Former Opera Theater Oregon Artistic Director Katie Taylor rejoins the company

Press Release:

 

Big changes ahead at Opera Theater Oregon

Portland’s first indie opera company celebrates 10 years, brings back Artistic Director Katie Taylor

Former Artistic Director Katie Taylor has rejoined Opera Theater Oregon, taking back the hot seat from Erica Melton, who replaced Taylor in 2011. Melton will stay on as Music Director, a role she previously held from 2008 to 2011. Jen Wechsler remains with the company as Film Director.

Taylor and company are in the process of redefining what OTO is and how it will work as it moves into its second decade. The company is preparing for a relaunch later this year.

Taylor, Melton and Wechsler collaborated on some of the company’s most memorable productions, including the Baywatch Das Rheingold, Out of Eden (an original adaptation of Jules Massenet’s Werther), Hercules vs. Vampires and the film short Dick’s In Space.

Taylor previously led Opera Theater Oregon as Artistic Director from 2006 to 2011 and was the artistic visionary behind the development of the company’s novel approach to opera, which emphasizes radical accessibility and playful experimentation. 

Melton, leading the company from 2011 to 2014, continued this approach with genre-bending productions that interwove opera with film, dance, cuisine and fashion, including the company's first outdoor production, The Cunning Little Vixen, performed at Wild Goose Farm on Sauvie Island. 

In 2010, Taylor led a coalition of arts and humanities groups and a pro bono architect/engineer team in an ambitious campaign to lease and restore downtown’s Guild Theatre, which would have become home base for OTO. Though ultimately unsuccessful, the effort got the attention of Mike McMenamin, who offered OTO a two-year residency at The Mission Theatre (OTO is now resident at the Hollywood). 

Hercules vs. Vampires, an original OTO production conceptualized by Taylor and Galen Huckins of Filmusik and composed for OTO by Patrick Morganelli, was remounted by LA Opera in April this year.

OTO was founded in 2005 by Angela Niederloh and Amy Russell. 

Oregon Symphony Brings out Portland's Trekkers with Star Trek (2009)

On Friday night, January 31 the Oregon Symphony shared with Portland a project that is of special significance to a great number of folks around the world. J.J. Abrams' Star Trek  (2009) caused an instantaneous rift amongst Trekkers (or Trekkies, if one prefers the old term) when it first came out. Some saw it as an abomination, its one unforgivable crime being that it had the audacity to have an entire set of new, younger actors take over the beloved roles from the Original Series and its follow up films. Or maybe it was that it altered the original Trek timeline that led to the events portrayed in the Original Series. Or maybe it was that the style of the genre itself was rebooted--this was a sci-fi action film first and foremost. So there were a number of unforgivable crimes depending upon whom you ask. Or there were none (count me in this category of fan.) The one inarguable fact is that it re-enervated, in the general public's mind, a moribund franchise which had had no TV or motion picture presence for over 5 years--yet before that had had an unbroken string of 10 films since 1979 and 4 TV shows since 1987 (and that's not including the Original Series and an animated series in the 60s and early 70s)--almost inarguably the largest footprint of any Sci-Fi franchise in history.

Whenever the discussion of the Star Trek reboot films (this one and 2013's Star Trek: Into Darkness) comes up  there is invariably controversy, but amongst Trekkers I know, no one was complaining about this opportunity to see the OSO perform Michael Giacchino's thrilling score live, accompanying a screening of the 2009 film. Upon first hearing I was immediately excited that the Oregon Symphony chose to take on this production; I remember being glued to my chair at 6 years old in the late 70s, riveted by a TV show that took my imagination to places no other show could touch. I have seen every single Star Trek film in the theater since the first in 1979 when I was 7; that's 12 films over 34 years), and have watched hundreds upon hundreds of TV episodes over the years. So it was very personally thrilling to have the chance to support both OSO and Trek, two organizations that have brought so much joy to my life.

