* Director's Notes
* Message from Mia
* Seeking Alums to Provide Opportunities for Harvardwood 101 Students!
* Pencil Me In:
- Harvardwood Books Launch Events! Wed., Nov. 4 & Thurs., Nov. 5 – Cambridge & LA
- Harvardwood Presents HEIDEGGER AND A HIPPO w/ Tom Cathcart '61 & Dan Klein '61, Wed., Nov. 4 – NY
- Harvardwood Presents THE MATT SHOW--MATT CORRIEL '05 SINGS MATT CORRIEL '05, Wed., Nov. 18 – NY
- Harvardwood Heads To..."A 19th Century Musical Salon in Berlin," Thurs., Nov. 19 – NY
- Harvardwood Heads To...THE ONLY JEW IN THE VILLAGE, Thurs., Nov. 5 – London
- Harvardwood Heads To...Alum Sara Melson perform solo acoustic, Fri., Nov. 6 – Cambridge
* Join the Harvardwood Music Advisory Committee! - LA & NY
* Seeking Writers for HWP (Harvardwood Writers' Program) Fiction Group - LA
* Seeking Volunteers for the OCS Summer Opportunities Fair, Fri, Dec. 4 - Cambridge
* Harvardwood Seeks Volunteers Worldwide!
* Industry Successes
* Actors Reading Writers Success!
* Featured Member Posting: Entertainment Industry Job List
* Member Profile: Danny O. Snow '78
Director's Notes
As we gear up for another festive holiday season, I am excited for what is bubbling at Harvardwood! I first want to say a quick thank you to all of the Harvardwood members that have answered our call for volunteers and that have signed up for the Ralph's Community Contribution Program this past month. It is inspiring to see and feel your passion for the organization - indeed, it is the very reason why we continue to grow and thrive. Speaking of growing and thriving, we have a number of new programs in which you can get involved. Read more about the recent successes of the newly formed Harvardwood Actors Program and come to a Harvardwood Books launch event to find out about the publishing opportunities now available to Harvardwood members through this exciting channel. And musicians, you're up next! Join the Music Advisory Group to help build out more opportunities for the musicians in our midst. As usual, the sky's the limit so keep the ideas flowing!
-- Kelley
Message from Mia
You may have heard that our dear Mother Harvard, in her infinite wisdom, has finally altered the academic calendar so that undergrads (and the rest of the University) now have final exams before the winter holidays and a brand-new 3-week January term (or "J-term") between the fall and spring semesters. You may also have heard that our alma mater, having lost a fair chunk of the endowment to, um..."questionable" investment practices, is now unable to fund most of the previously planned programming for the aforementioned J-term. What does this mean for me, you ask? Two words (okay, one word and a number): Harvardwood 101. Read on to find out how YOU can take an adorable, fresh-faced undergrad under your proverbial wing and educate him or her about the joys and challenges of a career in the arts, media and/or entertainment. Eternal gratitude (theirs and mine) is within your grasp...
-- Mia
Seeking Alums to Provide Opportunities for Harvardwood 101 Students!
Harvardwood invites our alum members and friends to get involved in the eighth annual Harvardwood 101 career exploration program, cosponsored by Harvard’s Office of Career Services and Office for the Arts. Harvardwood 101 brings a group of Harvard undergraduates to Los Angeles during the first week of the January term or “J-term” (Jan. 4 - 10, 2010) and provides various career-related activities in an attempt to demystify Hollywood and educate current students about opportunities in the arts/media/entertainment industry.
In addition, beginning with the 2010 program, we hope to provide a variety of "J-term-ship" opportunities for the duration of the J-term (Jan. 10 - 24, or a portion thereof) for students to further explore their area(s) of professional interest. J-term-ship opportunities might include such experiences as shadowing an alum, doing an intensive 2-week “internship” at one or more companies, observing on a film or TV set, assisting with project research, etc. PLEASE NOTE: "J-term-ship" opportunities do not have to be LA-based.
If you are interested in providing a “J-term-ship” opportunity for an individual student (or students), and/or if you would like to host all of the visiting students for an office/set visit, participate in a panel discussion, or otherwise get involved, please email us at: [email protected] For more information on Harvardwood 101, please visit: http://www.harvardwood.org/?Harvardwood101
Pencil Me In...
