LIFE IN THE MIDDLE

Documenting Documentary

Sarasota's Asolo Repertory Theater has a phenomenal Education Outreach department that constantly engages the community to keep the arts alive, current and meaningful. In the Fall of 2009 I had the pleasure of working with the FSU/Asolo Conservatory third year students, along with director KJ Sanchez, as I followed them into Sarasota and Manatee County public middle schools. After interviewing the students about the issues they face, both directly and indirectly in their lives, Sanchez and the Conservatory students devised a piece of theater that was chock-full for energy and emotion.

Life In The Middle opened Asolo Rep's 2009-10 season with a bang. "You can't help but be touched by the stories they tell," raved the Sarasota Herald Tribune along with members of the community. While shooting the performances, talkbacks, and post-show gatherings it became more and more apparent that devised theater was an extremely effective way to give voice to those who can't seem get their words to hang in the air for very long.

This project posed an extremely new and interesting challenge for me as a filmmaker. I was quite literally documenting a documentary. To shoot footage covering a process where the final product could be anything is exhausting. There is no way to know what type of footage will be needed, or more importantly what will be valid to make the final product a coherent short film (what types of angles and movements in a shot, what proportions of the characters in the frame, etc.) Nevertheless, after sifting through nearly 13 hours of footage an effective portrayal of the process that was Life In The Middle can be viewed in less than 20 minutes.

Here is a short trailer for Life In The Middle.

RELATED LINKS

Press release for Life In The Middle

Article from a blog in the Herald Tribune

Asolo Repertory Theater's official page for Life In The Middle

DON'T BANK ON THE ISLE OF MAN

After corruption crippled the UK banking system and hundreds of thousands of British citizens lost nearly, if not everything they had saved, a campaign was ignited in an effort to bring this situation to the world's attention.

This short video was the brainchild of one of these British citizens. It was directed at British Prime Minister Gordon Brown as a plea to stand up for the British savers who lost out, but also as a criticism for not having done so in the beginning.

While the quality of the performance is a bit synthetic, the message is clear and powerful. Situations like the corruption in the Icelandic Banks in 2008 need to be brought to the world's

attention in the first place.