Tom Swartwout film screening

Arts feature:
profiling film editor Tom Swartwout
The Ithaca Journal
November 15, 2007
683 words

"Ithaca's Tom Swartwout, editor of Sidney Lumet's films, to speak at Cinemapolis Friday"

full text here

Ithaca's Tom Swartwout, editor of Sidney Lumet's films, to speak at Cinemapolis Friday
By Mark Tedeschi
Special to the Journal

Revered writer/director Sidney Lumet has earned dozens of awards for his masterful work on more than 40 films over the past 50 years. He's fine-tuned the craft of garnering top-notch performances from some of the most respected actors of our time. His newest feature, “Before the Devil Knows You're Dead,” starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke, promises to be a riveting exploration of anxiety and family tension. But behind the scenes, Ithaca resident Tom Swartwout controls a vital part of Lumet's filmmaking process.

Swartwout has been the exclusive editor of Lumet's films since 1996. “I did television commercials in the early ‘90s,” he explains. Then, Swartwout had an opportunity to apprentice under Sam O'Steen, a Hollywood film editor who has worked for, among others, Roman Polanski and Mike Nichols. “[O'Steen] got a Sidney Lumet movie in 1995,” Swartwout continues. Something must have clicked: “After that, Sidney nicely offered me his next one and we've been working together ever since.”

Swartwout, an Ithaca resident since June, will attend the premiere for “Before the Devil Knows You're Dead” at Cinemapolis at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 16 for a question-and-answer period following the film.

Before moving to Ithaca, Swartwout resided in Brooklyn with his wife and two children; to that point, it was the longest he'd lived anywhere. “I moved around a lot as a kid,” he says. He graduated from Cornell in ‘86 with a degree in political science, but not before investigating another passion. “I had started developing an interest [in film] on my own,” he says. “Senior year, I took an intro to filmmaking class with [Senior Lecturer] Marilyn Rivchin. She gave me a lot of confidence... that was when I decided it was really what I wanted to pursue.”

Lumet's films are not the only projects that Swartwout tackles. Recently, he edited a television documentary about green technology written by New York Times op-ed columnist Thomas Friedman. Swartwout likes being able to take on work that he can complete from his home over a period of one or two months; that way, he's available if he gets another offer from Lumet. But, he adds, “For someone like Sidney, I'll go down to New York to work with him.”

The editing process contains myriad elements of preparation; editors must be familiar with a director's style and intention before delving into the heart of the work. Usually Lumet and Swartwout have just one meeting before shooting. “We've worked together a long time now,” he says, “so we understand each other and the shorthand we have. He'll talk about something that's worrying him or something he's excited for that he'd like me to think about as we're putting it together. Then, every day we'll screen footage and he'll talk about what he has in mind.”

Swartwout mentions that there are as many artistic choices as there are technical ones. “I like both,” he says, “especially nowadays when things are almost all done with some sort of digital work.” Lumet has shot all his work digitally, including this film, since 2000.

Shooting digital alleviates the tension of potential problems film can create. “Those issues don't come up at this level very often, but there's always that anxiety.” Swartwout says Lumet loves the look of the digital medium as well as the ability to instantly see what he's just shot.

“Sidney's budgets are always fairly tight,” he says. “He's very economic.” Part of Swartwout's job is to help determine, using their budget, what the crew can accomplish with lighting, color, and sound. “All of it is geared toward making [the process] better for Sidney,” he explains.

Between editing projects, Swartwout occasionally guest speaks at film classes at Cornell and Ithaca College. He says that he and his wife, a painter, moved back to Ithaca simply because they love the area. “We actually thought Brooklyn was great... we were just attracted to Ithaca.”

Swartwout looks forward to speaking this Friday. “I think it'll be fun,” he says. “Sidney did a remarkable job directing the actors... such strong performances. The film is dark, but it's not boring.”

"The Full Monty"

Theatre review
"The Full Monty" at Ithaca College
The Ithaca Journal
November 8, 2007
733 words
"IC Theatre's ‘Full Monty' offers multiple delights"

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IC Theatre's ‘Full Monty' offers multiple delights
By Mark Tedeschi
Special to the Journal


Men care about their weight. There - I said it. The secret is out: Men are as conscious of their bodies as women are of their own. Not many who refer to themselves as “real men” will admit to that, including the main characters of “The Full Monty” - at least in the beginning.