Harvardwood Books Launch Events! Wed., Nov. 4 & Thurs., Nov. 5 – Cambridge & LA
Harvardwood is proud to announce the re-launch of the Harvardwood Books program this November! Through various partnerships, Harvardwood Books will provide an avenue for members to have their books, screenplays (in novel form), and short stories published, as well as provide a resource for top quality books and short stories written by Harvard and Harvard-affiliated authors. Come and learn more about publishing opportunities available through Harvardwood Books at launch events around the country! Each launch event will feature readings from the authors of ABOVE GROUND, a diverse, globe-trotting anthology of short fiction…To view full postings, please visit:
For Cambridge - http://www.harvardwood.org/event/hwbooksNov4
For Los Angeles - http://www.harvardwood.org/event/hwbooksNov5
(NYC coming soon...to get involved in the NY event email [email protected])
Harvardwood Presents HEIDEGGER AND A HIPPO w/ Tom Cathcart '61 & Dan Klein '61, Wed., Nov. 4 – NY
NY Times best sellers, Cathcart & Klein, are back with HEIDEGGER AND A HIPPO WALK THROUGH THOSE PEARLY GATES, a hilarious take on the philosophy, theology, and psychology of mortality and immortality. If you’ve ever wondered what would have happened if one of the great vaudeville comedy teams had studied philosophy at Harvard, Cathcart & Klein are your answer! To view full posting, please visit: http://www.harvardwood.org/event/hippoNov4
Harvardwood Presents THE MATT SHOW--MATT CORRIEL '05 SINGS MATT CORRIEL '05, Wed., Nov. 18 – NY
Join Adams House Resident Songwriter and Director of Harvard's Freshman Arts Program, Matt Corriel '05, in the heart of Times Square for an evening of fun! Singing original songs and telling stories from behind Richard Rodgers' own grand piano, MATT will entertain your socks off. A Harvardwood member, Matt is a two-time winner of the New England Theatre Conference's Moss Hart Award, and has music directed multiple Hasty Pudding shows...To view full posting, please visit: http://www.harvardwood.org/event/mattNov18
Harvardwood Heads To..."A 19th Century Musical Salon in Berlin," Thurs., Nov. 19 – NY
Join us as Harvardwood Heads To..."A 19th Century Musical Salon in Berlin." Violinist Anastasia Khitruk and pianist Sergei Babayan will perform at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 8:00 PM. The program will include works by Beethoven and Schubert as well as New York premieres of works by Leon de Saint-Lubin and Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel...To view full posting, please visit: http://www.harvardwood.org/events/event_details.asp?id=83926
Harvardwood Heads To...THE ONLY JEW IN THE VILLAGE, Thurs., Nov. 5 – London
Join us as Harvardwood Heads To...THE ONLY JEW IN THE VILLAGE, starring UK Co-Chapter Head, Judy Batalion! Canadian comedian Judy Batalion arrived in the UK the day after 9/11 looking for a home. What starts as a Wizard of Oz adventure transforms into a hilarious investigation into the true nature of the British and the even more mysterious British Jew...Judy offers a funny and incisive look at adulthood, difference, and how she came to understand Ben Gurion’s famous remark that anyone crazy enough to call themselves a Jew, must be. After sellouts in Montreal and Oxford, we are delighted to host the show in London in partnership with Rich Mix...To view full posting, please visit: http://www.harvardwood.org/events/event_details.asp?id=80411
Harvardwood Heads To...Alum Sara Melson performs solo acoustic, Fri., Nov. 6 – Cambridge
Join us as Harvardwood Heads To... alum Sara Melson perform solo acoustic, 11/6 at Middle East Cafe, 8pm. For more info, visit www.myspace.com/saramelson or find Sara Melson on Facebook. To view full posting, please visit: http://www.harvardwood.org/events/event_details.asp?id=81757
Join the Harvardwood Music Advisory Committee! - LA & NY
Harvardwood is starting an informal advisory committee to beef up our services for Harvardwood musicians. Our goal is to create effective and ongoing music programming for Harvardwood members that can rival the work of our film and television peers. If you would like to help develop better services, workshops, programs, panel discussions, and website features - drop us a line! We will hold our first meetings this November in LA and NY. Email [email protected] with the subject line "MUSIC ADVISORY COMMITTEE" if interested! And bring musical friends, non-Harvardwood members are welcome as well.