And many, many others share this view; there were Star Fleet officers scattered throughout the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, and while I was disappointed that I spotted no Klingons or Borgs in full battle array (I hope they were there and I just somehow missed them), it was fun to see so many enthusiastic Trekkers filling the hall. The orchestra was in the spirit as well: right before tuning up there came from somewhere deep within the woodwinds on the darkened stage the iconic, 4-note prelude to the Original Series theme song, bringing an eruption of laughter from players and audience alike.

Hearing a soundtrack performed live while watching a film is a thrilling experience. The OSO grasped this and imparted a sensation of the music being more immediate--more intense, menacing, pathetic, whatever the particular emotion of the scene. The difficulty lies in not drowning out the sound effects and dialogue, and with a group the OSO's size it's not an easy task. Still, for the most part the blend they achieved was just right, and the Pacific Youth Choir did an admirable job in their role.

It also takes a special conductor. While in opera or other staged musicals the actors/singers are (ostensibly) watching the conductor, there is no such collaboration with a film, so the director must be exacting and extremely precise--missing a cue by a fraction of a second could turn a scene into a confusing dud. Conductor Erik Ochsner has a tremendous amount of experience in these types of productions, and it really showed. The ability of the orchestra to segue in and out so seamlessly was such that at times, when engrossed in the film, it was easy to forget that all the music was being performed live. The OSO played up to its usual high caliber; in Giacchino's score there was tremendous work for the low brass, and the audience ate every bit of it up.

It's always fun to see the OSO step outside the bounds of what we think of a classical symphony orchestra doing, and especially so for this Trekker last Friday night. I'm a big fan of live to projection music; a local group Filmusik has been doing this on a smaller scale here for years and I've reviewed them many times, so it was great to hear a group like OSO tackle this project.

Filmusik and Turkish Rambo at Hollywood Theatre: B-cinema genius

Galen Huckin's Filmusik, a project that hearkens back to the old days of silent film wherein there was a live performance component (i.e. the music) as well as the recorded medium, is back just in time for Halloween with Turkish Rambo...a horrifying farce of a rip off that provides just the kind of fodder Filmusik needs to work its magic.

Filmusik provides far more than just live soundtracks however; voice actors and foley (sound effects) artists also join the team to flesh out an incredibly fun and engaging film experience.

The film itself is completely execrable...if you thought Rambo was bad, imagine a Turkish version with awful actors, no special effects budget, cinematography that doesn't even try, and a dialogue that leaves the dialogue from the original sounding like Citizen Kane.

The soundtrack, composed by Huckins, is great fun to hear. He's been doing this for years, and has a real flare for many different elements: how to compose an intentionally over-the-top cinematic score, as well as weave in a live vocal track on par with any Hong Kong cinema dubbing from the 70s, and an absolutely amazing performance from the foley artists, who pull out every trick in the book to provide sound effects for a movie that demands them almost literally from beginning to end: explosions, gun fire and kung-fu body blows are ubiquitous in this film and it's almost as much fun to watch the foley artists as it is to watch the film itself.

Filmusik is so adept at blending all these elements into one amazing, seamless roll of cornballery that it is sometimes difficult to remember that everything you hear is being performed live.  As I've said numerous times before, any true cinephile who hasn't yet seen a Filmusik performance is missing out on a unique way to experience the medium, and anyone just looking for a fun evening out could do much worse than to attend a Filmusik performance.

Turkish Rambo is showing at the Hollywood Theatre on October 23, 24, 25, and 26 at 7pm; tickets can be bought online or at the door.

Filmusik and Federale rock the house with 'The Grand Duel'

Filmusik, Portland's homegrown musical idea whose name expresses exactly what it does, delivered another bang-up performance with the live-soundtrack rendition of 'The Grand Duel,' a spaghetti western of the best (worst?) kind Thursday night at the Hollywood Theater.

Federale, a local band who specializes in the dramatic music of the kind found in this genre, performed a live version of the soundtrack. The main theme is probably better known to most audiences from its appropriation by Quentin Tarantino for the soundtrack to 'Kill Bill Vol. 1.' The iconic harmonium melody, doubled at various times by soprano or trumpet, was accompanied by a perfect high lonesome whistle from one of the band members (and quite an excellent display of whistling prowess it was.) After all, what's spaghetti western music without the whistling?

