Stage Fright (1989 film)

Stage Fright
Directed by Brad Mays
Produced by Brad Mays
Written by Stanley Keyes
Starring Rick Hammontree, Susan Rome, Greg McClure, David Caltrider, Willie Brooks, Marcy Emmer, Sherry Kemmler, Lisa Green
Music by Various Artists
Cinematography John Van Strien
Edited by Brad Mays
Release dates
 1989
Running time
 88 minutes
Country  United States
Language English

Stage Fright (1989) is an independent feature film produced and directed by Brad Mays and written by Stanley Keyes. It was director Mays' debut film, and it had its premier screening at the 1989 Berlin International Film Festival under the auspices of the New York Foundation for the Arts.[1]

It is a fictionalized account of the trials and tribulations of a Baltimore-based experimental theatre company called Storefront Theatre, loosely fashioned after the now-defunct avant-garde theatre company Corner Theatre ETC.

Lori (Susan Rome) and Broderick (Greg McClure) clash after rehearsal in Brad Mays' feature comedy Stage Fright, 1989.

Background

Playwright Stanley Keyes, who had once been associated with Baltimore's Corner Theatre ETC and was now living and working in New York City, approached his friend and fellow Baltimore transplant, director Brad Mays, about working on a film together. The two threw around a number of ideas, finally settling in 1986 on the notion of co-writing a farcical script based on their mutual experiences at Corner Theatre, during the late sixties and early seventies. Corner Theatre ETC was an experimental company, where the offbeat and untried was encouraged, thus attracting a good number of offbeat individuals who were, as often as not, as much interested in kicks as in creating interesting theatre. Keyes and Mays made a list of the various artists from their past who might be successfully fictionalized into a story centered on a new play that is experiencing the sort of difficulties they had both experienced back in their Corner Theatre days. By early 1987, a shooting script had been produced.[2][3]

Plot

The story revolves around notorious playwright Grayson Osterman (Rick Hammontree), who after a long hiatus, has returned with a shocking new play, Malaise, based a somewhat degenerate reading of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Playwright Grayson Osterman (Rick Hammontree) gives a classroom discussion on Christopher Marlowe in Brad Mays' feature comedy Stage Fright, 1989.

The company's director, Broderick Kands (Greg McClure), is based on the director of the film itself, who makes a brief appearance in the opening scene. When one of the play's leading actors has a complete nervous breakdown just three days before opening, the group must recast the role and work around the clock to get the play ready for a much-heralded premiere.[4]

Misc

References

  1. ↑ Hitch (March 1–7, 1989). "Review". Variety. p. 21.
  2. ↑ Scarupa, Henry (July 11, 1987). "70s Theatre Scene Finds New Life On Film (Article)". The Baltimore Sun.
  3. ↑ Robbins, Jim (February 8–14, 1989). "American indie filmmakers meet to discuss Berlin strategy (Article)". Variety.
  4. ↑ Walsh, Winnifred (July 7, 1987). "Film's Dark, Unflattering Look At The 1970s by Brad Mays". The Baltimore Evening Sun.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Stage Fright (1989 film).
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/11/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.