Seeking Writers for HWP (Harvardwood Writers' Program) Fiction Group - LA
The HWP (Harvardwood Writers' Program) Fiction Group seeks writers to fill two open positions in our group. We're writers working on novels who meet every third Saturday to critique each others work and provide support and motivation. You should be working on a novel, live in the Los Angeles area and be willing to both submit your own work and spend time reading others. In the interest of making sure you're a good fit, please include a summary of what you're working on as well as a 10 page, double-spaced sample of your work in your e-mail. To view full posting, please visit: http://www.harvardwood.org/news/30656/Seeking-Writers-for-HWP-Harvardwood-Writers-Program-Fiction-Group.htm
Seeking Volunteers for the OCS Summer Opportunities Fair, Fri., Dec. 4 - Cambridge
Connect with our undergraduate counterparts in the arts! Harvardwood will be present for the annual OCS Summer Opportunities Fair, on Friday, December 4th in Cambridge. We are looking for volunteers to help man the table and spread the word about Harvardwood to interested undergraduates. The fair will take place between 12pm-4pm, with set-up starting at 11:00am and clean-up from 4-5pm. Let us know if you are able to help out for a few hours at any point during this time frame. Please contact [email protected] with the subject line "OCS FAIR" if you are able to help out.
Harvardwood Seeks Volunteers Worldwide!
As we approach the 10-year anniversary of Harvardwood's existence, we are excited to reflect on the tremendous growth the organization has undergone over the past decade -- with over 3,000 members worldwide, we are now one of Harvard University's largest and most active alumni groups! We are now actively seeking more volunteers to help take Harvardwood to the next level! In addition to seeking help with existing Harvardwood events and programs coming up in the near future, we want to hear where YOUR talents can best complement the organization. Is there a new program you’d like to create? Or a city where you’d like Harvardwood to launch a Chapter? Or a panel you think would be of interest to other Harvard alums in the arts, media and entertainment? Or a new kind of event we haven’t even thought of yet? Let us know, the sky’s the limit! To view full posting, please visit: http://www.harvardwood.org/news/31286/Harvardwood-Seeks-Volunteers-Worldwide.htm
Industry Successes...
Alum singer/songwriter Sara Melson is excited to open for Ben Folds of the Ben Folds Five, 11/5 at Brandeis University, 8pm. She will also perform solo, 11/6 at Middle East Cafe, 8pm. For more info, visit www.myspace.com/saramelson or find Sara Melson on Facebook.
Kiran Deol '06 just got shortlisted for the Academy Awards with her first documentary film project WOMAN REBEL! Check out the film at www.womenrebels.org and see the listing in Variety. If you or anyone you know would like to help by doing a story on, or a review of the film, then please contact Kiran at [email protected]!
Ethan Gold '93, a singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist, and music producer, is at the helm of the broad musical vision of ADVENTURES OF POWER. Ethan created a rich music experience for the film that fits both the humorous and the epic qualities of the story. Ethan wrote and produced over a dozen new songs for "Adventures of Power" which stand toe-to-toe with the licensed hits in the film, in styles both known and invented: pop-punk-country-rap-ballad, Mexican thrash-metal, 70s power rock, Arabic funk, 80s electro, and more. Add his original haunting, wide-screen underscore, and Ethan’s music ties the tale together. See video for one of his original tunes on the Harvardwood Channel.
This November, Mandel Ilagan '99 begins his new job as Executive Director of Reality & Game Show Production at the new Hasbro Studios. There, he will be helping to turn Hasbro's popular line of toys and games into reality shows and game shows. The company's products include Transformers, G.I. Joe, NERF, and My Little Pony as well as games like Monopoly, Clue, Cranium, Taboo, and Yahtzee. You can follow more about Mandel at mandelweb.com or on Twitter.
