ORSON WELLES AN 80TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION

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1 ORSON WELLES AN 80TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATION

16, 2014 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm Todd Tarbox Opens the Welles Festival 7:00 pm to 7:45 pm The author of Orson Welles and Roger Hill: A Friendship in Three Acts, Tarbox attended the Todd School for Boys

2 ORSON WELLES Orson Welles, a 20th century cultural giant of international renown, viewed Woodstock as his hometown. Welles attended Todd School for Boys in Woodstock and had as his mentor Todd teacher and headmaster Roger Hill, an extraordinary educator who understood how to nourish creativity FRIDAY EVENING, MAY 16, :00 pm to 10:00 pm Todd Tarbox Opens the Welles Festival 7:00 pm to 7:45 pm The author of Orson Welles and Roger Hill: A Friendship in Three Acts, Tarbox attended the Todd School for Boys until it closed in He is the grandson of Roger Hill, Welles s teacher and mentor. and foster love of learning. Asked as a middle-aged man to name the most important influence on his creativity, Welles replied, Roger Hill. I think about him every day. This May 2014 event commemorates the 80th anniversary of the Todd Theatre Festival at the orchestrated by the 19-year-old Welles and paid for by Hill. With the production of Trilby in which Welles played Svengali, Welles made his debut as an American theatre director. Also in Woodstock in 1934, Welles directed his first film, The Hearts of Age, and he published with Roger Hill the 3-volume Members of the Welles Experts Panel Respond 7:45 pm to 8:45 pm Jonathan Rosenbaum, Joseph McBride, Michael Dawson, Jeff Wilson, Josh Karp, Robert K. Elder Petra Van Nuis and Andy Brown Play Twenties and Thirties Music 9:00 pm to 10:00 pm Petra van Nuis is a Chicago-based jazz vocalist. Germany s Jazzpodium Magazine hails Petra s collaboration with her husband, guitarist Andy Brown, as a magical musical dialogue. Everybody s Shakespeare. Our speakers, internationally known experts on Welles, will address the early life and career of Orson Welles in Wisconsin, Illinois, Ireland, Spain, and New York City in the Twenties and Thirties. Musicians will offer period music on Friday night, and, on Saturday night, a radio theatre group will perform selections from Welles s radio dramas

3 SATURDAY MORNING, MAY 17, :30 pm to 12 Noon SATURDAY AFTERNOON, MAY 17, :30 pm to 5:00 pm This session focuses on Todd School ( ), Welles s 1931 debut as a professional actor at the Gate Theatre in Dublin, the 1934 Todd Theatre festival, The Hearts of Age, Everybody s Shakespeare, and the later appearance by the Gate Theatre actor-managers in Welles s Othello. Moderator / Introducer Robert K. Elder Chicago Review Press has published film critic Robert K. Elder s The Best Film You ve Never Seen and The Film that Changed My Life. Welles films are at the core of both books. Jonathan Rosenbaum Jonathan Rosenbaum, former film critic for Chicago Reader, has written many books on film, including Discovering Orson Welles, as well as edited This is Orson Welles. Joseph McBride Film writer for Daily Variety for many years, Joseph McBride is the author of many books on film, including Orson Welles, Orson Welles: Actor and Director, and What Ever Happened to Orson Welles? McBride played a film critic in Welles s The Other Side of the Wind. Michael Dawson President of Intermission Productions, Michael Dawson has produced and directed hundreds of promotional documentaries, commercials, music videos, and industrials. In 1991, the company found and restored Orson Welles s Othello. Dawson s current Welles projects include restoring Chimes at Midnight and producing Citizen Welles from 15 hours of filmed material. This session follows Welles before and after his 1934 debut in Woodstock as a director of live theatre. In 1931, Welles visited Spain, a trip of great personal significance. After 1934, he achieved success in New York City as a director of radio dramas and stage shows. Welles would soon cap his fame as an actor and director by joining RKO in Hollywood and creating the film Citizen Kane (1941) at age 25. Moderator / Introducer Robert K. Elder Chicago Review Press has published film critic Robert K. Elder s The Best Film You ve Never Seen and The Film that Changed My Life. Welles films are at the core of both books. Jeff Wilson Writer and editor Jeff Wilson founded Wellesnet.com in 2001, and he has studied Welles s radio work extensively since then. Wilson presented a seminar on Welles s radio career at the Locarno Film Festival s Welles series in Switzerland in Josh Karp Josh Karp, a Chicago-based author, is writing The Last Movie: The Unmaking of Orson Welles s The Other Side of the Wind (published in 2014 by St. Martin s Press). Karp tracks the making of this partially autobiographical film that some consider to be Welles s final artistic statement and a bookend to Citizen Kane. Karp will show a new short documentary about Welles in Spain, El Americano, and tie together the themes of our Welles presentations

