News

Alan Myerson returns to Maine June 19 to lead The Director's Craft workshop. Emmy-nominated Myerson began his career in New York directing off-Broadway productions and taught acting before moving to Chicago to direct Second City and then back to New York to direct the original Second City company that had moved there. He was a founding member of the Directors Unit of the Actors Studio.

A member of the Directors Guild of America, the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences, Alan has been nominated for Emmy, DGA and CableACE Awards. His TV series include Friends; Frasier; The Larry Sanders Show, JAG, Gilmore Girls, Picket Fences, Miami Vice, Laverne and Shirley, and Archie Bunker's Place. He serves as an adjunct professor at USC, teaching graduate directing students.

Alan's workshop is designed for emerging film directors interested in the craft, process and techniques of directing. Casting, rehearsal techniques, script, storyboarding and scene analysis, art direction and collaboration are examined and experienced by each class member. It provides an understanding of storytelling techniques and story development through actors and the camera, and addresses the major practical issues associated with narrative filmmaking. A long-time member of the MMW faculty, we look forward to welcoming him back to Maine!

Summer is in full swing here at the Maine Media Workshops!  Please take a moment to check out all of the events taking place at MMW throughout the month of June:

The Yarka Vendrinska: Heart of Concern exhibition at Maine Media Gallery through June 29 is a tribute to the memory of Yarka Vendrinska, a blossoming photojournalist, who passed away at the early age of 32. In 2003 her parents started The Yarka Vendrinska Photojournalism Scholarship, which helps photojournalists get the chance to take a class at Maine Media Workshops, a place that Yarka loved. This exhibition showcases work by Yarka and past scholarship winners. An opening reception takes place Tuesday, June 7 from 6.30 – 8pm.

Our annual Open House takes place June 12. The public is invited for free family portraits taken and printed using our state-of-the-art Canon cameras and printers. Snacks and beverages are served while Workshops faculty and staff give tours of the campus and are available to answer questions about MMW programs and events. The Open House takes place on the MMW Main Campus, 70 Camden Street in Rockport, from 11am – 2pm Sunday, June 12.

Also this month, we will be starting a lecture series titled "Masters of 20th Century Photography". As an introduction to this lecture series, Jim Hughes and Tim Whelan engage in a lively and wide-ranging conversation about some of the great photographers of the 20th century. Jim is a longtime editor of photo magazines and author of books on photographers. Tim has run a renowned photography bookstore in Rockport for nearly 20 years. This event takes place Monday, June 13, at 4pm in the Union Hall Theatre, 2 Central Street in Rockport.

The second installment of the "Masters of 20th Century Photography" lecture series features Paul Caponigro. Paul Caponigro has had a love of Maine and an affiliation with Maine Media Workshops since it started 38 years ago. This year Paul is being feted by the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland with the exhibition Paul Caponigro: The Hidden Presence of Places. At our event, Michael Komanecky, Chief Curator at the Farnsworth, will show highlights of the exhibition and join Tim Whelan in a discussion about this master's life and work. This event takes place Monday, June 20, at 4pm in the Union Hall Theatre, 2 Central Street in Rockport.

Maine Media Workshops is searching for local talent, in the form of actors and models available for this summer and fall. This is a great opportunity for actors and models ages 18 and up to gain practical experience working with filmmakers and photographers from around the world.  For more information, please contact Kathleen Brown, Locations and Talent Coordinator: (207) 236-8581 x 371 or talent@theworkshops.com.

MMW instructor Arlene Collins led a photography expedition to Mali this winter. Students were enthralled by their immersion in the culture, traditions and dramatic beauty of Western Africa.

“Our workshop began with environmental portrait photography in back streets of Timbuktu, or ‘TB2’ to the locals,” recalls Collins, “Students wandered into schools and stores to capture people as they really live.” 

In the Sahel Desert, the group climbed the Bandiagara escarpment to a traditional Dogon village. Students set up strobe units to photograph the village elders, who invited them to witness a Dogon Masked Dance performance.

Adam Streisand, who kept a blog of the students’ journey, writes (excerpt) “We awaken to a cacophonous mixture of rooster crows, strange bird songs and donkey fits. It's magic. Our drive through the Sahel today will take us to Terelli. There, we are treated to the mask dancers in a colorful, euphoric celebration that occurs once a year to pay homage to the god of the sky for bringing rain during the rainy season so that the crops could be grown and stored to sustain the people through the summertime. The dance is done as a special favor for us, and it is ebullient and genuine, not some cheesy touristy thing. The elders of the village preside over the performance. The masks are all different and symbolize different aspects of the Dogon life and beliefs.”

Arlene adventures back to Maine this summer lead her popular Night & Low Light Photography workshop August 7 – 13. Join her exploring the night sights of coastal Maine in summer.