^ J o r tla n ò ( O b s e r v e r -------------
May 9, 2001
Focus
Page 3
Independent Black Filmaker Starts Up a Movie Studio
Tim Reid, actor, director, producer and Daphne M axw ell-Reid, co-founders o f
New Millennium Studios, the only Black owned movie studio and distribution center
in the past 50 years, will be in Portland, May 26, to premiere their latest film,
“A sunder.”
Tim Reid, form er actor
turned director and
producer, will introduce
his new film entitled
“Ausnder” at Portland's
McMenamin's Kennedy
Center on May 26.
.
Through a joint outreach effort o f Portland Cable Access, Portland Community
College-Cascade, M cM enamin Kennedy School, and Sabin Community Develop­
ment Corporation, the Reids will meet with the public during a VIP Gala Fundraiser
held at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center on May 26. The premiere screening
o f “Asunder" will be at the M cM enam in’s Kennedy School later that evening at 8
p.m .
The plot o f “A sunder” revolves around two characters, Chance and Michael who
are such good friends that they are like brothers. Despite their long-term friendship,
successful careers and beautiful w ives...secrets and betrayal haunt them.
When the friendship goes bad...love, trust and courage are tested to the maximum.
Tragedy opens the door to the darker side o f friendship when C hance's wife is
fatally killed in an accident.
Jelousy replaces mourning as Chance blames his best friend for this loss.
Secrets from the past begin to destroy the fragments o f their trust. M ichael’s wife
had a torrid affair with Chance leading to her pregnancy and subsequent abortion.
The tragedy and loss o f friendship repairs Michael and Lauren’s faltering marriage.
Foregiveness forges a new life, and a new pregnancy. But Chance wants to conquer
and destroy his friend’s most precious possessions - his wife and unborn child.
Reliving the Great Jazz
Era of the 1950s
Artists Repertory Theatre will
' present Warren h eight's Side Man,
winner o f the Tony Award for Best
Playof 1999, May 2 0 -J u ly 1,2000.
Side Man is a family drama span­
ning 35 years as well as a poignant
tribute to the 1950s era ofjazz. “Like
the best memory plays,” says direc­
tor Jon Kretzu, Side Man has enor­
mous heart and soul, full o f laughter
and tears. It balances scenes o f great
joy, love and com passion with
scenes o f naked emotional pain and
heartbreak. “Written in the magical,
improvisational style o f jazz, the
story is constantly shifting as it
unfolds, a melancholy blues with
occasional undertones o f joy and
exuberance.”
Warren Leight, who describes
his play as “ au to b io g rap h ical
enough,” draws from his own child­
hood in Manhattan’s Upper West
Side. His father, Donald Leight, was
a trumpet player who worked with
Woody Herman, Claude Thornhill
and other band leaders through the
1950s. Side Man follows sonClifford
as he sifts through the wreckage o f
his parent’s disastrous m ar­
riage. These itinerant musicians
backed up the big bands, often
sacrificing stable home lives.
Describing this scene to the
audience, Clifford tells the story
o f his family’s gradual demise:
his father G ene’s jo y when
Clifford claims his unemploy­
ment check; his mother Terry ’ s
plunge into depression and sub­
sequent suicide attempts fol­
low ing G e n e ’s lengthy ab­
sences; and Clifford’s increas­
ing role as the center o f the
household. G ene’s failing rela­
tionship with his wife and son is
contrasted with the camarade­
rie he feels for his fellow
sidemen, who become his “real”
family.
Previews o f Side Man runs at
7 p.m., May20-24(Sunday, Tues­
day, W ednesday and Thurs­
day). The play opens Friday,
May 25 at the Artists Repertory
Theatre, located at 1516 S.W.
Alder St. For ticket information,
call 503/241-1 ART.
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