Center for Home Movies/Strand Theater

For Immediate Release: September 29, 2009
Press Contact:

Julia Nicoll, julia.nicoll@colorlab.com, 301-770-2128
Tim Wisniewski, timothy.wisniewski@gmail.com, 410-276-5097
Dwight Swanson, film@homemovieday.com, 443-630-7089

7th ANNUAL HOME MOVIE DAY TO TAKE PLACE IN BALTIMORE ON OCTOBER 17, 2009

“Home Movie Day is important because our lives, our recollections, and our truth is recorded in home movies. One day, what the heck, c’mon!” – Steve Martin

The 7th annual Home Movie Day will take place in Baltimore on Saturday, October 17, 2009, at The Strand Theater (1823 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201) from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Members of the public are invited to bring their home movies to a local event where they will be inspected by HMD projectionists and shared with an enthusiastic audience in a day-long celebration of amateur filmmaking and home movie preservation.

The enduring success of Home Movie Day lies in the thrill of uncovering original film footage of places, people and events—both familiar and strange—that may have rested unseen in household closets for decades. At a 2006 Home Movie Day event in New Haven, Connecticut, amateur film maker Robbins Barstow shared his 1956 travelogue “Disneyland Dream,” which captured his family’s visit to the Magic Kingdom in its first year of operation. Also captured in the background? A fleeting glimpse of future comedian Steve Martin selling guidebooks in a top hat and striped pink shirt. Barstow’s film, a hit with his local Home Movie Day audience, has delighted ever-larger audiences: it was made available to the public on archive.org (where Steve Martin recognized himself in his unwitting cameo), popularized on the pop-culture site boingboing.net , and ultimately added to the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry in 2008.

Given the natural tendency to photograph the famous, celebrity spottings in films screened at Home Movie Day events are not unusual–but equally fascinating to audiences are more familiar subjects: local streets and businesses seen as they were in a bygone year, the changing pastimes of children playing in the yard or on the sidewalk, and those wonderful automobiles of yesteryear.

Conceived by archivists at the Center for Home Movies as a means to promote the preservation of amateur films, Home Movie Day has grown each year from its initial slate of two dozen locations across the U.S., Mexico, Canada, and Japan in 2003 to over fifty venues in nine countries in 2008. For each event, members of the public are encouraged to search their homes for home movies in formats which they may no longer have the means of viewing – commonly 8mm, Super8 and 16mm, but some sites accept VHS video as well – and bring them to Home Movie Day, where trained event staff can assess their condition and project them on the big screen to a wider circle of attendees who come to each year’s unpredictable screening of home-made entertainments. The events are open to all and free of charge.

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The Center for Home Movies, which recently relocated to Baltimore, is a registered not-for profit organization supported through grants and donations. CHM’s primary mission is to promote, preserve and educate the public about amateur films. To learn more about CHM, visit http://www.centerforhomemovies.org/

Strand Theater release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: August 24, 2009
CONTACT: Jayme Kilburn, 443-874-4917, jkilburn@strandtheatercompany.org
The Strand Theater, 1823 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201

Can one be opportunistic in a time of universal selflessness?

The Strand Theater is proud to present The Mercy Seat by Neil LaBute as the first production of its 2009-2010 season. The Strand Theater has occupied space in the Station North Arts District for one year. In the Strand’s short tenure, it has proven itself as a theater willing to take risks. Only producing new works its first season, the Strand’s second season includes a mix of both published and unpublished works. The Strand has orchestrated a season rich with women’s voices. Three of the four plays produced are written by women and highlight the female perspective. “This season we are putting it all on the line. We want to give Baltimore a reason to see theater, and this season is creative, relatable, and risky,” states Artistic Director, Jayme Kilburn.