The performance gave you everything you want from this genre, in which, let's face it, the music is much better than the film. And much more intense from being live and in your face. The film itself was a delicious, laughable bit of nonsense, full of hyperbole, melodrama, gratuitous nudity, stereotypes, and hatchet-faced Europeans with bad teeth somehow trying to pass themselves off as Americans, replete with oompa-loompa-cum-John-Boehner tans. Starring the iconic Lee Van Cleef as a sheriff out to save an innocent man from hanging and bent on revenge agains the cruel Patriarch, this film needed great music to save it from itself.

Federale betrayed a keen understanding of the musical needs of this genre, from gritty verismo atmospherics in which inglorious death is all around, to sinister carefully layered mood music, full of atonalism and sound-effects that also showcased the droning surf-rock origin behind much of the guitar work.

Another worthwhile endeavor from Galen Huckins and Filmusik, the final performance takes place tonight at 8 pm at the Hollywood Theater.

Upcoming Filmusik madness: The Grand Duel

Filmusik, the unique brainchild of Portland composer Galen Huckins that combines classic cinema with all manner of live performance elements, including live original soundtracks, voice dubbing and sound effects, is at it again this upcoming week with their new project The Grand Duel.

A spaghetti western starring the inimitable Lee Van Cleef, this film marks Filmusik's first collaboration with Federale, a local alternative band who just happens to specialize in writing and performing music that, in their own words, "recapture[s] the haunting, violent atmosphere illustrated in such classic films as A Fistful of Dollars." With their ranchero-style horns and the intensely powerful soprano of Maria Karlin, Federale, besides being an extremely talented ensemble that knows exactly how to achieve their musical goals, is a plain old-fashioned kick in the pants. Marvelously fun, Filmusik and Federale are a natural fit for each other, and for this enterprise Federale composed an entirely new soundtrack and will be on hand to perform for all three shows. The showings are Thursday July 28th, Friday the 29th and Saturday the 30th at the Hollywood Theater at 8pm.

Galen Huckins and Filmusik collaborators to present the animation classic 'Gulliver's Travels' at the Hollywood Theatre

Regular readers of this blog will know that I'm a huge fan of Huckins' work with his ingenious Filmusik project. I can't recommend it highly enough for music, film, and theater nuts, or anyone who just wants to have a great time seeing something really original. This should be a brilliant bit of fun, with or without the kids along. I will be reviewing this show on Friday July 23rd.

Following is a press release from Filmusik:

This summer Filmusik is turning a local movie theatre into a Hollywood Soundstage. A team of 30 Portland professionals from the field of movie soundtracks create the sound for a classic animation live in the pit. As the movie plays on the big screen, 4 cartoon actors give voice to the on-screen characters, sound effects artists create the noises from over a hundred foley props and the Filmusik Chamber ensemble performs the music from the film including many musical numbers and several sing-a-longs. For cartoon buffs, family, new music lovers and anyone who's ever wanted to know how they make that funny noise when Daffy Duck falls over. Filmusik: Gulliver's Travels is a new way to experience movies and sound. Incidentally, it's also the only place in town where you can sing along to a bouncing ball with a live orchestra and chorus backing you up!

Hollywood Theatre
July 16th, 21st, 23rd at 7pm
July 18th at 2pm
TICKETS $12/$10 Children, Students & Seniors

Tickets and more information available at www.filmusik.com
Also at the Hollywood Theatre box office at 4122 NE Sandy Boulevard
Or by calling (503) 281-4215

Oregon has always been particularly gifted when it comes to cartoon voice-over actors. Mel Blanc, graduate of Lincoln High School was the most widely recognized voice actor in the world, the voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and hundreds of others. Filmusik: Gulliver's Travels features 4 contemporary Portland talents: James Dineen, Todd Tolces, Chris Porter and Bill Barry. They have their hands full dubbing this cartoon with a cast of colorful singing Lilliputians. The voice-overs are directed by Sam A. Mowry, long time radio actor and Filmusik collaborator

