Date: Fri 02-Oct-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: SHANNO

Quick Words:

Schlessinger-Craig-Rogers

Full Text:

Curtiss House Makes The Grade For Video Production

(with cuts)

BY SHANNON HICKS

The Colonial era came back to life for a few hours last week at the Matthew

Curtiss House in Newtown, and a video crew was right there to capture it on

tape.

Actually, it was because a video was being filmed that the crew was at 44 Main

Street last Thursday afternoon. A crew from Stone House Productions, LLC, a

production company situated in South Norwalk, visited Newtown to use the local

historical society's headquarters as a location for a series of videos the

company has been hired to produce.

The series is called "Colonial Life For Children," and each of the videos in

the series focuses on a specific area of colonization such as Plymouth

Plantation in Massachusetts or Jamestown in Virginia.

The work that was done in Newtown on September 24 will be used for background

scenery or character faces that will be used within the telling of a story.

For instance, one of the historical figures captured on film last week was

Roger Williams. Newtown itself will not be the main focus of a video's story,

explained producer Craig Rogers, from Stone House Productions.

"We're working on interior and exterior shots today," Mr Rogers said Thursday

afternoon. "This is going to be stuff that will be used in a few of the

videos."

Shooting remained right on, or very close to, schedule all day. The crew

arrived in Newtown around 8:30 Thursday morning, and wrapped by 6 pm.

"It went really well," Mr Rogers confirmed this week. "We got all we were

hoping to get there."

In addition to Mr Rogers, the production crew also included John McCally, the

series director; props/wardrobe wrangler Louise Riley; line producer Gregg

Jamback; cameraman Kevin Rollins; gripsman Pete Knoop; and production

assistant Julie L'Abee.

A resident of Sandy Hook along with his family, Mr Rogers knew of the Matthew

Curtiss House when Stone House began looking for locations for the series.

Both of Mr Rogers' daughters, Zoe and Alex Velush-Rogers, are docents for the

Newtown Historical Society, so the family was very familiar with the house and

its potential.

Both of the Velush-Rogers girls were among the group of local actors who were

put to work last week during the filming. Alex and Zoe showed up at the

Curtiss House early Thursday afternoon to play, respectively, "working kid 1"

and "working kid 2." On tape, they were in costume and demonstrating such

chores as carrying wood into the house, or reading the Bible.

"One of the things we're pointing out with these videos is that from about age

three, kids were treated as an extra pair of hands around the house," Mr

Rogers explained. "There were put to work right away.

"It was nice for me to have the girls there, too, because it gave them an idea

of what I do," he continued. "They have come into the office a few times, but

that's when I'm working behind the desk. This time they were able to watch me

on location, and they were able to participate as well."

In addition to the acting by Zoe and Alex Velush-Rogers, the Newtown shoot

included work from four additional local actors. The other child actor was

Rebecca Vodola, who filled in at the last minute for her sister Mary, who was

to play the "three-year old daughter."

"That was the one shot we were holding our breath for all day," Mr Rogers

laughed. When Mary decided she wanted to play in her sandbox, Rebecca

gallantly filled in for her sister.

Patty Graves, another Newtowner, was also enlisted for a few hours' work with

Stone House last week. Mrs Graves is a member of the Newtown Historical

Society, and coordinator for the society's docent scheduling. For a few hours

Thursday morning, she also took on the part of "Woman Puritan."

Mrs Graves had a few speaking lines, and was also used for some close-up

scenes. She was selected to participate, Mr Rogers said, because she "looks

like she would wear these costumes well ... She has such great bone structure,

hers is not strictly a 20th Century face."

Kit Briner, a local actor who has been on the board of Newtown's Little

Theatre for about 15 years, was also enlisted to play various parts last week.

The video series will be included in the spring catalogue of Schlessinger

Media, the client for Stone House Productions. Schlessinger is a division of

Library Video Company, a leading distributor of video and CD-ROM programs to

the educational market.

The series is being prepared with the intention of viewing by an audience of

third through seventh graders. Each video will be hosted by one adult and one

child, guiding viewers to a close-up look at life during the Colonial period

of American history.

The videos will bring to life the stories of key figures during the

colonization of the United States. Each central story will weave together

aspects of Colonial life such as lodging, food, religion and politics, all of

which will be viewed through a child's eye.

Three episodes have already been completed in the "Colonial Life For Children"

series. A different production company did the episodes for Plymouth and

Jamestown before Schlessinger decided to begin working with Stone House.

Remaining episodes will focus on Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, Quebec

and Santa Fe. Stone House Productions will also create what Mr Rogers calls

"an overview show," which will discuss colonization in general and give some

of the reasons people left their homes in England to move to the Colonies.

The full series will be fully edited by February 1999, with a late spring

release planned. Teachers, historians and interested parents are invited to

visit Library Video Company's website (www.libraryvideo.com) next spring for

details on purchasing the videos.

Of course, members of the Newtown Historical Society may also want to contact

Library Video Company as well, to see how well one of Newtown's most historic

buildings and some of the town's residents look on film.