trek: a spoof musical beamed into a galaxy far, far away

As far as I know, my headline could be the truth!
Last month, I contacted the creators of the kickstarter project, Accio Actors, to inquire about the reward delivery schedule.
You see, it's been just over two years since I gave financial backing to the production of their musical. I was to receive the soundtrack, the playbook, and a prop from "Trek: A Spoof Musical".
Sadly, none of the items promised had yet materialized.
Today, I received this message from the group.

"12:09 AM, 27 Jan 2014
Accio Actors commented on a link you shared on facebook.
Accio Actors wrote: "Unfortunately due to disagreements with the writers of the show, it has been taken down and is now out of Accio's hands and in the hands of the writer of the musical. We tried our hardest last year but it never was able to resolve. Our apologies and thank you so much for your past support." "

How very sad that Lauren Field and Gaetano Rodriguez have opted to not fulfill their obligations toward their financial supporters. Shame on them. Actions such as theirs cast dispersions upon honest creators of crowd-sourced projects, making it more difficult for those creations to become realities.
Again I say: Shame on you, Lauren Field and Gaetano Rodriguez.

So, I boldly went in search of whatever did still exist.
Here's what I found!


This is all of the information which would have appeared on the program.
"TREK: An Intergalactic Spoof Musical

An Accio Actors Production

Story by Lauren Field and Gaetano Rodriguez
Script by Lauren Field
Music and Lyrics by Gaetano Rodriguez

Director: Lauren Field
Music Director: Gaetano Rodriguez
Producer: Katie Wilcox
Stage Manager: Emily MacAgy
Choreography: Lindsay Ingram & Anastasia Cobb


Cast:

Kirk: Jeremy Moranski
Scotty: Joe Southall
Bones: Devon Motte
Mr. Spock: Jacob Zdan
Janice: Alicia Carrillo
Uhura: Nina Brooks
Sulu: Justin Gonzalez
Chekov: Rachel Andelman
Andorian General: Tobi Easterman
Red Shirt Bob: Alex Windisch
Red Shirt Ashley: Anastasia Cobb
Flamboyant Red Shirt: Zachary Wilson
Stephanie Butts: Stephanie Pavluk
Richard Richardson: Bernie Marger
Villian/ Chorus: Geoffrey Richardson
Andorian/ Chorus: Chris Kinney
Andorian/ Chorus: Sasa Ilic
Cheerleader/ Chorus: Lindsay Ingram
Cheerleader/ Chorus: Samantha Kendall
Starfleet Officer/ Chorus: Abby Carlen
Alien/ Chorus: Katie Wilcox
Mortimer: Ian Muentener
Eugene: Jonathan Foster

Band:

Guitars: Gaetano Rodriguez
Piano: Nick Hughes
Drums: Mitchell Clark
Bass: Charlie Foti
Violin: Kathryn Hope

Crew:
Emily MacAgy
Janine Field
Todd Kozlowski
Michael Brown
Jeremy Rineheart"

I even located a bunch of stills from the show! My many thanks to Pedro Carillo Photography for graciously sharing these photos of the actors! Here they are!
If I can ever locate the lyrics of the songs, that will be posted here, too.
Meanwhile, I shall continue to hope the writers will one day live up to their promises.
As for the rest of the cast: Live long and prosper, y'all!

ght girl charms with sundance

Oh, to have been a fly on the wall at the Egyptian! I do so enjoy the Question & Answer sessions at film festivals here in Savannah - the one in Park City must have been fabulous!
I'm sure the cast of "God Help The Girl" was brilliant as they responded to the viewers in the Sundance Film Festival audience. What an incredible venue for their debut!
Here, Stuart shares the news of the world's response to our darling GTH Girl.

Update #42
Jan 20 2014
Sundance

Hello Supporters!