“For the voice actor, everyone of us, it started when we watched the Saturday morning cartoons. We copied the voices, learned what made an exciting vocal choice or dynamic characters. Even before we knew thats what we learned. I’ve been lucky enough to work on some original animation projects and we have Todd Tolces, one of Will Vinton’s stalwarts during their heyday. Using your voice to add that final sparkle to such an amazing film is really quite magical. Recreating these classic cartoon legends with fidelity to the original, but being your own man, or king or giant for that matter is a dream come true for all of us. This is going to be amazing.”
- Sam A. Mowry – Voice-over Director

David Ian and his team of film Foley artists create the sound effects live. Tapping shoes together for footsteps, rattling doorknobs and crinkling cellophane. The props are flying as they keep time with the movie, matching every rattle, whistle and explosion.


"As a long time fan of the Fleischer Bros. work, it's a thrill for me to be able to work with this wonderful animation.
It's also a delight to be able to gently update some of the SFX while preserving that "vintage sound" that is so much part of the experience."
- Marc Rose - Sound Designer

The originally composed score by Galen Huckins draws on elements from the musical-toon era of the film with a more contemporary sensibility. The ensemble features strings, piano, clarinets and an arsenal of percussion.

"Music from animation tends to be very fast paced, the characters move with a musical rhythm of their own that the score adapts and transforms to its own purposes. It sounds a little schizophrenic played by itself, but its a lot of fun to perform.
- Galen Huckins - Composer

Fleischer's animated feature from 1939 tells Jonathon Swift’s travel adventure in a Betty Boop meets Moby Dick sort of way. There’s songs and dance, live sound effects, live voices and live music. It’s like Fantasia if Mickey Mouse were Goliath and the orchestra was right in your lap! With an original score performed live by the Filmusik Chamber ensemble and a cast of 20 performers. GULLIVER'S TRAVELS is a movie experience not to miss. It's a rare chance to see professional soundtrack artists at work. Get yourself some popcorn and be prepared to sing along!!

Hercules vs. Vampires review up at The Gathering Note

I've reviewed Filmusik and Opera Theater Oregon productions a number of times for NW Reverb and at my blog MusicalOozings, so for their latest endeavor I posted an exclusive review at the Gathering Note, a great classical music blog based in Seattle. You can read it here.

Selected Upcoming Events: Bach Cantata Choir's Season Finale and Opera Theater Oregon/Filmusik's 'Hercules vs. Vampires.'

Here are a couple of upcoming that I will be attending and wholeheartedly recommend, for various reasons: I sing baritone in the BCC (although I am not singing this concert) and so am always a fan. The dynamic duo of Opera Theater Oregon and Filmusik are both key components of Portland's homegrown, scrappy alternative art music scene that never ceases to amaze me with its brilliant, original projects.


1. Tomorrow, Sunday April 25th is the season finale of the Bach Cantata Choir, and what a grand finale it will be. The concert was featured by host Andrea Murray on Northwest Previews last Thursday on Portland's All Classical 89.9. The very talented BCC Chamber Orchestra, under the direction of Ralph Nelson, will be performing J.S. Bach's Violin Concerto in E Major with Mary Rowell as soloist. Among the many hats Mary wears are those of Concertmaster of the BCC Chamber Orchestra and violinist with the esteemed Portland Baroque Orchestra.

In addition, the BCC will sing W.F. Bach's cantata Wohl dem, der den Herren fürchtet. Wilhelm Friedemann was Sebastian's eldest son, a man with a tragic life and the one whom many scholars believe was the finest composer amongst the Bach sons, despite Joh. Christian and especially Carl Philip Emanuel being the more famous. The BCC is proud to present their first performance of an ancient work by a Jewish composer, Salamone Rossi's (1570-1630) Hallelyah. The choir will also sing J.S. Bach's Motet #5 Komm, Jesu Komm, one of only eight Bach motets still surviving, a set known for its complexity, beauty and unicity even among Bach's works.

The performance is at 2 pm at the Rose City Park Presbyterian Church at NE 44th and Sandy. There is no charge for the performance, but free will donations are gratefully accepted.