James Connolly '88 has been hand-selected for a line-up of five smart, talented, and hilarious comedians making a house call to Harvard Hall for a special night of Comedy at the Club. James is known for his playful, confident style and unique sense of humor. He has appeared on Comedy Central and HBO, hosted VH1’s “Movie Obsessions” series, and is recognized as one of the most played comedians on Sirius XM Radio...The evening will be hosted by Harrison Greenbaum ‘08, whose credits include Spike TV and Mad Magazine. $45 per person, plus tax and service, for dinner and show. $18 per person, plus tax and service, for just the comedy night with dessert. You must be a member of the Harvard Club of New York or a guest of a member to attend. Go to the Club website for more info: www.hcny.com
Lizzy Nichols '10, co-captain of the women’s soccer team, has been nominated for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award based on character, competition, classroom and community. Fans, coaches and the media vote on the award, and the results are posted daily. Fans may vote once a day until November 13. Please visit the Harvard athletic website GOCRIMSON.COM, scroll down and click on Lizzy’s picture at lower right. Vote early and often.
Karen-Eileen Gordon recently wrapped several independent feature films: MAN WITHOUT A HEAD (Screenworld Films) starring Shannyn Sossamon, Taryn Manning and Rhys Coiro, creating the role of renegade French Artist VOJUBY...TOUCH (Duck Punk Productions)...and the hilarious OY VEY! MY SON IS GAY! (North By Northwest Productions) starring Carmen Electra, Lainie Kazan, and Jai Rodriguez...which recently had both its LA/NY premieres. She is also currently a big hit in India, where her interactive Intel commercials are running on the internet.
Cole Wiley HLS '07, current MFA student at the NYU Graduate Film Program, has received the BEST SHORT FILM AWARD at the 2009 INTERNATIONAL BLACK FILM FESTIVAL (Nashville, TN) for his short film QUIETLY. Cole also picked up the FESTIVAL DIRECTOR'S AWARD, the top honor awarded at the closing night gala, for his work on the film.
Jonathan Bird HLS '05 has obtained literary representation by William Morris Endeavor Entertainment and Gotham Group, based largely on his spec action-thriller screenplay CHIMERA, an early draft of which was his 3L thesis paper under the supervision of Professor Alan Dershowitz. CHIMERA won first runner-up in the 2006 Harvardwood/Circle of Confusion Screenplay Competition while Bird was Director of Business and Legal Affairs at The Weinstein Company. Upon exiting TWC in 2009, he returned to his passion and is now writing and/or producing several original properties, including a heist script and a hitman TV pilot, both developed in the Harvardwood Writer's Program last spring.
Actors Reading Writers Success!
by Stacey Collins
A few weeks ago, Harvardwood member Jocelyn "Jolly" Stamat and her partner, award-winning screenwriter Terry Rossio, generously opened their home for an evening of Harvardwood's new "Actors Reading Writers" program, which entails actors cold-reading scenes from three scripts by Harvardwood writers. This program is new, and this was my first experience with it. As always when one of my scripts is going up, I was feeling anxious all day about it. Had I realized I’d be walking into the home of one of my screenwriting idols, I would have been doubly nervous.
Years prior I had seen Terry and his screenwriting partner Ted Elliot speak at the Screenwriters Expo. I vividly remember how they emphasized the importance of a script’s structure. I’d frequently visit their website www.wordplayer.com, which they created to help screenwriters crack the mysteries of scriptwriting. I admired their work and their style.
On this particular evening I was feeling a case of Hollywood fatigue. Discouraged by the dearth of jobs and writing opportunities, at times I find it hard to maintain the stamina it takes to break into the biz. But they tell me despair is part of a writer’s life, so I decided to sign up my stage play for the cold reading. The other two Harvardwood writers (Robert Cain and Gina Levy) brought screenplays.
As we began the reading, Terry sat in the back of the room at his desk and went about his work. The actors did a great job with my piece, but I was painfully aware of some of the flaws in the script as I heard it read aloud for the first time. My draft needed work. Later, as comments were being given around the table, Terry asked if he could share his thoughts as well -- a natural educator, he gave great notes, and it was clearly important to him that the writers understand what he was trying to convey.
After a wonderful and encouraging critique, the fatigue I was feeling faded a bit and was replaced by a glimmer of hope. I realized just how much road I had to travel in terms of the craft of writing, but I felt inspired to do so. At the end of the reading, the writers and actors were treated to yummy popcorn and a mini-festival of Jolly’s equally-delicious short films.
I called my mother the next day to tell her the story -- what a difference one evening could make, how all I had needed was another year of bad luck and I could have just thrown in the towel after five years. With those encouraging words and the support of my Harvardwood peers, I’m game to stay in the ring for one more round.
