Jake and Elwood may have been the brainchild of two comedians in their prime.  They may have been born of a Saturday Night Live sketch that saw John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd dressed up as bees.  And their film may have come as close as we’ll ever see to a Road Runner chase sequence rendered in live action. But they were no joke.  Neither parody nor tribute, the Blues Brothers succeeded as real musicians, with a real band behind them.  (In naming some of those band members – Steve Cropper, Paul Shaffer, Matt “Guitar” Murphy, North Texas alum “Blue” Lou Marini, the late great Alan “Mr. Fabulous” Rubin and Donald “Duck” Dunn – I’m only scratching the surface of their legend.)

So when I learned that the Overtime Theater was trying to recapture their magic, this was something I had to see and hear.

The S.A. Blues Brothers Rhythm and Blues Revue Show would be the final main-stage show for the Overtime’s Blue Star incarnation, as (following a successful Kickstarter campaign) the theater would soon move to a new location.  And the level of talent assembled for the show promised a fitting last-hurrah spectacular.  Jaime Ramirez, a rising star in local music, theatre, and musical theatre, would back up the brothers alongside his Marco Cholo Quintet (with an assist from “Pistol Pete” Egly on guitar).  Sarah Goodwin, Kes Scudday, and Jules Vaquera would offer their voices as “The Ladies”.

And front and center, as the sons of Elwood, would be Ben “J. ‘Jailbird’” Scharff and Bryan “Elwood Jr. II” Ortiz.

Even without the obvious physical resemblance, you really couldn’t ask for more perfect casting.  With their shared gift for physical acting, their experience in musical theatre, and – here’s that word again – their commitment, I knew that Bryan and Ben could put on a terrific show.

So it was with a measure of cautious excitement that I made my way to the Overtime on May 19, the last night of the Blue Star era.  This was something kind of daring they were attemping, and I hoped they could capture the spirit of those original Blues Brothers.

From the moment Jaime and the band launched into that classic medley of “Time Is Tight” and “I Can’t Turn You Loose”; from the moment Bryan and Ben walked out on stage, Bryan with that briefcase handcuffed to his wrist and Ben swinging the key; from the moment they stepped into the opening notes of “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love”… they had me.

This was no mere tribute band.  Ben and Bryan had the look, the sound, the moves of Jake and Elwood, but more than that, they had the spirit.  They believed and believed in their roles, and gave their all to make sure the audience believed in them too.  (Jaime, his band, and The Ladies offered fantastic support, with Jaime taking his turn in the spotlight on “Shake Your Tail Feather”, and Kes leading the Ladies on Aretha’s classic “Think”.)

And when they launched into “Soul Man” (the most essential song in any Blues Brothers show), I’d like to think that whereever they were, Jake and Duck and Mr. Fabulous, and all the other musicans who left us too soon, were on their feet with the rest of us.

As a farewell to Blue Star, it was a fantastic show.  As a Blues Brothers show, it was pretty awesome.  And all around, it blew us away.

The Overtime just announced its new location this week, so you can count on another show from the S.A. Blues Brothers.  So keep your eyes and ears open.  You really don’t want to miss these guys.

Thanks to Bryan, Ben, Jaime, The Ladies, the band, and the Overtime for a great night.  (This includes the theater’s improv troupe, The Denials, who officially closed down the old venue with a high-energy show of their own.)  And thanks as always to you for reading.

Until the next time, “be seeing you…”

The promise of crowdfunding is that it strengthens the bond between artists and fans/consumers, and allows them to share in the creative act in a way that I hope remains positive. As Palmer’s husband recently said, “I love the way that Kickstarter allows people both to be patrons of the arts and to directly support the creation and manufacture of the thing they want.”

All of which provides a nice teaser for what we’re working on right now…

For PDP‘s next project, we’re working with Claire Casseb – our friend, our colleague, our frequent collaborator, and a fantastic pop artist – to produce her upcoming art show, Glamour in Glitter. It’s happening on Saturday, June 2 at the Architecture Foundation of San Antonio‘s Center for Architecture (in the Pearl Brewery) – as that title implies, it’s a showcase for Claire’s glitter portraits of pop-cultural icons. Lucy, Liza, Lady Gaga, Bettie, Bardot, Warhol, Winehouse – it’s a great lineup.