2. Following is information from Opera Theater Oregon regarding their next project: Hercules vs. Vampires.

WHAT: Opera Theater Oregon and Filmusik present “Hercules vs. Vampires,” a 1960s cult classic brought back to the big screen with all the dialogue turned into opera by composer Patrick Morganelli and performed live by nine glorious voices and a 14-piece chamber orchestra.

WHEN/WHERE: May 14, 18, 20 and 21 at 7:30pm/May 16, 2:00pm (matinee). ALL SHOWS ALL AGES (run time 90 minutes). Hollywood Theater, 4122 Northeast Sandy Boulevard, Portland, OR.

WHO: Produced by Opera Theater Oregon and Filmusik; new commissioned opera and adaptation of libretto by composer Patrick Morganelli; original 1961 film directed by Mario Bava (Black Sunday, Fashion House of Death); musical direction by OTO Musical Director Erica Melton; produced and directed by OTO Artistic Director Katie Taylor; technical direction by Filmusik Artistic Director Galen Huckins.

Starring a cast of rising operatic talent, including baritone Michael Miersma (Hercules), soprano Camelia Nine (Dianara), tenor David Simmons (Theseus), mezzo soprano Claire Craig Sheets (Persephone), and baritone Bobby Ray (Lyco). Made possible by a grant from REGIONAL ARTS AND CULTURE COUNCIL and WORK FOR ART.

TICKETS: $15 (general admission). Call PDXtix at 503-205-0715, or go online to operatheateroregon.com. Group rates available. Contact Katie at Opera Theater Oregon for details: 503-234-4515, kt@operatheateroregon.com.

WHY: Because it is awesome to watch Mr. Universe 1958 crush boulders on the big screen while appearing to sing beautiful music.


For complete information and a detailed press release, visit my blog MusicalOozings

Filmusik to present 'Kansas City Confidential' this week

Following is a press release from Galen Huckens of Filmusik:

This week, Filmusik is bringing together a group of local jazz musicians for a live soundtrack performance. From the pit, the jazz band re-imagines and recreates the soundtrack for a classic film-noir live in the theatre. With an originally composed soundtrack putting a modern musical spin on the 1952 crime caper. String players from the group Classical Revolution round out the ensemble of reeds, horns and jazz trio. Working with both improvised and orchestrated music, it's a concert not to miss that brings local musicians and composers to the movies for a unique performance.

About the film:

Kansas City Confidential (1952): It may have been the perfect hold-up, but after an armored car robbery drops Rolfe (John Payne) in jail as a fall guy, he won’t give up until he’s cleared his name by tracking down the faceless thieves. Justice may not be as simple as it seems for Rolfe who is led to Mexico in the hunt for redemption and cold hard cash with only a pistol and a playing card! With the stone faced intensity of Lee Van Cleef and Preston Foster, it’s a movie not to miss, a pulpy snub-nosed entry into the American film canon.


As an aside, those who have read my reviews know I am a huge fan of Filmusik, and I wholeheartedly recommend this to cinephiles and live music lovers alike. For some reviews of their past shows, click here and scroll past the first entry. The performances are this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the 10th-12th at 7 pm at the Hollywood Theater.

Filmusik turns to the kaiju genre with 'Gamera vs. Guiron'

Filmusik, an enterprise that combines film with live entertainment in a hearkening-back to the days of yore, presented the first performance of the Japanese cult classic 'Gamera vs. Guiron' last night at the Hollywood Theatre. Members of Classical Revolution Portland delivered live music by composer Galen Huckens, the Willamette Radio Workshop provided voice actors and live sound effects were by David Ian, Pat Janowski and friends.

An enthusiastic showing of geeks, film buffs, and scenesters of all schools and ages showed up for the premier. Huckens' composition began the film with a pleasant, pastoral spacescape, accompanied by a rich voice-over monologue extolling the wonders of the limitless universe. 'Over-the-top' was the watch-phrase of the evening, as the foley (sound effects) crew and voice actors paid imaginative homage to the campy production values of the movie. The intense concentration and accurate timing of the foley artists was something to behold all evening long; many times all four of them were producing more than one effect simultaneously, with an impressive variety of objects: balloons, rattles, voice synthesizers, even a hand-cranked wind machine came into play.

