Category Archives: Arts

A Passion for Film: Charles Frank ’13 Aims for Sundance

Junior year at The Williston Northampton School is a busy one under the best of circumstances for most students, but it is particularly hectic for Charles Frank. At 17, Charles is already an accomplished filmmaker with an impressive resume. And if things go as planned, he will celebrate senior year with other filmmakers at the Sundance Film Festival.

Charles’s short film, “Breezless” won best picture at this year’s Williston Northampton, an honor he received last year, as well. The festival, which received entrants from both independent and public high schools, is an annual event that began in 2007 and continues to grow every year.

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Heisler Teaches Photo Students Valuable Lesson

“I don’t know how to explain how fun it is,” said photographer Gregory Heisler of his career choice.  “It’s super duper fun.”

Photo Courtesy of Greg Heisler, Portrait by Maja Jutanda

Clad in a bow tie and round glasses, Heisler, currently the artist-in-residence at the Hallmark Institute of Photography in Turners Falls, MA, addressed the Advanced Photography students as the penultimate lecturer in the 2011-2012 Photographers’ Lecture Series on Tuesday, April 24.

Heisler’s range of work includes advertisements for clients such as American Express and Nike, and privately commissioned portraits of subjects including Bruce Springsteen and New York City Mayor Edward Koch.

A veteran photographer, Heisler gave an animated anatomy of a photo shoot, using as an example a recent shoot with Lebron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwayne Wade he had done for Sports Illustrated.

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Sam Abell Closes Out 2011-2012 Photographers’ Lecture Series

Photo courtesy of Sam Abell

National Geographic Photographer, Sam Abell will visit The Williston Northampton School on Wednesday, May 9 as the final photographer in the 2011-2012 Photographers’ Lecture Series.

Mr. Abell will teach an Advanced Photography class and give a lecture, which is open and free to the public, at 6:30 p.m. in the Dodge Room of the Reed Campus Center.

According to his website, Mr. Abell’s photographic life began at a very young age.  In high school in Sylvania, OH and later at the University of Kentucky, he was the editor and photographer for the schools’ yearbooks.

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Hidden/Private Part II Exhibited at Grubbs Gallery

As a recent guest curator at Easthampton City Arts, Williston Northampton art teacher Marcia Reed designed an exhibition, which highlighted the private side of artists.

“I do work that I never show to anyone, ever, and I have a lot of it,” said Reed. “I exhibit this, that, and the other thing, but I never show this private side, this hidden side.”

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It’s “Dance or Die” for the cast of “Fiddler on the Roof”

“It was ‘Dance or die,’” said a member of the cast as Emily Ditkovski, the musical’s director, introduced the cast to the political and social turmoil of turn of the century Tsarist Russia.

Certainly true in the realm of musicals, this phrase became the mantra for the cast and crew of this year’s musical, “Fiddler on the Roof.”  Whenever someone is having trouble they say, “dance or die” to each other and the situation, whatever it may be, is ameliorated.

“Every cast is special, every cast is unique, but this one has so much energy,” says Ditkovski of the 39 students involved in the play this spring.  “There are so many beginners this year, but they’re all able to channel the characters perfectly.”

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