We've been having a great time at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, where, after what seems like a very long wait, 'God Help The Girl' finally had its Premiere at the Egyptian Theatre on Saturday night. Emily, Olly, Hannah and Pierre were in town for the screening and the reception so far has been really good. We have one more screening to go tomorrow then our sights turn to the Berlinale where we open the Generation section on 7th February, our European Premiere! We really couldn't have hoped for two more perfect festivals to launch the film at and, at this point, really want to reiterate our appreciation for your support which was key in getting us this far and your patience waiting to see the movie you believed in enough to throw your money at!

If you follow us on Facebook or Twitter then we've been posting some initial press and social media responses so far. We won't bombard you but here are some links if you are interested:

Pre Sundance 'Le Monde' wrote a (hopefully) nice article we can't quite understand! The journalist spent some time with Stuart and Barry after our final test screening, and we're told he must have enjoyed it!

A nice piece in the LA Times after the premiere.

And the Guardian wrote about the film too. Only 3 stars but we did make him CRY!!!

Tonight Belle and Sebastian are playing an exclusive gig in Park City which should be lots of fun. Olly is opening for them playing some songs from his band Years and Years. We'll post some video and pictures from that tomorrow.

Kickstarter and Crowd Funded films are really visible at Sundance this year, it's very interesting to see how much that has had an effect on Independent Filmmaking.

Here are some pictures from Sundance...

The beautiful Egyptian Theatre where the film played on Saturday:

Here's the cast before the premiere, it's very casual here, which is nice, because it's also freezing cold!:

And one from the Q&A:
(shown above)

Thanks all, we will be in touch soon!

Oh, to have been a fly on the wall...

the scots went to the fringe of scotland!

The Scots
of Highland Park High School
in Kansas
are back
from their trip to Scotland!

Actually, they've been back
since the end of the festival
in August of 2012.
The students all had a wonderful time, as evidenced in this "Thank You" video.
I was sure they would!
I know firsthand how rewarding it is to travel to a new place and have strangers appreciate your work.

It is especially rewarding
when that play is
an original,
a piece
never
before
enacted.
Pretty heady stuff, indeed!

Such excitement to have
your work
included on a display
for the whole world to see!!!
Well,
the part of the world
there in Scotland
for the Fringe Festival!!!
Such a thrilling adventure!


However, there is a responsibility which has not yet been met.
The "Rewards Survey" was sent to me in June of 2013. I responded quickly, knowing how precious those summer days are to teachers. The creator of the kickstarter project, Scott Kickhaefer, is a teacher in the Fine Arts department at the Scots' high school in Kansas.
I'm a teacher, too, here in Savannah.
And I have patiently waited for the reply to that survey.
As a supporter at the level I selected, I was to have received a video of their performance at the theatre festival. I also was to receive a note and an autographed company picture.
I have received nothing, as of this date.

Today, I sent another message to the creator.
I do hope he will soon respond.

make mine a robbery, straight up, with a twist

Two days before Christmas, the postman delivered a surprise gift to me: the finished product from the hands of the Reichard brothers. Hallelujah!!!
Totally unexpected.
After all, the last message they had written to their kickstarter backers (including me in those ranks) was in March of this year, alluding to the shipment soon of the rewards of our investments.
Originally, the forecast had called for rewards to be mailed in December 2012.
However, this isn't my first rodeo.
I know things take longer than one thinks they will, so I bided my time.
Then the thought of waiting for the postman slipped to the back of my mind and got lost in the shuffle.
And now? Now the time - and the film! - is here!!!
A Christmas gift to brighten my holidays!
I couldn't be any prouder of these fine young men and their crew.

