Tisch Special Programs hosted two events earlier this month highlighting summer study abroad programs in Paris and Florence. On Tuesday, November 7, we screened these student films from the Experimental Production Workshop program in Paris:
We Are the Cascades – Alicia Gill
I Don't Know Why I Am Telling You All of This – Kira Dane
Organism – Jack Wedge
Peach and Cherry – Noah LePage
Que Reste-t-il – Julian Santos
This was the third and final screening in our fall #TISCHTRAVELS film series.
Darrell Wilson welcoming everyone to the event.
Photo by Mariangela Lardaro
The screening ended with a Q&A with Professor Darrell Wilson and Paris alumni Noah LePage, Alicia Gill, and Jack Wedge.
During the Q&A, the alumni fielded questions about the production schedule, the equipment used, and casting and working with local actors. They also spoke about how Darrell Wilson helps them create their projects, whether they'd had experience with experimental film or not.
L-R: Darrell Wilson, Jack Wedge, Noah LePage, and Alicia Gill
Photo by MaryAnn Talavera
"Darrell’s a great experimental teacher in that he’ll take an idea you have that might be narrative and like actually try to explore it and see what you can get out of it and how to make it less linear and how to make it more expansive," said Noah Weisfogel.
"I had Frame and Sequence with Darrell," Alicia Gill said. "So that [is] the class that shapes how you think production-wise, so like take a concept and go with it, I guess, is what I learned."
The first project they create on the program is a tableau vivant, which encourages the students to explore the city and create one scene of Paris life. The students noted Parisians are much more curious and open to being filmed than their experience with people in New York.
"The artwork that Darrell shows in those classes is the most inspiring work that I’ve ever seen in school and it just guides you," Jack Wedge said. "The whole program for me was a really productive step forward, I’d say. I liked bits and pieces of what I made that, and I can see that progress into new things that I want to do."
Whether you’ve done it on your own or not, it doesn’t really matter because Darrell’s a great experimental teacher mainly, and it definitely helps the way you look at movie making."
Whether you’ve done it on your own or not, it doesn’t really matter because Darrell’s a great experimental teacher mainly, and it definitely helps the way you look at movie making."
Commedia dell'Arte students describing the program
Photo by Lori Shearer
On Thursday, November 9, Grad Acting professor Jim Calder hosted a discussion and information session with alumni from Commedia dell'Arte in Florence.
Alumni from summer 2016 and 2017 talked about the training as experiential learning and physical practice, describing it as much lighter than primary studio work. The program, which lasts for six weeks, incorporates mask work and props designed by the students themselves and used in their productions.
Commedia dell'Arte alumni
Photo by Lori Shearer
Each summer, professional actors work in tandem with the Commedia students. Sometimes they work side by side in their training, and other times the Commedia students are invited to be a part of their professional productions.
Everyone was unanimous in their love for the location, and especially the food of Florence. They also spoke about taking advantage of their free time, visiting Rome, Venice, and other European locales.
The deadline to apply for both the Experimental Production Workshop in Paris and Commedia dell'Arte in Florence is March 2, 2018. Visit the Tisch Special Programs Admissions page for more information.