Kamikaze, a group of UB media study and arts students, brought their unique performance art to the Buffalo community. Creative Director Michael Monahan attended and covered one of their February shows.
Walking into Hallwalls, it was apparent that this was not likely to be a normal display of artwork. A sign reading "Black and Blue Theater" assured the audience that the night's events would be out of the ordinary. And from this mysterious and ominous beginning to the last from-the-gut performance, the Kamikaze group - made entirely of UB arts students - did not disappoint.
Kamikaze entertained and provoked the audience, physically and mentally. It was a truly unique experience, as the wide variety of films made sure everyone would find something they enjoyed. "You" by Anna Lavatelli, a junior, and "Rape" by Brian Milbrand, a senior, were especially powerful pieces, and the entire group made the evening a worthwhile time.
Over spring break, a group of student from the Department of Theater and Dance traveled to France to present the one-act play "Birdbath" by Leonard Melfi. Beat Reporter Benjamin Siegel spoke with the students involved.
When students assembled in September to begin production on the Department of Theater and Dance's "Birdbath," they knew their work would be memorable.
The project, which cultivated the skills and talents of over a dozen student artists, is a multimedia presentation of Leonard Melfi's one-act romance, "Birdbath." Stretching the script's 30-minute length into a one-hour hybrid of drama, poetry, dance, singing and video projection, "Birdbath" demonstrates the result of a good collaboration.
Attending the festival was International Artistic and Cultural Exchange founder and director Maria Horne and students majoring in theater, dance and/or musical theater.
For the second semester running, the Department of Media Study hosted its semi-annual Celebrity Scholars Series, bringing successful Hollywood industry alumni back to teach Theater and Media Study students about the business. Beat Reporter Benjamin Siegel interviewed some of the visiting scholars:
Husband and wife Robert and Michelle Lamoreaux, class of 1990, taught their series, on their roles as head writers on popular animated childrens television shows, as a pair. Their projects include cartoons like "Spongebob Squarepants."
Focusing on crafting and formatting a script, the Lamoreauxs had students participate in table readings of various shows. After reading through a show's manuscript, the group screened the episode.
Bob Fisher, a prominent commercial director in New York City, had a more hands-on approach - students created, wrote, filmed and edited their own commercial. Students registered for Fisher's lecture had prepared months before his arrival to shoot a mini-musical, but they changed their focus once the war in Iraq became headline news.
"We shot 10 hours of interviews," said Anna Lavatelli, a junior media study major. Two minutes were used in the final product.
On March 28, Brad Grey, producer of the HBO original series "The Sopranos," gave a lecture to students after receiving an honorary degree from the department. Also, Alan Zweibel, an original writer for Saturday Night Live, gave a performance of his latest comedic writing. Director James Foley premiered "Confidence," his new film starring Ed Burns and Rachel Weisz, on March 31.
Students this year also were involved in producing low-budget television shows like "Drunk TV" and "Action News" (later renamed "SA Action News"), and sophomore media study major Mike Arisohn screened his feature-length film "Summer of A Veil" to a positive reception in the Student Union Theater.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