Given Claire’s love of theatricality, and the nature of her chosen icons, it’s only fitting that her show would make a little extra effort to bring her art to life – literally.  Which is to say, she’ll have live models of her “glitter icons” walking around and interacting with guests.  It’s going to be a great show, and I hope you’ll be there when it happens on June 2.

Before then, of course, we have quite a few details to see to.  Including funding.  Which brings us to the call to action.

We’ve launched our very own Kickstarter campaign to raise funds for Glamour in Glitter.  Just visit our project page to learn more about the show, about the process of producing it, and about how you can contribute to its success (and receive some fine premiums in the process).  We have until June 1 to raise the necessary funds, and like Claire says in the video you’ll see on that same page, “every dollar counts”.  I mean that – you can start with just a dollar and build from there.

Through the years, we’ve always appreciated the love and support of our colleagues, friends, and fans.  And we’ve always looked forward to sharing our productions with you.  In following and supporting a few campaigns (including Sam Lerma’s Lilia and the Overtime Theater’s imminent move), I’ve come to see Kickstarter as a new expression of that relationship, a new way for us to share in each other’s successes.  The artist and the fan – we really are all in this together.

And so I hope you’ll join us in our latest [ad]venture, both through the process of its funding and at the show itself.  We’re excited to see it happen, and I know you will be too.

So, until June 2, “be seeing you…”

For one example: In Neil Simon’s original script, there’s a reference to the 1986 film Platoon.  Someone (and it might actually have been me) suggested changing the title to The Hurt Locker, and we went with it.  I thought it worked pretty well; like the movie, the play’s all about characters trying to defuse a bad situation before it blows up in their faces (though I’ll admit there’s a little less… drama attached to our play).  But if I have to be honest about the reasoning behind my suggestion, I really just wanted to hear Danielle King say “The Hurt Locker“.

I bring this up to illustrate that the production of a play is not always a process of exact translation or transcription.  Sometimes we have to make some changes to get the story and characters from page to stage.  Which of course brings us back to the San Antonio Stage Script Study Group.

After the success of our first Page to Stage meeting (which, as you’ll recall, found us at S.T.A.G.E. in Bulverde to see Ron Blicq’s Closure), we decided to make the new tradition – discuss the play over a meal, then see it live – the regular process of the group.  And we agreed that the next play to get the dining-&-drama treatment would be Dirty Blonde, a romantic comedy/musical by Claudia Shear that explores the life and career of Mae West through the growing relationship of two obsessed and lonely fans.

We already knew that the Cameo Theatre would be producing the play, with Matthew Byron Cassi directing, so it was a matter of finding the right day and the right restaurant.  The day would be Sunday, May 5, and after working out the details with Matthew, the restaurant would be Tito’s Mexican Restaurant in Southtown; as Nikki was shooting a film that day, it fell to me to make the arrangements and lead the group through our discussion and viewing.

The Script Group’s meetings have always attracted a turnout you’d call Loyal And Devoted.  We always have great conversations, and since we’ve launched Page to Stage, the discussions have grown more lively and insightful.  Sunday’s was no exception, as Matthew was enthusiastic and very open about how the play was adapted for the Cameo’s production.

Dirty Blonde is written with two female roles, to be played by one actress, and a host of male roles to be played by two actors; the play’s action shifts instantaneously between present and past, which is a lot to ask of those actors and could also leave the audience a little lost.  With that in mind, Matthew chose the path of clarity and split the female roles, casting Christie Beckham as Mae and Mandy Whitlock as Jo.  Three actors, rather than two, would take on the male roles; Kevin Murray’s main focus would be on playing Charlie, though he still appeared as two other characters (including a terrific cameo as W.C. Fields); Tony Gloria and Derek Berlin played all the other men in Mae’s life (and there were quite a few).

It was the right move.  Having Jo and Mae played by two actors helps bring out the subtext of the play – the influence of the past upon the present, and the dependency of the present upon the past – and it allows for a great scene near the end when Whitlock, Beckham, and Murray share the stage, Mae and her fans acknowledging their debt to one another.  And I think our appreciation of the scene was greater for knowing the process that brought us there.

So, once again, thanks to everyone who attended.  Thanks to Matthew for sharing his time and insights with us.  Thanks to Tito’s and to the Cameo for hosting us.  Thanks to cast and crew for giving us a great show (which will run for one more weekend – check out the Cameo’s website for the details).  And thanks to all of you for following along.

