Taylor Hanigosky
tmh004@marietta.edu
Fire dancers, stilt walkers, jugglers and musicians will be exploring Marietta’s historic underground tunnels the Colony Theater as performers in a new live-action short film, a project of local designer and filmmaker Andy Hall.
The film, Arcadia, will be shot throughout fall and winter, making use of unique Marietta locations such as the Colony Theater before they are renovated and updated.
“The Colony Theater will never look like this again because they’re about to remodel it,” Hall said.
Hall took a tour of the theater this summer and was inspired to take advantage of the space before it was too late. The film is centered on portraying the textures and architecture of the theater, Hall said.
The story of Arcadia is one of a reporter finding a map in an old book and following that map to discover a secret, underground society of artists, poets and musicians. A conflict arises when the society feels threatened by the reporter’s ability to expose them.
The film is headed by producer Zane Lazer, and the cast and crew is composed of nearly all local actors, designers and artists from the Marietta-Parkersburg area. Yang Miller of Athens will play the lead role.
Several members of the Marietta College community are also getting involved, including theater professor Andy Felt and art professor Beth Nash.
Hall believes Arcadia can bring attention to the cultural value of southeast Ohio. He hopes the film will be finished in early spring and plans to submit it to various competitions and exhibitions. In addition, Arcadia will likely be screened at the Colony Film Festival in Marietta. Hall is working on a modest budget, and the majority of funds are being raised by an online crowdsourcing platform, Indiegogo. The Indiegogo project has raised $6,000 to date.
Hall began making short films and animated films early in his life. He continued throughout college, but then fell away as he became more invested in design. He picked his camera up again several years ago when the HD video capabilities of DSLR cameras increased in quality. Hall’s current job at Stonewall, a local marketing firm, sparked his involvement in corporate video.
“While I’m making all these corporate videos and editing commercials, I’m thinking I want to make something more creative,” Hall said.
He then decided to audit several video and screenwriting classes at MC, and began filming creatively again.
