They'll leave the ight on for you
Check in to the Lonely Hearts Club to
see Starmotel, a young rock 'n' roll
band featuring female vocals. 9 p.m.
michigandaily.com /arts
R rig
FRIDAY
APRIL 7, 2000
TIME TO BUY THE FILM FARM
By Leslie Boxer
Daily Arts Writer
Tonight marks the fourth annual M-
Flicks Film Farm, an evening dedicated
to showcasing the talent of student
filmmakers. Participation in Film Farm
is open to the entire
Film Farm
Natural Science
Auditorium
Starts Friday at 8 p.m.
r s ; ,
N'
student body and
"allows students
of all back-
grounds, not just
film majors, the
chance to have
their films
shown, says M-
Flicks co-presi-
dent Mike
Cataletto. This
year's Film Farm
will show 14
short films that
were selected
program includes a chance for viewers
to vote on their favorite film in four
categories: Most original piece, best
screenplay, best cinematography and
best of festival.
M-Flicks, the organization that
sponsors Film Farm, is part of the
University Activities Center, an
umbrella organization that supports
student activities on campus. M-Flicks
not only heads up Film Farm, but is
also responsible for bringing films to
campus and giving students the oppor-
tunity to see sneak previews of films.
As for the student entries, they range
from a documentary teaching you how
to get a date to a story about a mental-
ly disturbed man who is trying to
escape the confines of his own psyche.
What's most impressive about all of the
different films is that the students are
involved with every component of the
filmmaking process. The students are
allowed creative freedom in their
endeavors and the differences between
the entries goes beyond their choice of
topics. Some films are shot in 16 mil-
limeter while others are on VHS,
SVHS or DV In addition, the films
vary in length from three to 22 min-
utes.
While anyone is afforded the oppor-
tunity to submit an entry to Film Farm,
the majority of entries are from stu-
dents concentrating in Film & Video.
The major offers a number of classes in
filmmaking starting at the 200-level
and advancing throughout the four
years. Many students make films for
these courses and subsequently submit
them to Film Farm.
Dan Weinberg, director of "How to
Go on a Date," made his film for FV
200 and found that the most enjoyable
part of the film was translating some-
thing that he had written into a visual
form. Other directors shared Dan's
enthusiasm for their own projects and
the opportunity to work with wonderful
student actors.
Peter Katona, another student direc-
tor, found that being a student and try-
ing to manage the work that goes into
filming and editing was difficult. He
said the thing he disliked the most
about this experience was "not being
able to focus only on the film. We had
other commitments and classes and
could not rise and sleep with the pro-
duction in mind."
For many of the students involved in
Film Farm, filmmaking is part of their
career ambition. Many of the students
have written or directed several other
short films and have been involved
with previous Film Farms. One film,
"The Box," even has a recent graduate
collaborating on the effort.
All in all, this year's Film Farm
promises to be a night of entertain-
ment and a tribute to the hard work
of your fellow students.
from a pool of 38 entries at the Natural
Science Auditorium The evening's
'U' students laugh up career hopes
By Robyn Melamed
Daily Arts Writer
What do you get when you add two funny
guys, a few hilarious films and a friendship that
will last a lifetime?
American
Jedi
By Adam
Schwarz
Friday at Film Farm
A
};
If you answered Abbott and
Costello, you are close. If
you answered senior LSA
film students Matt Plumb
and Adam Schwartz, you hit
the nail on the head.
This creative team met
during auditions for the
1998 production of "One
Flew Over the Coo CooUs
Nest." Unfortunately, nei-
ther of them made the cut.
"We went in thinking we
were the shit and came out
just shit," Plumb said. Yet
because of this traumatic
blow to their egos, or as
they like to call it, "the first
dramatic defeat," they went
rehearsal and performances Plumb and
Schwartz became good friends. They realized
that between the two of them, they had several
clever ideas for films. "We were able to hang
out together and make crazy movies together,"
Plumb said.
Last summer Plumb and Schwartz, along with
other film students (known as "the Film Mafia")
worked as interns in Los Angeles, Calif. Plumb
worked for the Classics division of Davis enter-
tainment while Schwartz worked for Saturday
Night Live
"Film internships are different from most
internships." Shwartz said. "You don't get paid,
but you're getting a hands-on experience," said
Plumb. "I got to drive a goft cart around that
said 'Lorne Michaels,"' Schwartz said.
Plumb and Schwartz went into fits of laughter
thinking about one of Plumb's jobs: "I worked
as a production assistant for a friend. We went
to the movie site and realized we were going to
spend the day helping with a film about gay
porn. My jobs included oiling gay men and
being a dildo wrangler," Plumb said.
In their few spare moments, the Film Mafia
amused themselves'by making their own films.
Plumb's piece, "L.A. 99," is based on the true
story about the comical instances that occurred
during the time spent in L.A. Plumb worked on
this film for the "labor of love," he said.