4 SATURDAY EVENING, 17 MAY :00 pm to 10:00 pm The is owned and proudly maintained by the City of Woodstock as a service to the public. RG Productions will perform a number of Welles s radio theatre scripts on the Orson Welles Stage. Vignettes from Welles s versions of Dracula, The Shadow, and Sherlock Holmes precede a full re-creation of the radio broadcast that unexpectedly made Welles internationally notorious in 1938; his radio production of H.G. Wells s science fiction fantasy, The War of the Worlds *. An award-winning group based in Kenosha, Wisconsin - Welles s birthplace in 1915, RG Productions performs on stages and at historical and modern venues throughout Southeast Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. Its mission is to present old-time radio classics Woodstock Classic Cinema Orson Welles Film Festival May Woodstock Public Library Todd School Exhibit May 15 - June 1 Reception: May Woodstock Bars & Restaurants Pub Crawl / Period Drinks April 4 - May to a contemporary audience. * War of the Worlds author, Howard E. Koch. Produced by special arrangement with Playscripts, Inc. ASSOCIATED EVENTS Woodstock Historic Preservation Commission Walking Tour May 17, 1:00-2: Read Between the Lynes Book Signings May 17, 1:00-2: Old Court House Arts Center Photo and Multimedia Tribute to Orson Welles Month of May Mayor Dr. Brian Sager City Council Members Julie Dillon Maureen Larson Mark Saladin Joseph Starzynski RB Thompson Michael Turner City Manager Roscoe Stelford III Opera House Staff Managing Director John H. Scharres Production Assistant Scott Creighton Building Manager Mark Greenleaf Box Office Manager Daniel Campbell Box Office Assistant Gerri Granzetto Office Manager Lorraine Steinkamp House Managers Tish Lyons and Nancy Canty Event Sponsor Woodstock Celebrates, Inc., is a 501(c)(3) organization recognized by the IRS, incorporated in Illinois as a nonprofit, and registered with the Illinois Attorney General as a charity. Donations are tax deductible. Send Donations to: Woodstock Celebrates, Inc. Post Office Box 342 Woodstock, Illinois Contact Us Via woodstockcelebrates@gmail.com Woodstock Celebrates, Inc. Board of Directors Gunnar Gitlin, President John Daab, Vice President Peter Gill, Secretary Peter F. Carroll, Treasurer Kathleen Spaltro, Event Manager Steve Aavang Beth Davis Michael Dawson Gregory Gantner Joanne Gitlin Caryl Lemanski Rodney Paglialong Susan Stelford RB Thompson

5 Admission A $15.00 donation is suggested. The Opera House Adult Single Event: $15.00 Adult full day passes: $40.00 Student Single Event: $10.00 Student full day passes: $25.00 Tickets and passes are available at The Opera House box office, which charges a small additional fee. 125 West Van Buren Street Woodstock, IL Van Buren Street Woodstock IL Brochure and Woodstock Celebrates Trademark designed by: James Westwood / Michael Stanard onezerocharlie.com Post Office Box 342 Woodstock, Illinois 60098

La Maison Française. Washington, D.C. Become a Partner. Contribute to the vitality of the French-American friendship

La Maison Française. Washington, D.C. Become a Partner. Contribute to the vitality of the French-American friendship La Maison Française Washington, D.C. Become a Partner Contribute to the vitality of the French-American friendship Introducing La Maison Française...3 y A home for French and American cultural exchange...4