Backstage at The Sound of Music in Maynooth (30 min. 2002) Directed by Lester Alfonso edited from footage he shot as a cast member on a rural Ontario stage.
Backstage at the Sound of Music in Maynooth feels to me like a major release, on Day 48 of publishing my archives. This movie shows exactly what I mean about being a folk-filmmaker. This ain’t no Hollywood and it’s not some kind of racket. This previously unavailable short documentary that I made for the cast and crew as a souvenir of our time together has aged well and, I dare say, has managed to capture Canadiana at the beginning of the new Millenium. Maynooth, Ontario with a population of just over a thousand in 2002; I gave out VHS tapes to the cast and crew at the time.
Take some time with this; sit down relax, enjoy this time capsule. Built from footage I shot as a cast member of The Sound of Music on stage.
Playing “Uncle Max,” in a community theatre version The Sound of Music is truly one of my fondest memories. “Max” as you might know from the classic film was the impresario that helped the Von Trapp family escape by booking them in a talent show.
The original stage version by Rogers and Hammerstein included a duet between the Baroness and Max that was later omitted from the film. This song How Can Love Survive? is included in this version. Max and the Baroness got to sing and you get to see it here played by me and Pippa Strachan!
I’m so pleased to be able to share this now digitally to anyone that is somehow connected to this show to get the advantage of seeing what I always get to see — the passage of time.
Still pictures are different; they evoke memories in a more ambient way. I’ve been wanting to post this online for years; the settings are now set to Public. This is an example of one of the things I love to do. I can act like an “embedded reporter” in a sense, to create a kind of autobiographical ethnography or anthropology.
If you’ve seen the film Dancer in the Dark by Lars Von Trier starring Björk, you may remember the community production of The Sound of Music in that film. I wonder what Denmark or Holland would think of this film. The Sound of Music is fairly universal and the putting on of this community play is a worldwide phenomenon. What would people “out there” really think? Let me know.
So many thanks to director Joey Shulman for believing that I could do this. And thanks to my lovely co-star Pippa Strachan who was an absolute joy to work with.
Most times, I feel like a transplanted Martian just experiencing Earth — all of its natural and human wonders — for the first time. This desire to keep documenting came with a feeling of family. As a kid, whenever my parents would take a picture of ourselves during a trip, they would say “to show them back home (in the Philippines.)” At the core of this need to document is wanting to share. I’m the Martian resolute in my desire to save all this around me from disappearing so I could someday share.
Apparently not content to just leave the “recording” alone, I put the extra effort in to keep it moving in the editing and to place the elements in such a way that makes a kind of order or narrative. More dispatches from planet Earth soon! — LA
P.S. If you’re liking these daily posts, perhaps you can consider becoming a monthly donor for a year or making a one-time contribution. It would seriously help a lot. Your money goes directly into supporting an artist committed to continually become the best version of himself. Thank you so much! Much love, LA