Sharon
SF Classiques 019
14/03/10 15:39 Filed in: High School
SF Ephemera - Part 2
Let's go over some of the groups our team gravitated to in high school.
When we last met electronically, I mentioned the word "Semanon". While it sounds like a cult of some kind, it was just the backstage crew for the high school theater. The school made the mistake of buying very high end equipment for the new auditorium, and it quickly became clear that you needed trained people to run it. That meant that a normal method of a sign-up sheet for backstage crew just didn't work.
So, a regular student crew was trained to run all the stage productions, and the name "Semanon" (no names backwards) was adopted for them. Saylor, Bill, Mike, Steve, and myself were in Semanon at various times. Since we were essentially indispensable (a last minute walkout once threatened to cancel the school musical), we got away with a lot more than we should have.
Also, there were the "Hi-Lo's", also known as show choir. If it sounds geeky--don't worry, it is. I was the lone male SF member who got into the group, but most of the female contingent (Lynda, Beth, Sharon) were in it as well. Saylor and Brenda were in the less geeky A'capella Choir.
There was also a large contingent in the high school band. If I remember correctly: Mike, Brenda, Sharon, and Lynda were in the marching band, and Lynda was the drum major, if that's the correct term.
Finally, to maximize our geek quotient: Eric was the valedictorian of our graduating class, Mike was the salutatorian, Bill was the president of the Science Club, and I was the president of the Science Fiction club.
As I've said before, I'm sure I'm remembering some of this incorrectly. Blame it on my ancient neurons misfiring.
Meanwhile--let's listen to some more bits from Outstanding in Our Field....
SF Classiques 014
A Brief (?) History of SF Productions - Part 14
We now move into 1984. This was the year of the Los Angeles Summer Olympics, so I decided our major goal for the year was a video parody of the games. Mike was involved in electronic music classes in college, so we used that as an excuse to create a new theme for the games. We spent a concentrated period of a few days in the summer (remember, we still had to rent video equipment) and shot all over town.
We used a local monument that had a number of steps to stand in for the stairs leading up to the Olympic flame. Of course, we couldn't have an actual flame involved, so for some reason, we stuck a roll of toilet paper on a stick. Sharon ran up the steps, and I followed her with the camera, interviewing her as she ran--it's amazing that anything was kept in the frame. A quick cut to Lynda's backyard and the grill stood in for the actual lighting of the flame. We were still using the toilet paper, so small pieces of flaming paper started flying around--for a moment, there was a real possibility we were going to burn down her house!
We shot Saylor riding a bike on a grassy hill (anybody can ride on cement), we created a set of sport logos with Brenda in a black suit performing each sport, and we created animated network logo in Mike's basement with styrofoam, a model train set, a vacuum cleaner, and some black wire. We shot commercials for the Kmart Financial Network, and bits on souvenirs and the Olympic breakdancing competition in Mike's backyard with Mike's brother Dan.
Dan also was one of the stars of the centerpiece event--cross country golf. The idea was that you had to hit a ball from one golf course through the town to another golf course. Brenda, Dan, Saylor, and Sharon were the competitors, and Mike and I did color commentary. Sharon's character was hit with a ball at the very start of the competition, and Brenda's character was apparently kidnapped, leaving Saylor and Dan. We shot footage all over town, ending up at the other golf course in town. Saylor did the "agony of defeat" bit, and Dan was victorious.
Finally, we shot some footage at the NBS Olympic headquarters (Lynda's basement), which should have been enough to let me to put together something coherent. I haven't actually gotten around to finishing the edit--I suppose I should get to that, being 25 year later...
In 1985, we went back to audio, since Star Trek III came out that year. We brought Eric's Spock back from the dead with help from Saylor, Sharon, Mike, Bill, Brenda, Steve, and Janet--wait a minute, who's Janet?? You'll find out next time, as the marriage bug infects SF, and we become Outstanding. Meanwhile, I think there's a Vulcan to search for...
