'Life And Legacy Of Rod Serling' Will Be Focus Of Conference At Ithaca College
A two-day conference honoring one of television’s best-known writers will be held March 28–29 at Ithaca College’s Roy H. Park School of Communications. “The Life and Legacy of Rod Serling” will feature presentations of academic papers as well as panel discussions, screenings and the results of a nationwide Rod Serling scriptwriting competition.
Following the success of a similar event in 2006, this year’s conference is expected to draw writers, researchers and Serling enthusiasts from around the country. For conference details and to register, visit http://www.ithaca.edu/rhp/serling.
The creator of the groundbreaking “Twilight Zone” television series lectured on creative writing at Ithaca College from 1967 until his untimely death in 1975, and several of the conference sessions will examine Serling’s role as a teacher—featuring some of his colleagues and students from the early 1970s.
Other sessions will focus on such topics as:
Serling’s critically acclaimed screenplay for the film “Seven Days in May” as a prophetic exploration of the roles of the U.S. military and the legislative branch of government in times of political stress.
His frustrating attempts to dramatize the murder of Emmett Till—an experience that would sharpen his views on sponsor censorship and network interference.
The “twilight zone” as a philosophical concept.
The Rod Serling Archives at Ithaca College, one of the largest collections of the author’s creative work.
A multimedia presentation which combines “Twilight Zone” dialog, familiar soundtrack music and images from the series to explore the show’s influence on American pop culture.
In addition, a popular event from the 2006 conference will, like the series itself, have a “rerun.” A “Twilight Zone Marathon” will screen episodes from the original series, which aired on the CBS television network from 1959 to 1963, with an introduction and analysis of each show’s themes.
The conference will conclude with a table reading of Serling’s script “Noon on Doomsday.” In cooperation with the Ithaca College Department of Theatre Arts, this never-before-produced work will be brought to life in a fitting tribute to the life and legacy of Rod Serling.
The Rod Serling Short Feature Scriptwriting Competition was open to nonprofessional writers who submitted scripts suitable for either of Serling’s anthology series, “The Twilight Zone” or “Night Gallery.” Entrants were challenged to maintain the horror/science fiction genre while infusing their story with a strong social theme. The three contest winners will be selected by Carol Serling, a longtime member of the Ithaca College Board of Trustees who established the Rod Serling Archives, a collection of her late husband’s television scripts, movie screenplays, unproduced works and other artifacts. The winners will be announced at the conference.
For more information contact Melissa Gattine, coordinator for special programs and public relations in the Park School, at (607) 274-1023.
Originally published in News Releases: 'Life And Legacy Of Rod Serling' Will Be Focus Of Conference At Ithaca College.