If you’d like to be a part of the next meeting, we’ve moved our online base of operations.  As of this week we’re now on Facebook, so please visit our new group page to learn more about who we are and what we do, to join, and to vote on our next Page to Stage show.

Until that show, “be seeing you…”

It was a lesson learned back in March, when organizers of Luminaria: Arts Night in San Antonio found themselves faced with the threat of storms on the very day they had planned to hold the city’s biggest arts gathering.  After considerable discussion, they took the side of safety and postponed the event from March 10 to May 5.

I’d have been there under any circumstances, of course.  But as Nikki was scheduled to MC one of the music stages (having done the job before, two years ago, she was invited back for this year), I wanted to be there to support her and take pictures.  So, I made sure to keep the new day open on my calendar.

When I arrived at the park on Saturday – and one of these days I REALLY have to master the art of being fashionably late – I wasn’t quite sure what to expect.  Each Luminaria has its own energy, its own character – I think that’s a big part of its appeal.  And from the later sunset to the higher mercury to all those logistical adjustments you know are going on behind the scenes, the character of Luminaria 5 would inevitably be reshaped by its postponement.  So I was curious to see how this year’s event would compare to the spirit of past years.

It was quickly apparent that the delay hadn’t affected the turnout, which was somewhere between 315,000 people (as artistic director Richard Rosen estimated) and 450,000,000,000 (according to my friend Christine, a first-time Luminarian – and I don’t think she’s that far off).  Either way, for sheer numbers, you have to say the event was a success.

And I think it succeeded on most of the other levels as well.  This year’s lineup of artists, though smaller than 2011′s, was no less eclectic, and their placement made good use of the space, including the famous arch, which hosted a rather fantastic aerial performance.

That was just one of many great pieces I saw.  Performance art, media art, visual art – it was all represented with some very creative presentations from the likes of Erik Bosse & S.T. Shimi, Veronica Hernandez & Eddie Felan, Bianca Pitman, the Proxy Theatre Company, title sponsor Rackspace, Urban-15, and many more.  (Bear in mind that these are just the ones whose names I immediately remember – there was much more going on than can fit into this brief digest.  My sincere apologies to anyone I missed along the way.)

And they had Pac-Man.  I repeat, they had Pac-Man.

For me, if any one piece can be said to exemplify the spirit and ideals of Luminaria, it might be “Art Is Luminaria”, a beautiful presentation from Ya’Ke that combined a powerful spoken-word performance by Mikala Gibson with images of the creative act in all its glory (including a love letter to film that featured one Nikki Young – she really was everywhere that night).  Mere words or stills can’t do it justice – this is one you really had to see live.

After doing my best to see as much of the event as I could, I ended the night where I began it.  On Stage 5, Nikki was doing her usual great job of engaging the audience and putting the artists in the spotlight (much as she does on her Great Day SA segment, “An Affair of the Art”).  With a terrific Americana band (the April Hall Band), a Latin legend (Jonny Martinez y Grupo Bravo), and a band that played the intriguing fusion of Jewish tango (Mission City Klezmorin), that one stage made a nice microcosm of the event.  Fun, electric, eclectic, educational, and all of them at once – that was Luminaria.

And on that note (as it were), I’ll call a wrap on this review.  Thanks to everyone who helped make Luminaria happen – organizers, sponsors, vendors, workers, MCs, and most of all the artists themselves.  Thanks to everyone who attended and showed their support for the arts in San Antonio.  And, of course, thanks to you for following along.

Until next year – and sooner than that – “be seeing you…”

It was through Nikki and Chadd that I was introduced to The Renaissance Guild, and to its founder, Paul Riddle, Jr.  They had known him for several years – PrimaDonna‘s earliest work was with TRG, and Nikki (as actor and producer) and Chadd (as director) were both active supporters of the theatre company.  So when I joined PDP, I joined their partnership as well.

From that beginning, I was very impressed with what Paul, Danielle King, and everyone at TRG had accomplished.  While the company was advertised as “San Antonio’s premier black theatre company”, the appeal of TRG’s shows (including a performance of Robert Harling’s Steel Magnolias that would introduce me to our great friend Denise Swain) was entirely universal.  And I made an effort to emphasize that in the reviews I wrote, with Paul’s support, for African-American Reflections and the San Antonio Observer.  That’s something I’ll always remember: I am a published writer today because Paul Riddle helped make it possible.