SF Classiques 013
A Brief (?) History of SF Productions--Part 13
1983, the "Summer of SF", rolls on...
There was a local theater in town--I use the term loosely, as it was housed in a former pet store, with an audience of 40. If you sat in the front row, you were in danger of getting trampled by actors downstage. Anyway, I had been involved with the theater for a few years, and decided it was time for me to direct. My musical review idea was shot down, so I found an obscure (cheap) one act play called "Sociability". When I went to cast it, of course I asked SF members. Sharon, Beth, Mike, and Steve didn't say no quickly enough, and we were off. Another "director" did a second one-act play, and we added a musical number from Lynda (with kibitzing from Eric) to make the whole thing long enough to make a handful of people come to see it.
Meanwhile, another "blockbuster" hit the movie screen--Superman III. If you've seen it, I feel for you. I decided to make a parody of it anyway, and had the brilliant idea of doing it at a local campground--really a way to bribe the team to come do it. Saylor got the title role this time, Mike continued his job as the black guy, and Eric and I kept the team from wandering off to swim. This was the first (and last) production to be recorded in "3D Dolby Doppler Stereo", the result of a faulty tape recorder. You'll hear it in the beginning of the following audio selection.
We packed a lot into one summer--there were concerts, dinners, gaming tournaments both electronic and analog, and political discussions with Beth and Steve on opposing sides. As Eric succinctly put it, we spent the summer "eating, sleeping, and showering". Anyway, let's take a listen to "Superlaughs III - in Trailerscope!"
SF Classiques 012
A Brief (?) History of SF Productions--Part 12
SF finished 1982 with another political special (Confusion '82), and by this point we apparently decided that Reagan had won the 1980 race, since we spent some time either praising or bashing him. There were some small pre-written bits, which became painfully obvious as the production went on. We ended up spending half the tape doing commercial parodies--Eric, Bill, Steve, Lynda, Mike, Beth, and new member Brenda Bader (Badger) joined in the fun. Brenda lived just two blocks away from me, so I had known her since elementary school. She eventually became the SF Historian--in fact, for this blog, I have been referencing a book she put together for my wedding documenting SF's history. She was involved with SF for several years, but I haven't heard from her for awhile (if you read this Brenda, please e-mail me through the site or find me via FaceBook!).
1983 was known as the "Summer of SF"--we got back together after a year in college, and spent every minute of that summer together. There's enough for two entries here, so let's start with "Return of the Jedi Glasses". Lucas & Co. had the promotional machine going full blast by the time "Episode VI" came out, so we spent much of this production talking about the various tie-ins than the actual storyline. "Jedi Glasses", of course, referred to the Burger King promotional item. Eric, Steve, Mike, Saylor, Sharon, and Brenda came together for our 30th tape.
We also ventured into video for the first time, doing a parody of the sci-fi show "V" (which oddly enough just got a remake) called "Y". We taped it in my basement with zero production values (the ship looked cool, though, thanks Mike), using a rented camcorder, so we had to do it quickly. Eric managed to cut himself on the head by jumping into a ceiling beam, but we persevered and got it done. Unfortunately, this tape disappeared years ago (I do have a beta videotape labelled "Y", but I have no way to play it). Perhaps I'll pull a Jackie Gleason years from now and release it as the "lost production".
This was also the year we got official pictures taken (the pic on this site's homepage came from 1983). The blue golf shirts we're wearing had an SF logo which was laboriously added via a silkscreen device Mike had, and rapidly fell apart since they were really cheap.
Okay, there's more of 1983 to come, but for now, let's go to a galaxy far, far, away...
SF Classiques 011
A Brief (?) History of SF Productions--Part 11
1982 was a tumultuous year for SF--we graduated from high school, several members joined the team, and we all moved toward our college years.
The last point was a particular concern for me. Sure, it would it be difficult to get the team together to do more tapes, but the main issue was Eric's move to Annapolis and the military. I had no idea if and when I would see him again, and keep in mind I still had the crazy idea we could make a living doing this. How to keep doing SF stuff without, well, F?