The kaiju genre of films (kaiju are monsters, more or less; think of Godzilla as the king of the kaiju) are renowned for their hokey production limits and histrionic emotional scope, and because of that they have retained a large cult following to this day. Gamera, a giant, fanged, flying space-turtle who can retract all his limbs and turn them into smoky, flame-belching jet engines, was well-known as a 'friend to children,' as the film repeatedly stated.

The main protagonists, two young boys who board an abandoned spacecraft and mistakenly launch themselves to the evil alter-ego of Earth, planet Terra, are emotionally attached to Gamera. The whale-song-like wailing of the foley artists in providing Gamera's voice succeeded in portraying him as a sympathetic, heroic creature, and the audience delighted in this, clapping, hooting, cheering him on in battle, and commiserating with his suffering. All of the performers involved, while definitely revelling in the kitsch, also seemed to understand the taken in its entirety, the film was not meant to be a laughable rollick, though it is hard to imagine it as anything else viewing it through our eyes today.

CRPDX played sensitively and intuitively all evening long. Huckens' score throughout provided an almost consistent counterpoint to the laughs and cornball acting, imparting a sombre, darkly beautiful element that balanced the overall mise-en-scene and kept intact the emotional import of brave, besieged children battling immensely evil forces way beyond their control. The knife-headed bad-boy kaiju Guiron who shoots throwing stars from his head, the giant silvery, fox-headed bat Gyaos who breathes laser beams, the cannibalistic Japanese-Terran babes who are the sole human survivors on their destroyed planet, the skepticism of their own parents--all these elements are aligned against the children, who want nothing more than to free the world from war and traffic accidents. Their only protector--Gamera, who has his own bouncing-ball theme song that appears throughout the movie, which the audience is encouraged to sing (and eventually does, inspite of themselves.)

Filmusik has succeeded brilliantly once again; Huckens seems to be getting better and better at what he does. The entire live production manages to capture all the camp, humor, and drama inherent in this battle of foam-rubber titans. At the beginning of the film the children lament "Gee, grownups have no dreams." Fortunately they are wrong in that observation, as this darkly comedic reverie at the Hollywood theater so vividly points out. There are three performances left: November 6th, 11th, and 13th.

Filmusik turns to the Spaghetti Western

Filmusik, an area group that promotes live performance in conjunction with film, turned its attention to the spaghetti western in a performance Wednesday, July 15th at the the Hollywood Theatre. Giulio Petroni's classic 1967 film Death Rides a Horse, stripped of the soundtrack (and starring the iconic Lee Van Cleef) was accompanied by a 40-voice choir provided by Opera Theater Oregon and a chamber orchestra courtesy of ECCE New Music. The score was composed by Eugene composers Gracin Dorsey and Sam L. Richards, and the performance was directed by Tuesday Rupp. (Click here for the trailer.)

The soundtrack began with a big choral overture that saw the introduction of the main theme, a full-throated chanting of da uomo a uomo ('from a man to a man') which is the film's title in Italy. The score was suitably over-the-top and self-importantly melodramatic, in exact keeping with the images being presented onscreen.

Dorsey and Richards soundtrack was imaginative and varied. In addition to very melodic and catchy motives(I find myself still humming the main theme two days later), the composers elicited a range of non-musical effects from the performers, including big, swooping glissandi, windy whistling, percussive, aspirant plosions, shouts and a superbly executed refrain of ghost-like wailing from the choir (occasionally a bit much, but they were able to achieve a truly eerie effect with this). The string players were called upon to stamp feet and clap hands along with the singers, and percussionist Heidi Wait deserves special mention for staying on top of a tricky, insular and important part.

Rupp had her hands full managing to keep all these performers in sync with the onscreen action, and she did this superbly--this was the most well-timed performance of this type that I've yet seen in terms of synchronicity between the film and the live performers. (See here and here for other examples of this.) The interesting effect that live film music has is a heightening of the immediacy of the film itself--the overall project becomes a complex, syncopated, multi-layered 'happening', and the audience understands itself as an integral part of the enterprise, not merely a passive bystander to it.