And then there was Rumors.  I’ve written at some length about my experiences working with PDP and TRG on that production.  It was my debut as an assistant director, and also my debut as a professional stage actor, and in both roles I had so much to learn.  To be honest, I still regret the cues I missed.  But even in those missteps, Paul, like everyone in the cast and crew, supported me, and never failed to show their appreciation for my efforts.

Looking back on our time and work together, the first thing I’ll remember about Paul as a person is his temperament.  Though he was a tall and imposing figure, he was one of the most soft-spoken individuals I’ll ever meet.  And he was always a gentleman – ever courteous, consistently gracious, and genuinely compassionate and nice.  Were I forced to try to define him with only one word (as if it were possible to do such a thing), that would be it: “Genuine”.

I last saw Paul two weeks ago.  He was a panelist for Nikki’s final acting class showcase.  At the time, like all of us, I knew only that we were saying goodbye to those acting classes.  None of us had any idea we’d be saying goodbye to Paul as well.

When Nikki broke the news that he had passed away, I was left speechless.  And I responded as anyone would.  I looked back to that last meeting, trying to find the warning signs I missed.  I remembered our work together, from beginning to end.  I tried to keep moving, to find strength (or at least distraction) in just doing.

But the memories haven’t gone away.  And there’s some solace in that.

Going through life, it’s so easy to take people for granted.  I know I’ve failed that test far too often, and I owe far too many apologies for it.  But it’s so important to let the people who matter to you know that they matter to you.  Paul mattered to a lot of people, and I hope he lived long enough to know that.

For his achievements, Paul Riddle, Jr. was a great man.  For his character, he was a good one.  The world will miss him, and more than that, so will his family and friends.  If I may ask this of you, I ask you to remember them during this time.

Thank you for allowing me to share these memories with you, and for your support…

And one of those films is The Last Waltz.

For those who haven’t seen it (and you really, really should), the film is Martin Scorsese’s document of the final concert of The Band.  It’s a meditation on the musical life, and the toll of constant touring, the pressure to create and perform.  But more than that, it’s a history of American music itself, in all its strains and all its beauty.

I was aware of who The Band were before I first saw The Last Waltz, and I had some sense of their history (any fan can tell you about their origins as Ronnie Hawkins’s backup band, about how they were right there with Dylan during the storm that raged when he Went Electric).  But it wasn’t until I saw the film that I truly appreciated them for what they accomplished in their time together.

And from the beginning to the end, Levon Helm was there.

It’s impossible to say that any one member was the “heart” of The Band.  The beauty of their music, and the poetry of that Last Waltz, came from a chemistry between the five members that could never be duplicated.  So, it’s impossible to argue that what they created together could have happened without the presence, the soul of Levon Helm.

As a drummer, Helm was unmatched.  As a singer, he brought a purity to every recording and every live performance.  As an actor, he was pretty damned good.  And as a herald, a solo ambassador for American music… was there anyone better?

The musical odyssey of Levon Helm was our odyssey.  In his voice, we heard passion, tragedy, joy, life.  His music affected me in ways I may never be able to articulate.  And so his passing has similarly affected me.

But there’s solace in knowing he found peace at the end (especially with Bandmate Robbie Robertson, who reached out to bridge their long divide before it was too late).  And there’s a strange comfort in knowing that even though Helm’s weight has been lifted, “The Weight” will always be ours to bear.

So I can’t think of a better tribute to a man who exemplifies all I love in music than to leave you with that lasting piece of Levon Helm’s legacy:

Once again, thank you for your support as I try to make sense of what I’m feeling.  Until the next time…

It gets even more complicated when you’re talking about Dick Clark.

Like nearly everyone in my generation, and one or two before me, I grew up with American Bandstand.  Between the radio era and the MTV era, AB was where we’d go to see and hear about what was going on in music.  And our guide, ever youthful, was Dick Clark.

If you visit his official YouTube page (and you really, really should) and try to pin down his musical tastes, you’ll find it an impossible task.  For Dick Clark, all music was cool, for no other reason than because it was music.  And so I found myself introduced to an eclectic range of artists that has helped define my own tastes to this day (in that they’re similarly difficult to pin down).

