by Charlie Barnett | Aug 25, 2024 | Charlie's Blog, News, Uncategorized
Classics 101, my drama set on a college campus, just closed its first run. As you may recall from previous newsletters, I produced and directed the play myself, with generous support from the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County and a lot of help from assistant director Andrew Mitakides, who also played the heavy in the show. This was my first time as a director, and it was nothing like what I expected. One thing I learned is that I don’t have to think of everything myself. I was blessed with a 13-member cast full of smart and capable actors who had terrific ideas and often saw things in this story that I never saw. It was truly a collaborative process, and I was pleased to share the results with an audience.
by Charlie Barnett | Aug 12, 2024 | Charlie's Blog, News
There’s nothing like watching a master at work. Last week, the documentary filmmaker Jonathan Gruber and I went to Baltimore to check out the sound mixing for Jonathan’s new film, Centered, which I scored. The mix was done at Studio Unknown, where Jamie Horrigan is the boss and Kevin Hill is the mixer-in-chief. I had already sent Kevin all the stems—the individual instrument recordings. That is a lot of audio information. But watching Kevin as he reassembled the score, with each track getting its own compression, equalization, and reverb, and added sound effects including crowd noise, explosions, jet engines, footsteps, sneezes, and, finally, the dialog was amazing.
In olden times (i.e., the 1970s) when this process was done physically, on the actual reels of film, this operation was known as “rock and roll.” It was a tedious back-and-forth process. Now, it is all digital. It may be less tedious, but it’s also much more detailed. Kevin’s screen looks like a high-tech NASA command center. But the end result sounds remarkably unaffected and completely natural.
When people talk about the magic of movies, they often are thinking about visual effects—green screen animation, for example. When I want to experience movie magic, I close my eyes and listen to everything the sound mixer has done.
by Charlie Barnett | May 1, 2024 | Charlie's Blog, News
After my third or fourth reading of Homer’s Iliad I became obsessed with Breseis, Achilles’ concubine—so obsessed that I wrote a play that transported the character to the campus of a small, modern-day college in upstate New York. Now, with a generous grant from the Arts & Humanities Council of Montgomery County, I will be able to see the play onstage … by producing and directing it myself. It’s my first go as a director, and I have been learning a great deal about the process, with kind help from several experienced directors, designers, and other pros. The play, newly renamed Classics 101: A Satyr Play, will be performed at the Bethesda Writer’s Center on August 23-25.
by Charlie Barnett | Apr 2, 2024 | Charlie's Blog, News
One of my favorite documentary filmmakers, Jonathan Gruber, is fearless in the face of controversial material. I have been lucky enough to score a handful of Jonathan’s films and am currently working on his latest: a clear-eyed profile of the recently deceased centrist politician Joe Lieberman. For a mild-mannered guy, Lieberman evoked strong feelings from others over the course of his career, from deep admiration to wrath. Jonathan is at his best when exploring a subject like this, and it’s a great challenge for me to be working on this balancing act with him.
by Charlie Barnett | Jan 1, 2024 | Charlie's Blog, Home Page, News
On December 14, a longtime dream of mine came true. After a few tries and cul-de-sacs, I finally got to hear my Liz-and-Dick musical, The Last Days of Cleopatra, as I had first envisioned it many years ago. Thanks to executive producers Dick Kaufmann and Dan Markley, a truly stellar cast of Broadway performers—brilliantly led by director Tom Caruso and music director Matt Smedal—gathered to perform a full staged reading of this wacky period farce on Theatre Row in New York. It remains to be seen where, if anywhere, the show goes from here, but to my mind, the reading could not have gone better. I’m so grateful to everyone who made it part of their December.
by Charlie Barnett | Nov 18, 2023 | Charlie's Blog, Home Page, News
In October, a reading of our Civil Rights show When We Get There was produced as part of the York Theatre’s Musicals in Mufti series on New York’s Upper East Side. The theater even made a promo video for the run, complete with audience member reactions that truly warmed my heart. Along with my creative partners in the show, co-librettists Richard Lasser and Robert P. Young III, I was honored to work with director Janeece Freeman Clark, music director Dionne McClain-Freeney, and an amazing and talented cast of performers. Watching Janeece and Dionne mold this show was like seeing a master potter turn simple clay into a beautiful vase. I’m pleased to report that there is some interest in taking this to the next level. Stay tuned!