The Mercy Seat is a 2002 play by Neil LaBute that was among the first major theatrical responses to the September 11, 2001 attacks. Set on September 12, the play concerns Ben (Schreiber), a man who worked at the World Trade Center but was away from the office during the attack with his mistress Abby, who is also his boss. Expecting that his family believes that he was killed in the towers’ collapse, Ben contemplates using the tragedy to run away and start a new life with his lover. The Mercy Seat continues Neil LaBute’s unflinching fascination with the often-brutal realities of the war between the sexes. In a time of national tragedy, a man and a woman explore the choices now available to them in an existence different from the one they had lived just the day before.

The Mercy Seat is directed by Danielle Young who is a recent graduate of Frostburg State University and Strand Theater Company Member. Danielle is joined by Lighting Designer and Stage Manager, Alec Lawson, who is a staple at Run of the Mill Theater. Kasey Arnold, who plays the role of Abby Prescott, is making her Baltimore debut after graduating from Christopher Newport University. R. Brett Rohrer stars as Ben Harcourt; this is Brett’s third production with the Strand Theater. Brett has also been seen at Spotlighter’s Theater, Heritage Theater, and Laurel Mill Playhouse, where he served as Board President for two years.

The Mercy Seat opens Friday, September 11th, 2009 at 8pm. The Baltimore debut of The Mercy Seat by Neil LaBute begins with a reception prior to the performance with refreshments donated by Joe Squared and Tapas Teatro. Following the performance, a talk back will take place with the cast and crew of The Mercy Seat. The Mercy Seat runs Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays until October 4th.

Production dates:
Thursday, September 10th at 8pm ($5 Preview Night)
Friday, September 11th, 18th, 25th, and October 2nd at 8pm
Saturday, September 12th, 19th, 26th, and October 3rd at 8pm
Sunday, September 13th, 20th, 27th, and October 4th at 2pm

Tickets are $15. Students, Seniors, and Broke are $10. Tickets can be reserved by calling 443-874-4917 or online at www.strandtheatercompany.org. Enter online code: BROKE to receive discount. Tickets are available one hour prior to each performance at the Strand box office.

The Strand Theater is a community theater dedicated to providing opportunities for women artists, writers, designers and directors. With a focus on producing original works, the Strand hopes to foster a love of theater for a new generation of patrons.
www.strandtheatercompany.org

Strand Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE: July 5, 2009

CONTACT: Jayme Kilburn, 443-874-4917, jkilburn@strandtheatercompany.org

The Strand Theater, 1823 N. Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21201

Gone/In the Middle two new plays by Kyle Jackson

The Strand Theater opens its doors to Kyle Jackson’s theater company Alaiyo Theater Movement with their original production of Gone/In the Middle. Mr. Jackson is a native of New Orleans and LA. He is a Senior Urban Arts Production/Theatre major at Coppin State University. As an actor, he has been seen in A Raisin in the Sun, The Face of Emmett Till, St. Lucy’s Eyes, Flight, Insurrection: Holding History and The Amen Corner. As a playwright, his play In the Middle won second place at the National Academy of Speech and Dramatic arts One-Act play festival in Dallas TX.

Gone/In the Middle are two one acts, with the central theme being the two major issues that infect the lives of the African-American community in Baltimore: HIV and drugs. “Gone” follows a drug addicted young man, from the street corners of Baltimore City, to the home that he left when he became addicted. “In the Middle” intertwines the stories of three African-American women from different walks of life who are infected with HIV, and places us right in the middle of each of their situations as they learn that they have more in common than they think. This play is a depiction of the real life situations that affect people’s lives everyday, and is being produced as an effort to raise awareness of these issues, and to bring them into the community light.

Production dates:

Friday, July 24th at 8pm

Saturday, July 25th at 8pm

Sunday, July 26th at 3pm

Tickets are $12. Students and Seniors are $10. Tickets can be reserved by calling the Strand box office: 443-874-4917 or online ($1 surcharge applies) at https://www.ticketturtle.com/index.php?theatre=stran or www.strandtheatercompany.org under events. Tickets are available one hour prior to each performance at the Strand box office.

The Strand Theater is a community theater dedicated to providing opportunities for women artists, writers, designers and directors. With a focus on producing original works, the Strand hopes to foster a love of theater for a new generation of patrons.

www.strandtheatercompany.org