermission, I saw a lot of bemused faces. Those audience members who stayed, through, were rewarded by the second act, as I'm sure Churchill intended them to be.
In my biased opinion, IC has put on a wonderful production. I hope that you all take the time to go to one of the remaining performances. I hope that when you go, you stay for both acts. Top Girls may not be what you expect it to be. It will be challenging to watch, and occasionally, it will be challenging to understand. You may love it, or you may not like it all. But this dramaturge promises you that Top Girls will make you think.
Friday, October 9, 2009
With so much going on this weekend, there's no excuse to just sit around with the bros in the dorm next to yours and ingest strange party drinks. From homecoming to gorge hiking to concerts to... um, RA duties, these three IC students have got the weekend figured out!
Thursday, October 8, 2009
In the midst of this war, financial worry, and fish moniker protests, it's nice to see an organization out and about Ithaca College whose sole purpose is positivity. No matter how small the gesture, the Do Anything Nice organization is striving to inject a little joy and spontaneity into what would be your otherwise mundanely college day-to-day.
I caught up to Do Anything Nice this Thursday out on the Campus Center quad. Their esteemed president, Sam Langberg, was there along with three fellow D.A.N. members to distribute free hugs (and complimentary video interviews -- see below) at their monthly Hug Station. Offering a hug to any and every student who walked by, they were met with varying levels of "ummm...?" and "Absolutely!" Joyfully though, the "absolutelys" were in the overwhelming majority. The hugs were of a high quality; firm, yet comfortably yielding, and I didn't see one customer walk away unhappy with their purchase.
The Do Anything Nice organization at IC is actually a part of a larger, nationwide D.A.N. With chapters in California, Maine, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York, these folks heard the Beach Boys ask "Wouldn't it be nice?" and answered with a resounding "Heck yes!"
If you want to get on board with the Ithaca College chapter, shoot them an e-mail at ithaca@doanythingnice.org.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
I'm always reminded of why I love IC so much when I go to shows. Regardless of the fact that Cornell's got almost 4 times our student body, it's always the Ithaca College kids packing the front rows. Every time, without fail, we come the earliest, stay the latest, and sing the loudest. Last weekend's They Might Be Giant's show at the State Theater was no exception.
The John's put on a fantastic set of awkwardly awesome nerd-rock, complete with the best confetti cannons I've seen since last I saw the Flaming Lips. While they featured a lot of fabulous stuff off their new album "Science Is Real", they made sure to fit in their best loved songs as well. Istanbul (not Constantinople), Birdhouse In Your Soul, and Don't Let's Start were all definite crowd favorites, but nothing beat the explosion of geeky goodness when they closed with Ana Ng and confetti cannons streaming. Totally awesome.
Hit the gallery for a miasma of incandescent plasma (aka, pictures of the show).
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Heyo! Be sure to check out some of the Alumni and Homecoming Weekend festivities (featuring actual IC grads who have actual post-IC careers -- hint hint), as well as many more bits of awesome occurring on campus and off this week. Here's a rundown!
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Wednesday, October 7th - Video Game Tournament sponsored by SAB: There will be many TVs, and much "PEW! PEW!" I am sure. Come videogame in a public setting, so as to worsen your opponent's humiliation! 7pm - 10pm, Clarke Lounge in Campus Center
Wednesday, October 7th - Women's Club Basketball Tryouts - Club sports are the bomb; come join in the ladies basketball team fun! 7pm - 8pm Fitness Center's Wood Gym.
Thursday, October 8th - Built To Spill - Fresh off the heels of their brand new album There Is No Enemy, Boise indie pioneers Built To Spill bring their dreamy-yet-catchy tunes to the State Theater for a night none will soon forget. 8pm, tickets at the State box office.
October 8th, 9th, 10th, & 11th - Top Girls theater performance - If you've ever wanted to see a production about a twisted dinner party of historical female figures, have we got a show for you! Shows the 8th, 9th, and 10th from 8pm to 10. The show on the 11th is at 2pm.
Friday, October 9th - Barbecue on the Quad - Current students and alumni alike can gather to fuel their bodies with delicious BBQ is preparation for the Homecoming game. 4:30pm - 7pm on the Campus Center Quad.
Friday, October 9th - HSHP "Putt In" - Putt your face off to be put in a drawing for fabulous prizes at the homecoming halftime! Smiddy Hall, 9am - 4pm
Friday, October 9th - Senior/Alumni happy hour - Have some food, have some drinks, chat with folks! Whether you're an alumni or current senior this has GOT to be the funnest way to make connections. 6pm to 7:30 in IC Square
Friday, October 9th - Golden Doorknob Films - Come see many short films about different ways that people can be killed with doorknobs. It's a tradition! Park Aud, 8pm to 10pm
Saturday, October 10th - Family Movie Night: "Up" - Join the alumni festivities in Park Aud this Saturday at 8pm to see one of the best Pixar films out there... and there's a lot of them... and they're all great.
Saturday, October 10th - The Big Bash - An event so epic that the only descriptive value of the title is its own epic-ness. Touting the IC Coemdy Club, the IC Circus, and Ithaca College bands young and old, this event is the culmination of Alumni Weekend. Great food and great fun with great people. Check it! 8pm - 11:30 in the Ben Light Gymnasium. $15 for adults, $5 for current students.
