At the end of it, there was a screening at a local theater, and judges and the audience would choose their favorite films. I volunteered as an actress for their projects, and had a LOT of fun doing it. All told, I was part of four films, and each one was fantastic. I even won the award for Best Actress one year! (It's probably the closest I'll ever get to an Oscar, so I gave the Oscar speech I had planned in my head since I was 10.)
As part of the challenge, students were required to add specific elements to their films. For many years, one of those requirements was to film a scene at the Olympic Center. Ahh, the Olympic Center. One of my favorite places on the planet to skate. Many victories and many defeats of mine have played out on the 1980 Rink (now the Herb Brooks Arena), the 1932 Rink, the USA Rink, and the now-defunct Lussi Rink. I have such amazing memories of the place, (as do many, many skaters throughout the last eight decades) so what better place would there be to film?
Well one year my skating chops landed me a role as a skater with the very talented filmmaking team from Marist College. They filmed me skating on the 1932 Rink. The footage came out wonderfully, and the film won the Audience Choice Award. For this week's Throwback, I am replaying this excellent short film, for your viewing pleasure.
Many thanks to filmmakers Ryan Rivard, Mike Caiola, John Angus-O'Sullivan and Nick Sortino for nailing this film, and to their advisor Jeff Bass for invaluable support. They're awesome! Also credit goes to my fab co-stars, Stephen O'Connor, Mat Cantore, Veronica Montes and Hans the Dog.
Sadly, the Sleepless in Lake Placid competition did not receive enough funding to continue this year, but the great friends I've made in participating these last few years decided to have a reunion of sorts this weekend, so I'm typing this from Lake Placid!
No comments:
Post a Comment