There will be a repeat performance tonight at 7pm at the Hollywood Theatre; if the crowds at this Friday night performance are similar to those present for Plan 9 From Outer Space, arrive early or buy tickets online if you expect to get a seat.

Bad cinema, original score make for a great evening with 'Plan 9 From Outer Space'

One might be forgiven for getting the feeling that the hottest show in town Friday night was taking place at the Hollywood Theatre. After all, the line still stretched to the end of the block just five minutes before showtime, a throng of latecomers hoping against hope for a ticket to...Ed Wood's 1959 film Plan 9 From Outer Space?

That's correct, the famed Edward D. Wood, Jr., the cross-dressing actor/director/writer/producer who parachuted into the battle of Tarawa wearing a bra and panties, the man later responsible for such Hollywood "classics" as Glen or Glenda? (a sensationalist picture about the world's first gender reassignment surgery), Bride of the Monster, Night of the Ghouls and of course Plan 9.

What made this showing so special wasn't, in fact, the film itself, although the camp value alone makes it worth seeing. What drew such a crowd to this work (by a director who was famously awarded film critic Michael Medved's Golden Turkey Award as the 'Worst Director Ever') was the live soundtrack (string quartet and synthesizers) and the eleven actors who live-dubbed the script as the movie was playing. Filmusik, a group who "promotes live performance over prerecorded media through presenting new venues for musicians and composers" arranged the evening, with help from Classical Revolution Portland, live voice actors from the Willamette Radio Workshop, and composer and local electronica artist Sugar Shortwave, on hand to man synthesizers, keyboards and all manner of other electronic gizmos.

The idea of 'live film' is brilliant, and the audience was visibly excited, applauding loudly all the way through the Filmusik previews and credits. The composition began with an ambient, burbling spacescape which shortly gave way to the opening film credits. An extended segment for strings and synth followed this, eerie and muted (compositionally speaking) . When the voice actors began speaking, even when they were a full phrase or more behind the mouth moving on the screen, the audience went wild. For all that the movie itself is atrocious in so many respects, it was a great labor of love, a true magnum opus of crap, and the live soundtrack and the giant dose of camp imparted by the actors paid sincere homage to this.

The composition itself was very well-done; it's been said the the best way to tell a good film score is if you don't notice it. I don't know about that, but the point is well-taken: if the soundtrack is intrusive or distracts from the film in any way then the music, at least in its relationship to the film, is flawed. There were only a few moments when I noticed this Friday night, but it seemed the problem was more in the mix: whenever the strings were playing at the same time as the actors were speaking, the music was way too loud, sometimes to the point that the voices weren't even audible. In this sense the music did seem intrusive, but given the volume disparity between voices and music it was hard to tell if it was that dynamic or the composition itself that distracted.

The score cut back and dropped out entirely as was called for by the plot of the film. The most enjoyable part of the evening musically was a long, samba-like montage sequence toward the middle of the movie. It captured almost perfectly the over-the-top, self-important mise-en-scene being portrayed onscreen: vampires, aliens, ufos and government conspiracies require deft treatment musically, so hats off to Sugar Shortwave for her imaginative and insightful work. Also fun was the weird, warped, slowed-down big band jazz that served almost as a leitmotif for the domestic scenes in the movie. It imparted an odd, things-look-normal-but-something's-really-not-quite-right flavor that was unexpected and yet very well-suited.

If you are disappointed that you missed out on all the fun never fear: Filmusik is doing another presentation next week at the Hollywood Theatre: Missile to the Moon will be showing on June 3rd and 5th, with another live performance by CRPDX and the Willamette Radio Workshop as they play composer Scott J. Ordway's soundtrack. (Click here to see the trailer.) For sci-fi fans, classic cinephiles and music lovers looking for a new thrill, you won't find anything much more fun than this. I'll be back in those awful, ancient seats at the Hollywood Theatre next Friday night for some more.