This evening, I was finally able to carve out a hunk of time to again watch the film.
Again? I had already had the privilege of seeing it?
Yes, I had. On a much larger screen than the 15" of my television screen, too.
It had been shown at "16 x 9 Revealed", a competitive student showcase of films, at the Trustees Theatre. That was in late spring of 2012, May 30 and 31; right in time for my 54th birthday.
This film was not the only one of the kickstarter projects that I've backed which screened on that occasion. The other contenders with my support: "Chalk Talk", "12:15 Sunday", "Crucifaxe 2", "The Flight", and "Gypped".
This film, "The Restaurant Job", walked away with the 2012 Best Editing for an Undergraduate Film Award.
Nicely done!
The film is so tightly constructed, with miles of high energy, no wasted moments - and an ending that will leave you both thrilled and completely satisfied.
Tommy Pietch, Louis Vanaria, and John McGlothlin masterfully draw us into their heist, from the initial planning to the actual performance of the robbery. Nothing is given away about the ending. No foreshadowing, no knowing glances.
Perfect surprise.
I do so enjoy a good surprise, too.
I see many films, as well as many movies, and, yes, there is definitely a difference. It isn't that often anymore that a plot manages to pull a fast one on me.
This one did.
My kudos, and thanks, to all.

I do hope you will some day be able to enjoy these twelve minutes of footage.
And I do hope I will soon see more works from these two brothers.

Hint, hint, Nicholas and Brandon.
And many thanks for making my Christmas brighter.

bewitched love

more soon...

god help the girl in her sundance

The last update from Stuart Murdoch to his kickstarter collaborators was on October 18 of this year. I had referenced that update in one of the comments of my earlier post about "God Help The Girl".
As of October, the filming was completed, the musical had been scored, the film had been edited. Our GTH Girl was ready to sing and strut!
Whew!
At last, she was ready to fill her dance card on the festival circuit.
Who would be the first to twirl her in front of the world???
No less than Sundance... wow!
I am so excited for her!!!
Here's the update!

Update #41
Dec 4 2013
World Premiere at Sundance!

Hello Backers!

We are delighted to announce that 'God Help The Girl' will have its World Premiere at The Sundance Film Festival in January 2014. It's a perfect start to what will be a packed year of festival screenings, previews and a commercial release.

We know you have all been waiting a LONG time to see this film you so generously supported and are excited that will be a reality in 2014.

In other news - we have t-shirts and posters at the printers, guitars in the post and lots of other rewards in progress. It's all happening, SLOWLY but SURELY.

Once again, many thanks for your support which has taken us to this very exciting place that I'm not sure we ever imagined possible. Premiering at one of our favourite international film festivals.

We'll be in touch soon with more details for the festival and some reward updates.

Once again, so many thanks for your support from the very beginning.

GHTG HQ

How very exciting!
Her debut will be at Mr. Robert Redford's esteemed event!

support your local sheriff! I mean, film rustler!

Tonight was my last night with Jim Reed's Wednesday night features at one of Savannah's local coffeehouses.
Well, for this year, I mean.
I do hope his Psychotronic Film Society of Savannah will continue to bring to the table the lost films of yesterday, those which never made it to video in this country, or those which have been tied up in legal battles or other obscurity.
After all, we hunger for fare different from the buffets served at the commercial cineplexes. Not that their offerings don't, or cannot, sustain us, but the nutritional value is... well, mostly lacking.
You know I'm right.

Earlier this year, I had purchased advance tickets for the Wednesday screenings.
Doesn't he tend to choose horror films, which you do not consume, more times than not?
I do admit that he does lean in that direction, but he also brings comedies, action, film noir, and suspense (which he sometimes mislabels as horror). Oh, and musicals!
But wait! Don't you work on Wednesday evenings?
Well, yes, I do. Most Wednesdays, in fact, except in the summer.
Then why would you purchase a bunch of advance tickets for events you know you will not be attending?
Let me tell you why.
If he doesn't have the funds to procure the rights to show the films, then those films remain unseen. The good films, the bad films, and the ugly films - they could never be brought to town without the aid of advance funding.
Sure, the weekly tickey sales help keep the venture afloat, for the most part. But that revenue source is fairly slight some weeks and cannot be relied upon.
So, I gladly support PFS by purchasing advance tickets.
Even when it turns out that I have a few left over at year's end.