Episode 132: The Shel Silverstein Project

Welcome back to Artbeat Radio! On this episode of Art Beat Radio, EPI student Greco will interview drama instructor Imani. Imani and her students are currently working on a movie based on Shel Silverstein's books "Where the Sidewalk Ends" and "A Light in the Attic," so we will hear Greco ask Imani questions about this process. Thanks for listening and tune in next time! For more information about our organization, please visit our website www.ableartswork.org Audio Transcription: (Please listen on Podomatic or Spotify to view the full transcript) *Intro music by Artbeat Radio staff* Music, stories, and more! You’re listening to Artbeat Radio, a program of Able ARTS Work. Morgan: On this episode of Art Beat Radio, EPI student Greco will be asking drama instructor Imani some questions about a movie the EPI students are working on. Greco (asking about the music choice in the movie/play): Imani, tell me about the music and play on the computer Imani: So, some of the songs that I picked were like songs that either made me feel a certain type of way, or I knew off the top of my head that they would be good songs that went with the action in the movie. Um, some of them were my favorite songs. And then you'd also be very surprised with key words like happy, or something angry, or whatever what google or YouTube will bring up for you. So, I found this playlist of 79 instrumentals that everyone knows but no one knows the name of and then I went through all of them and there was a lot of songs on there that just made me laugh or like, provided some kind of reaction and when I started watching some of our edits back I thought that they would be good matches for our videos. So there's a lot of those that I picked. Greco (asking about the Silverstein poems chosen for the movie/play): Imani, what do you like about the poem? Imani: They were always poems that really resonated with me as a kid, and I thought they would be a good jumping off point with introducing our clients to acting stuff. So I, I felt like they were important because they resonate and they're written for children, but they also resonate with adults as well. They have a lot of different stories and meanings to them, and I thought that that could be a cool way to create a show. Greco (asking about the poems that were chosen to be a part of the movie/play): How did we chose those poems? Imani: We kind of just went one by one through each poem. I asked everyone: how did they feel about it; did it create a reaction for them; did it bore them; did it make them excited. And that's kind of how we did our selection process and ended up with 18 to 20 that we have. We wanted to make sure that we had a collection of ones that brighten people's spirits but also like, made people think as well. Which I really expressed was important to me that the students do because, you know, it's always great to have like a happy thing, or you know, sometimes a sad thing, but I also want to have things in there that make people think or that make people question like life and even the show. And so, we made sure to incorporate all of those things. Greco (asking about Imani's experience with filming and how she taught her students about filming): How did you learn to film; how did you teach me and my peers? Imani: Honestly I kinda just want to laugh and cry both at that question. Um, I'm an actress so like, I know what it's like to be on set and film movies; the only situation is I'm used to being in front of the camera and not behind it. So this whole process has been a learning experience for me and my students. We've both been kind of in the trenches together just like, figuring things out as we go, and they've had a chance to learn how to do things with the camera and so have I simultaneously. So, we're just, we're sticking it out together right now. Greco (asking what was the most fun part of th(continued)