|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Barn Bash features student-made film LEE PERLMAN THE MID-COUNTY MEMO
Most aspects of the event are as they were in past years. The event will be 6 p.m. to midnight July 8 at Rossi Farms, Northeast 122nd Avenue and Shaver Street. The $12 admission will buy you all you can eat, prepared and served by Parkrose Lions - barbecued chicken, baked beans, green and potato salads, and shortcake adorned with fresh strawberries. For a few dollars more, you'll be able to purchase beer, once again donated by Widmer Brothers Brewery, or wine. As in past years, there'll be dancing to music performed by the Last Rodeo Band and the Columbia Cutups band. Once again Professional Amateur Cowboy Tom Mannen will put on a Wild West Show with western-garbed men and women having at each other with fists and guns loaded with blanks. None will be dressed as pirates, and Mannen won't have a for-real Cowboy Wedding (At the Barn Bash two years ago, Mannen got hitched for real to bride Jannette. An event, he assures us, that is strictly a good-for-a-lifetime.), but he said there will be "a big bang, cowboy comedy, and an 1892 bank robbery."
The new element is that this year neither Rossi nor Mannen were in charge; the film truly did come from the community. Rossi contacted the video and drama departments at Parkrose High School, through teachers Casey Goodlett and Zena ("It's just Zena") about letting students do the film. "I offered to let them do this as a class project," Rossi said. "It would be something they could put on their resumes." The class revised the script of "The Tale of Nick Rose," which had been produced previously starring Rossi's brother Nick. "I expected the kids to come, stumble around, and I'd have to help them through the day," Rossi said. "Instead, they just took over!" "They were wonderful," Mannen agreed. "One of the best groups I've worked with in a long time. I gave them wardrobe, showed them how to use the equipment and the (blank-loaded) guns, gave them a few suggestions and help when it was needed, and then just let Student Director Evan Carr do what he wanted to do." "None of the students had worked with this type of media before," Zena said. "They'd produced videos, but nothing with an actual script. As a group they were extraordinary. They didn't get impatient or complain about the 'hurry up and wait' that is a part of film production." Carr, who was still editing the film at press time, said, "I had a lot of fun." Having just completed his junior year, he has produced videos and hopes to be a director someday, but said, "I had never really worked with a full crew of actors before. It was hectic - it was tough getting everyone to do what they were supposed to do - but once we actually started rolling, everything was fine. (Mannen) was a great help; he showed us how to use the guns." The students will be there to watch their own premier. Unfortunately, except for a few event helpers, they will be the only teenagers present in what is officially an adults-only event. This is due entirely to the beer sales. It would be possible to sell beer, admit children and still meet Oregon Liquor Control Commission regulations, but years ago Rossi reluctantly concluded it was more trouble than it was worth. How does the next Parkrose generation compare to its elders as filmmakers? See for yourself Saturday night, July 8. |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
MEMO Advertising | MEMO Archives | MEMO Web Neighbors | MEMO Staff | Home |