One of the results of AB‘s eclecticism is that when you look back on that legion of clips, they’re all of their time and strangely timeless.  Dick Clark himself was a part of that.  Over the years, his hair may have changed, and yes, maybe he even took on a few wrinkles.  But come on, the guy never really aged, did he?  At 48 (during the peak of my AB phase), he was younger than me.  At 82, he was STILL younger than me.  No amount of medical science can explain that.

For so many years, that (whatever “that” was) made him the first choice to ring in the New Year.  Ask anyone who’s ever stayed in for New Year’s Eve, and I’m positive they’ll admit to having watched Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve at least more than once.  He marked the time.  He was always there.  And so he became one of our cultural immortals, one of those precious few we thought would Always Be There.

But time caught up with him too.  A stroke in 2004 forced him to miss his only New Year’s Eve show.  He’d be back to lead us into 2006, and the five years after that, but nobody could deny that he wasn’t the same.  America’s Favorite Teenager had, at last, begun to age.

And this week, Dick Clark passed away.

It’s been a loss for all of us.  But that brings us to the other thing about memory and celebrities.  Because of the time they spend before the cameras, we can see them as they were, young and in their prime.  And so Dick Clark stands recorded beyond aging and sickness, forever young, a Cultural Immortal.

So I return to the tweet I posted when I first heard the news…

To Dick Clark, forever young, farewell and thanks for first teaching me that music is cool…

And to you, thanks once again for reading.  Until the next time, “be seeing you…”

And sometimes one of those “vanished” films can surprise you.

VOSOT could have been one of those films you never heard of again.  The last feature from writer/director Brett William Mauser, its fate was left uncertain after he left the industry to return to his education (his company soon followed, as Ponderous Productions closed its doors in March).  No one could be blamed for wondering if we’d ever see that final film.

But the show went on, and on April 8, Mauser’s most personal film premiered to a packed house.

Inspired by Mauser’s life in the South Texas news market, VOSOT (for “Voice Over/Sound On Tape”) is at once a satire and a tutorial.  Set in a fictional Texas TV station, the film leads viewers through a typical day in the typical life of a typical news team, through the eyes of someone who has seen it all: photographer Bryce Walker (Justin Riley).

As Bryce shows us everything that goes into choosing, producing, and broadcasting news stories, the industry’s terms are explained to us through a very clever visual device that I won’t spoil here.  And as we learn more about the station’s methods and madness, VOSOT offers pointed commentary about what the news industry has become.

Despite that point of view, the film’s tone is less biting than bemused.  That’s partly because it seldom preaches, but it’s also because, like the newscast it depicts, VOSOT is driven by personalities.  Its humor and its message are grounded in its characters; in who they are when the cameras are on, and when they’re off; and in what they do with (and to) each other.  And the News 22 team has some memorable characters.

Steve Highland (Craig Rainey), “The Face”, rules his desk and his station with an iron hairdo, and little else in his head.  His partner, Sally Wallace (Sally Colombo), is all too eager to take down her co-anchor, and anyone else who catches her at the wrong time.  Mark Johnson (the ever reliable Marc Daratt) thinks he’s a hard-hitting investigative reporter, but usually ends up just hard-hit instead.  Speedo model/reporter Ricardo Ramirez (Everette Henderson) is News 22′s rico suave, much to the annoyance of weathergirl Jessica Reigns (Aisha Love, whose facial reactions are priceless).  Assignments editor Barney (Tim Poynter) knows a great story better than anybody, but is cursed with a tone-deaf news director (Kirk Harrison).  Samantha Gordon (Pamela D. Hardy) would like to tell a great story, but instead has to make do with the same old scraps.  And as the station’s Creative Services department, Brett (Mauser) and Brad (Bradley Bates) are the film’s Ben Pierce and John McIntyre, staying sane by embracing insanity.

Those names are just part of a much larger cast; collectively they’re all terrific (including Mike Roberts, whose cameo as an old-school anchor is especially poignant).  And in this ensemble, two characters and performances stand out.

Maggie Tyler, the harridan of News 22, is a terror to everyone she works with, most of all the depressed cameraman Lenny, whose great curse is to always be assigned to her on her bad days (which seem to happen seven days a week).  Their scenes together have an energy and chemistry that elevates the entire film, and it’s to the actors’ credit, and to Mauser’s for casting them.  Anyone who knows Taylor James Johnson personally will be blown away by his performance as Lenny.  There’s none of the filmmaker’s usual spirit; instead, there’s only someone who may have once been a functional person, laying bare his neurosis in a monologue worthy of Spalding Gray.