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
At the beginning of last week, I was a Twilight Zone virgin. I'd never seen an episode and never even been friends with anyone who was a Twilight Zone fan. I was pretty much clueless. This weekend changed that. I got the chance to watch a few episodes, but more importantly, I'm pretty sure I entered the Twilight Zone on Friday night.
I showed up at Park Auditorium expecting to hear the keynote speaker for the Rod Serling conference. Instead, I'm pretty sure I got transported to a fifth dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. George Clayton Johnson, introduced by the co-chair of the conference as a "legend in the television writing business," may be a legend, but he's also, in his own words, "not your ordinary bear."
Clayton Johnson, writer of approximately seven Twilight Zone episodes, has had an eventful life to say the least. He grew up in Wyoming, failed the 6th grade, dropped out of the 8th grade, and, with his mother's permission, ran away at 15. He joined the army at 17 and learned to be a cartographer, but ended up painting murals in mess halls for a large portion of his time there. He then got a job as an architectural draftsman, worked nine-to-five for a while, and quit in order to pursue his "fantastic love" of science fiction and become a science fiction writer. Obviously that worked out for him, but along the way I think George entered a twilight zone of his own. His speech, while informative and often interesting, wandered from his childhood, to his beginnings as a writer in 1959, to Rod Serling, to Ray Bradbury, to the state of the country in 1959, to his belief that one day there will be telepathic people, to how sick of watching TV shows about autopsies he is, and back, always, to 1959. (Ed.: He might be on to something -- I'm sick of perpetual autopsies on TV as well. And anything involving those folks who perfectly straddle the idiocy/vanity axis, which is pretty much everything not involving autopsies, I suppose.)
I learned a few things about Rod Serling, but mostly I just sat there and tried to follow Clayton Johnson's thought process. His back-and-forth speech was entertaining and out there, but I was a little disappointed not to learn more about Serling and his epic TV show. “The minute Rod bought my first story I went to a permanent search for the imaginary,” George Clayton Johnson informed his audience. I get that. I'm a fan of the imaginary. But in this case, it would have been nice to hear a little bit more about reality.
I went home a bit confused and and somewhat let down, and spent the rest of the weekend doing homework and watching Twilight Zone episodes. In case you hadn't figured it out by now, that show is trippy! It's beautifully shot, well written, and often totally weird. After a couple of episodes, I forgave Clayton Johnson for his rambling speech. Who cares whether or not the man can orate? He wrote the intensely creepy story that the Twilight Zone episode "Execution" is based on, and six other episodes. That's good enough for this newly minted fan.
Friday, October 2, 2009
Don't let the weekend pass you by having accomplished nothing more than studying til your eyes bleed and washing your lucky socks in the water fountain down the hall. Get out and do something, Ithaca!
Friday, October 2, 2009
***As of 3:30 p.m., this event has been canceled due to illness (the presenter, not Rod Serling or the Simpson family -- he passed away 34 years ago and they don't actually exist).***
Straight up, The Twilight Zone always creeped me the hell out.
I always found the subtly off-kilter parallel universe it illustrated far more haunting and worrisome than the more out-there slasher flicks and other ghoulish fare, possibly because it seemed considerably more likely to actually take place. When I was a kid the nightly news was rife with stories of "the disappeared" and other seemingly paranormal flights of freakishness that were in fact just products of brutal sadism masquerading as geopolitics, so Rod Serling's vision of a dark reality just around the corner from our own was tangibly terrifying.
I saw the movie version when I was 12, though I can't entirely remember why, since I had actively avoided the endless reruns of the original TV show at a time when at least four of the dozen terrestrial channels we got back then showed them seven days a week. The fact that Vic Morrow and two child actors died in a gruesome helicopter accident during production of the film further convinced me that the whole damned enterprise was simply a standing invitation for Evil itself to waltz in at any moment and thump the everloving bejeezus out of all that was good in the world. Yet there I sat at the old State Theater, enduring the madness with school chums gleeful at the notion of a gremlin ripping the wings off a flying airplane.
Never really trusted my friends after that.
Anyway, fast forward far too many years to mention here, and I confess I'm actually considering attending some events at this year's Rod Serling conference (he taught here up until his death in 1975, further unnerving your humble fraidycat reporter). There's a marathon of classic episodes Saturday night, but that's not really my thing. No, I'm not quite ready for that level of commitment. I need to find neutral ground between my brave new initiative and the timidity of my youth.
Which is why I'll be attending Diana DePasquale's "From Serling to Simpson" this afternoon at 3:30 in Emerson Suites (that's Homer, by the way, not OJ, who wouldn't be any less scary than TZ itself). I always knew The Simpsons frequently used elements from what Homer once called "that show about that twilighty zone," but apparently the connection is even stronger than I thought.
Anyway, you should be there (and at a bunch of the other events too, since so many are free and open to the public). In the meantime, check out my fave Twilight Zone homage, from one of those "Treehouse of Horror" episodes they do after Halloween every year. Submitted for your approval, natch.
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