Schwartz put together "American Jedi" which
was a project for one of his film classes. This
piece, described by Schwartz as a "fake pre-
view," combines the films "American Pie" and
"Star Wars Episode l: The Phantom Menace."
The focus of the film is that "OBI-WAN has to
get laid in order to become a jedi knight,"
Schwartz said. "Jedi" will be screening tonight
at Film Farm.
Plumb and Schwartz recently co-directed, co-
produced and co-wrote the uncensored sketch
comedy show, "Skits-O-Phrenia 2." The guys
agreed that "this campus was starving for laugh-
ter. Laughter is what the people wanted, and you
gotta give the people what they want."
According to Plumb and Schwartz, "Everybody
loved it. There was consistent laughter."
After graduation, this entertaining duo is
planning to move out to Los Angeles and pursue
careers in film or screenwriting. Will they be
competing for jobs? "No. If anything, we'll help
each other out," Schwartz said. "We work well
together," Plumb agreed, "and it's all about col-
laboration."
Courtesy of Davidnmith Photography
Darryl Semira (left) and Celia Keenan-Bolger spice up the Kit Kat Klub in "Cabaret."
Blending various.
styles, 'Cabaret'
smolders onstage
on to try out for the "Rude Mechanicals" one act
play, "All in the Timing," and were both cast.
During the three months of auditions,
By Jim Schiff
Daily Arts Writer
"In here, life is beautiful." This line,
one of the first uttered by the emcee of
The Kit Kat Club, was the theme of
University Productions' spectacular pro-
duction of the Kander and Ebb hit musi-
cal, "Cabaret" The first-rate cast deliv-
ered masterfully choreographed dance
numbers and perfectly-pitched vocals to
the full crowd at the Power Center.
Directed by Linda Goodrich,
"Cabaret" follows the lives of several
individuals in 1930's Berlin, just as the
Nazis were coming to power. It centers
on American Clifford Bradshaw (Sean
Clifford), who travels to Germany to get
inspiration for his novel. Through his
stay at a tenant
N W. i" house, owned by
Tilower Frau Schneider
Cabaret ( Madeleine
Center Wyatt), he meets
April 7-8 at 8 p.m. an ensemble of
April 9 at 2 p.m. quirky characters.
His frequent trips
to The Kit Cat
Club, a sleazy
cabaret, cause
him to collide
with Sally Bowles
(Celia Keenan-
Bolger), a free-spirited spunky British
singer. Back at the hotel, Schneider gives
herself a chance at love with an elderly
Jewish man, Herr Schultz (David
Reiser).
In the background of these relation-
ships is the flashy decadance of the
cabaret. The ensemble cast, adorned in
glittery costumes and widened smiles,
brought this night club to life.
Throughout, the musical retained an
unsurpassed energy and vigor. The
cabaret's musical entertainment, a most-
ly crossdressing jazz ensemble, set the
PAUL HON
READS DAILY
ARTS.
You SHOULD,
TOO.
spirited mood. Flappers and their beaus
shimmied across the stage in with
incredible ease. While singing, dancing,
and drinking, the partiers could leave
their worries behind.
The set design gave an authenticity to
"Cabaret" that was useful in creating a
genuine period-feel. The train car and
the hotel room were simply decorated in
1930s-style furniture, but careful atten-
tion was payed to the tattered curta*
and worn-wood door. In stark contrast
was The Kit Kat Club, decorated as
brightly as the smiles on the actors'
faces. Dim table lighting, coupled with
bright lights on the stage, helped to
reveal the sexy dialogue among the
chacters and the over-the-top perfor-
mances on the Kit Kat stage.
In an incredible performance, the
emcee (Darryl Semira) set the sexually-
charged tone to "Cabaret" He was co@
pletely believable as a gender-bending
party-animal, seamlessly blending in the
female chorus line. "The Money Song"
allowed him to show off his considerable
vocal talents and dancing ability. Both
Clifford and Keegan-Bolger handled
their lead parts beautifully, providing the
musical with its emotional center.
Keegan-Bolger was particularly con-
vincing as a lounge singer who comes
face-to-face with responsibility and her
first true love in Clifford.
But the most impressive aspect of
"Cabaret" was the onstage chemistry
between Wyatt and Reiser. In "So
What' and "What Would You Do," Frau
Schneider confronts her lonely existance
and the moral dilemma she must make
between her love, Schultz, and her safe-
ty in Nazi Germany. The widower
Schultz and the love-deprived Schneider
convey beautiful vocals in their long
for one another.
In supporting roles, Thomas Foster as
Ernst Ludwig, a Nazi businessman, and
Anna Gleichauf as Fraulein Kost, a sexy
young woman who sleeps around with
German sailors, were also effective.
Both winningly wooed the innocent
Bradshaw into the carefree world of the
German cabaret.
"Cabaret" is so wonderful because it
is an intricate blend of many kinds of
shows. Las-Vegas style dancing, a
sense of humor, and powerful relat -
ships make it a delight to see. "In here,
life is beautiful." At the Power Center
last night, it certainly was.
jWisanber
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You Can Be Too!
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