Then there’s Maggie.  Nikki Young.  And the character brings out the best in the actress, whether she’s tearing through scenes and characters like a juggernaut, or giving the reporter a subtle and unexpected depth in her rare quiet moments.  Nikki’s performance is at once over the top and surprisingly human, and I think it’s some of her strongest screen work.

That’s true of the film as a whole.  It’s smart, it’s funny, it’s both outrageous and grounded, and it has heart.  VOSOT may be Brett Mauser’s last film, but it could also be his best.

If you weren’t there for the screening, I hope you’ll get a chance to see it for yourself.  It might be one of those films that surprise you.

Thank you as always for reading.  Until the next time, “be seeing you…”

With that in mind, today’s post will be rather bittersweet, as I’m writing the close to one of those chapters.

As I’ve written before, Nikki’s acting classes were an early and important part of my growth as a PrimaDonna.  She’d taught them for twelve years (with me around for the last five of them), and in that time we’ve worked with some incredibly talented kids and adults.  We’ve seen actors grow and evolve, we’ve seen personalites come alive… it’s been a great experience.

Still, there’s a saying about all good things.  And with the new year, as we resolved to continue our return to the production work that’s the heart of PDP, we made the decision (following the earlier closing of our marketing division) to end the classes as well, and to end them on a high note.  So, with the help of Robb Garcia (whose G2E Creative Space generously agreed to host us), we announced our final group acting classes.

In retrospect, I’m not sure we were entirely prepared for the response we received.  Oh, we thought we might have some people asking us to reconsider, but the outpouring of love and support?  That was unexpected.  It was humbling.  And it was not a little inspiring. It’s a rare gift to know how much your work really matters to people, so in that respect we were gifted indeed.

The greatest support came from the students who signed up, a nice mix of newcomers and alumni.  Our kids’ class included Alyssa Flores, Abbie Gentry, Evan Materne, Jose Munoz, Promise Pitman (Nikki’s mini-me in the film VOSOT), and Jordan Wolf; for the adult class, we were joined by Dora Olivia Esquivel, Kathy Feinstein, David Dean Gomez, Elena Jensen, and Teri Poindexter (who first worked with Nikki and Chadd in a Vacation Bible School play last year).  Through Nikki’s lectures, through vocal and physical exercises (it wouldn’t be one of Nikki’s classes without “Go Bananas”), and through the rehearsal and taping of commercials and film scenes (including a piece from one of Nikki’s early films), they committed their time, energy, and enthusiasm to the class, and it paid off in their performances.

As with all of our past classes, those performances would ultimately be showcased before a panel of industry professionals.  And so we found ourselves downtown at the Zumbro Lounge, with family and friends as guests.  For her last panel, Nikki had assembled quite a lineup.  Robb and Chadd were there, of course, along with filmmakers Erik Bosse and Taylor James Johnson, agent Tory Christopher, The Renaissance Guild co-founder Paul Riddle, Jr., and the Cameo Theatre‘s Dave Cortez.  They did a great job guiding the actors, who in turn did a fantastic job onstage.

(Full disclosure requires me to admit that I was up there too, filling in for an actor who unfortunately had to drop out of the class for work-related reasons.  I played the Tim Roth character in a scene from Four Rooms, alongside Dean in the Antonio Banderas role.  And while I guess I did OK, looking back, I really wish I’d tried playing it with a Lightman Lean.)

In the end, it was a quintessential PDP acting class.  From students to parents to panelists, there was that spirit of mutual support we’ve always tried to foster and embody.  And really, I’m not sure we could ask for a better way to end this era.  For one more round, actors grew and evolved, and personalities came alive.  It was a near-perfect ending.

As we were leaving the Cameo, in a kind of Walk Into The Sunset, I asked Nikki how she felt about the classes finally being over.  She answered that she felt really good about it.  She’ll have a few one-day events in the future, a workshop here or a seminar for parents there.  But as for regular classes, that chapter is at last closed.

Time to open the next one…

And so, on behalf of PDP, our thanks to all the students, parents, and panelists who helped us make this final session a success.  And our thanks to all the students, parents, panelists, friends, colleagues, and readers who have supported the classes, and us, through the last twelve years.  We couldn’t have done any of this without you.