Featured Member Posting: Entertainment Industry Job List
Find career opportunities in television, film, and music on the Entertainment Industry Job List. To view the full posting, please visit: http://www.harvardwood.org/networking/opening.asp?id=71837
Member Profile: Danny O. Snow, '78
by Cristina Slattery
Danny O. Snow ’78 is a man who looks to the future as much as the past. He is passionate about giving previously unpublished books a chance as well as resurrecting those out-of-print books that are no longer commercially viable but that have immeasurable value to those seeking them. His revolutionary spirit has cooled since the 1990s when he set out to transform the publishing industry by eradicating the overprinting of books and other wasteful practices through the implementation of “Print on Demand” method of publishing.
Print on Demand is exactly what it sounds like: the customer orders a book and the publisher prints and sends it in response to this “demand.” In fact, the book is created expressly for the individual ordering it. As a result, the expense of an initial print run and the cost of warehouse space for books that have been printed but not purchased become insignificant. The only books created are those that have been ordered and the entire process of producing books is made more efficient. And, as Danny himself notes, a byproduct of Print on Demand is that publishing becomes more egalitarian since authors no longer need to persuade a publishing house that the book will sell lots of copies in order to justify printing. Thus, Print on Demand allows a publisher to take a chance on an unpublished author because the investment is much more limited.
Danny’s love of publishing was encouraged at Culver Military Academy where he attended high school. As co-editor of the school literary journal, he experienced its different facets: acquisition, editorial, printing and design, and, as he describes it, he became “hooked.” In college, Danny studied one-on-one with the acclaimed professor and playwright William Alfred, an opportunity for which he is immensely grateful. He was also involved in theater as an undergraduate and has taken time out from his publishing career to act in plays, films and for television. Although he set out to write the “Great American novel” after graduating from Harvard, in time he came to realize that writing a 50,000-word literary novel was not necessarily “in him.” But a love of writing and of the English language certainly existed and he turned to journalism and later worked in what he terms the “elitist, inefficient, environmentally hostile traditional publishing industry.”
Of course, in order to advocate for change, one must understand exactly what one is trying to modify – and that Snow did. At the company he founded in the year 2000, Unlimited Publishing LLC, the “boss” is not the boss – he is a co-worker. Profit is a goal, but Snow doesn’t see himself as a businessperson as much as a man who is at once “high-tech,” socially progressive and nostalgic about the impact that this technology may have on the quirky, neighborhood bookstore that is struggling to survive.
In addition to his work at Unlimited Publishing, Danny is a fellow at The Society for New Communications Research (SNCR) in Palo Alto, California, and there he is able to study and theorize about the impact that new and emerging media will have on society in years to come. Topics such as whether “new media are actually changing the way readers read and writers write at a cognitive or physiological level" are part of the day-to-day discussion and inquiry that takes place at SNCR and Danny enjoys being surrounded by researchers with a similar fascination about the future. He feels that he is no longer a “lone advocate for changing the status quo” as a result of his affiliation with SNCR, and also enjoys that the work there is not driven by profit and findings are not “hoarded as proprietary trade secrets.”
Snow lives in three places, he acknowledges: on the Internet, in Indiana, and in California. In describing his life “online,” Danny explains that he can “appreciate people he has never met for their ideas alone,” while he describes his life in Indiana as one in which he is surrounded by “decent, Midwestern folks.” California and the larger cities he travels to on a regular basis allow him access to “cool, cutting-edge people,” and this variety of experiences seems to enrich his life as well as enable him to get his ideas across to more people, including the “reactionary” publishing industry that has started to embrace Print on Demand.
Snow notes that a sociological trend is taking place in which ordinary people are becoming journalists, authors and publishers and the traditional gatekeepers are being displaced. His company, Unlimited Publishing, has recently formed a collaboration with Harvardwood Books. Authors affiliated with Harvardwood Books will be offered one more channel for getting their material to the public, and readers will get access to writers who may have been overlooked by publishing’s “gatekeepers” who may not see some manuscripts as commercially viable. So, even if Snow didn’t actually write the “Great American Novel” he aspired to create, he remains committed to finding and publishing it – and other deserving material as well.
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