I toyed with the idea of making Lynda a full partner (somewhere I have logos for "SFB" Productions), but it didn't feel right. Then it came to me on vacation in Maine, in a hotel pool. Incorporate SF as a "Bored" of Directors, with each member getting a VP position and supposed "stock" in the "company". I became President of SF, and Eric became Chairman of the Bored. Assigning VP positions would give everyone a sense of ownership in the team, and facilitate members stepping in to Eric's role. That was the idea, anyway--the reality ended up being far more messy. More on this later.
(I know what you're thinking--neurotic much?)
Anyway, we moved into more familiar material with a Star Trek parody (Star Trip II--The Revenge of Mr. Rourke). Trek had been a source of material previous to this, but now we had more people to take the roles, plus better recording equipment. Eric, Sharon, Steve, Saylor, and Mike (who officially became our "token black" member on this tape) joined in, along with new member Beth Guonjian (Pettit). Another refugee from show choir, Beth and I had known each other since elementary school, but I suspect she went along with it because of her friendship with Sharon. Beth went onto to getting her Master of Divinity degree at Harvard and a medical degree in Chicago--making her officially "The Reverend Doctor...". She also officiated at my wedding.
SF also tackled an general movie parody, masked as an ad for the "NBS Movie Cable" channel, and we took a few minutes to return to "Chuck and Diana - 1 Year Later". This tape was mainly significant as the first production without Eric, as he had moved on to Annapolis by that time.
So, let's go where no one (except us) has gone before...
SF Classiques 010
25/10/09 17:19 Filed in: Humor | Sound of Music
A Brief (?) History of SF Productions--Part 10
There's a lot to cover here, so take a seat.
We had the inevitable 25th anniversary extravaganza (being the 25th tape), which of course was a clip show. It also includes the only audio evidence of one short-term member of the team. Steve Hall was a British exchange student, and with dreams of Monty Python dancing in my head, I cajoled him into suiting up. It didn't work out--I suppose he considered us to be too strange--and he returned to his homeland (hopefully not due solely to us).
Hall also had a small part on SF's only live performance in front of an audience--at a school talent show. We wrote up a parody of morning news shows ("Good Day USA"), which included some bad impressions (I did a poor Dan Ackroyd as Tom Snyder) and an exploding wastebasket. Bill and I spent more time on the latter than the script as a whole, and the response was tepid. Perhaps if I ever get some comments or traffic on this blog, I'll track down the script and post it.
Good Day USA did introduce two more members--Steve Hunt and Sharon Billey (Mirchandani). Steve moved into town in 10th grade, and I believe I met him through Semanon, the permanent tech crew for the High School auditorium (that's a topic for another day). Steve became a major player in the group, especially during the "we're actually going to do this for a living" era. Sharon was the accompanist for the school choir as well as the show choir where I got to know her. Sharon was always willing to jump into a role in our productions without hesitation.
Now to the main point of this post. As you've surely noticed, SF had a few references to Nazism. I want to make it crystal clear we're were not supporting them--keep in mind SF was founded around the time the Neo-nazis got going in Skokie, Illinois. I think it's safe to say that Eric and I were appalled that this was actually gaining traction, so we made fun of it in the form of Eppi.
Our high school put on the Sound of Music my senior year, and due to the small part I was given, I had plenty of time during rehearsals to ruminate on the storyline. I'm not sure if Eric or I came up with the idea of re-telling the story from a pro-Nazi point of view, making it a very dark comedy. In any case, we began to write alternate lyrics to the songs, and by the end of that year, it all came together. Most of the team was there (Mike declined to participate, stating the he might want to run for public office some day, and that evidence of this could ruin that chance). This was the first (but hardly the last) production we did in Lynda's basement--necessary so Sharon would have a piano to play. Lynda played Maria as a Nazi spy, Saylor played a laid back Georg, Bill made strange noises, Steve joined the chorus, and Eric made sure we didn't wuss out at the end.
And with that (whew), here's our take on a musical classic...