And we hope you’ll continue to follow us in this ongoing adventure, wherever it leads.

Until the next page, “be seeing you…”

There’s a quality more felt than seen about the film, a sense that what happens in it could only happen in this city, at this time, with these people.  And the film’s so much stronger for it.

This is one of the things I love about the San Antonio Neighborhood Film Project (the brainchild of the city’s Office of Cultural Affairs).  It’s a chance for local filmmakers to bring one of their favorite characters to life onscreen.  And it’s a chance for local filmgoers to look at their hometown in whole new lights.  So I was looking forward to being a part of last night’s screenings.

Actually, this year I was a little more than a witness to the competition.  Three months ago I’d stepped in front of the camera for a role (alongside rising stars Taylor James Johnson and Jamye Cox) in one of the films submitted, Isaac Rodriguez’s sci-fi thriller Site 13.  The film was entered in one of the competition’s new categories, Parks and Greenspace, and while it didn’t reach the finals, it was a lot of fun to make, and will soon be out there (much like the truth) on the festival circuit.  So you’ll get to see my attempt to pay homage to Walter Skinner and Frank Black and all those great agents of yore.  (Once it’s on its way, I promise I’ll write that long-delayed blog about my experience.)

Our film was one of 68 submitted this year.  I say it again – 68.  From filmmakers like Darren Abate, Emanuel Bermudez, Chris Garza, Richard Jemal, Sam Lerma, Rogelio Salinas, Will Shipley, and Pablo Veliz.  With that many films, that many perspectives on the neighborhoods of downtown S.A., it’s clear that the Neighborhood Film Project has been a success.  And the screening (held once again at the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center) lived up to that success.

It was a great turnout for a great lineup of films, and I was thrilled to see so many new names among the winners.  Among the students, Noland Arocha won two awards, for La Historia del Diez y Seis de Septiembre (winner in the new Viva Mi Cultura student category) and for Pride of the Eastside, a heartfelt reminder that everyone really does have a story.  Another Viva Mi Cultura winner, Jaime Sanchez’s Dia de los Muertos, brought one of San Antonio’s most important holidays to life.

En Aquellos Tiempos Fotohistorias Del Westside, from student winner Melissa Ruiz Esparza Rodriguez’s student film, shared the histories that history sometimes misses.  Nicco Vasquez represented the students of the Southside with Crumbs.  And Nicolas Wachter’s Developing, a Northside tale of loneliness and solace, impressed me both with its polish and with an appearance by the indispensable Michael Burger.  (This same weekend – indeed, that very night – also saw him playing both Dr. Frederick Treves and The Lightning Baron.  Seriously, the guy has range.)

Among the non-student winners, Patsy Whitfield and Cedric Smith returned to the Eastside for the documentary/jazz poem The Eastside: Rebirth of Change.  Ray Santisteban and J.J. Lopez danced through the Westside in Murals y Mas.  Michael Cunningham explored the Canvas of Culture in Brackenridge Park.  Rod Guajardo delivered his most romantic film to date with the Northside valentine Believe.  In Robert B. Gonzales’s animated winner, Ernie Takes the Long Way Through the Southside, and we got to enjoy the ride.

And then there was the night’s most stunning film, the first-place winner in Parks and Greenspace, and perhaps my favorite of the finalists.  In Robert Lopez‘s fairy tale Franchesca’s Dream, a sick and lonely girl finds escape, adventure, and delight through her imagination, with the encouragement of her grandfather (local stage icon Allan Ross).  Shot in Brackenridge Gardens and the Japanese Tea Gardens, the film is a wonder of cinematography, effects, and design, and its story, simple and heartfelt, is as beautiful as its visuals.  Like the best fantasy stories, Franchesca’s Dream both transports us to another world and transforms the way we look at our own.  In that spirit, it’s a perfect ambassador for the mission of the Neighborhood Film Project.

The night ended with an after-party hosted by Rod and producer Ralph Lopez, who had worked with Rod on his film, and with Sam on his (along with a talented cinematographer named Rod Guajardo).  When they called it the Neighborhood Film Project, they may not have realized how fitting that name would become.

I’m glad I was able to share in the celebration.  And the best thing I can say about the experience is that I learned a few new things about my beloved hometown.

And that’s the whole point, isn’t it?

Thank you once again for following along.  Until the next turn on this road, “be seeing you…”