“The Full Monty,” a musical comedy adapted from the 1997 British film of the same name, counterbalances the woman-centric focus of Ithaca College's last theatre production, “Hedda Gabler.” “The Full Monty” (music and lyrics by David Yazbek, book by Terrence McNally), directed by Greg Bostwick, tackles some seldom-addressed themes while diving headfirst into a delightfully unique story.

A group of six unemployed Buffalonian steel workers led by Jerry (Eric Morris, projecting a phenomenal voice in both singing and acting) scrounge about for work and struggle to disprove their obsolescence. When the monetary difficulties press harder, the men become desperate; they have to commit to something substantial in order to get their lives back on track.

Jerry, divorced and missing the alimony payments for visitation with his precocious son Nathan (Lochlan Cahoon, a Dryden High School freshman), convinces his friend Dave (Matthew J. Gall) to follow his wife to a women-only strip club. After overhearing the women complain about their husbands, Jerry has an idea that will earn money and gain back the women's respect: put on a show where women can see “real men” take their clothes off - all their clothes off.

They recruit four others: Harold (Benjamin Hart), who has been keeping his unemployment a secret from his wife; Malcolm (Kyle Johnson), whom Dave rescues from committing suicide; Ethan (Brian Plofsky), who renders the men speechless when he disrobes during his audition; and “Horse” (Jonathan Burke), an older gentleman who impresses everyone with his versatile dancing skills in the show-stopping number, “Big Black Man” (choreography by Mary Corsaro). Once together, they dub themselves Hot Metal. An eccentric woman named Jeanette (Joanna Krupnick) also joins in on the audition process, apparently because she has nothing better to do - but that's no problem, since she's quite funny and a definite crowd-pleaser (watch for “Jeanette's Showbiz Number,” wherein she refers to the auditions as a “putz museum” and a “showbiz mausoleum”).

As in the film, if the six men are to follow through with their plan, they have to stare their insecurities, physical and psychological, squarely in the face. Dave is overweight, Malcolm is lonely, and Harold is afraid of losing his wife. It's a bit far-fetched to believe that stripping can lead to overstepping these obstacles, but the writing is sound enough to make it work. And between the more angst-laced (but still great) songs like “Scrap” and “The Goods,” there are honest confessionals of emotion in “Breeze off the River” and “You Walk with Me” - stuff you wouldn't typically expect from purportedly “real men” men.

In the visual realm, costume designer Greg Robbins gave the characters befitting attire, a task that must have been difficult given that many of the garments needed to be easily removed on stage. And Sarah Watson's lighting design has some challenging moments that were executed flawlessly, particularly in the song “Michael Jordan's Ball” when a spotlight hits each of the guys while they strike a basketball pose in midair, and in the final, epic number “Let it Go,” which requires even more precise timing.

By that point, it's become obvious where the show is heading, and there is little for the audience to do but enjoy the crescendo of energy rushing from the stage.

The writers' choice to Americanize the story and place it in Buffalo is an effective one. Scenic designer Sandra Podolsky applied Buffalo's reputation of decrepitude to parts of her set: a dirty bathroom, brown facades, and a steel plant complete with thick beams covering a screen of projected background images.

The show's Buffalo setting also creates some locally appreciated humor. The characters mention Ithaca, Utica, Rochester, and Poughkeepsie, and there's a Bills reference every so often. But besides humor, the struggling economic milieu provides a message of hope in a sea of melancholy. Maybe the real Buffalo should take a hint - no, not to open more everyman strip joints for ex-factory-workers - but to embrace innovation, optimism, and persistence like the resolute men in “The Full Monty.” They swallowed their pride and then displayed it unabashedly, and in turn, won a standing ovation.

"Adventure in Apartment G-Sharp"

Theatre review
"The Adventure in Apartment G-Sharp" at the Kitchen Theatre (Family Fare)
Ithaca Times
October 31, 2007
657 words
"Family-friendly opera"

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Family-friendly opera
By: Mark Tedeschi
10/31/2007

The Adventure in Apartment G Sharp, book and Lyrics by Nathan Hilgartner & Rachel Lampert; music by Bizet, Donizetti, Dvorak, Humperdinck, Mozart, Ofenbach, Verdi & Wagner. Directed by Rachel Lampert & Tony Simione. With Music Director, Arranger, Accompanist Richard Montgomery. At Kitchen Theatre through Nov. 11.

The Kitchen Theatre's Adventure in Apartment G Sharp uses conventional elements of family-friendly storytelling, from the intermittent jokes for grown-ups to a sleep-induced fantasy world. But conventions like those exist for a reason: if executed with talent and enthusiasm, they can easily plaster smiles all over the audience's face. Smile-inducing is exactly what Adventure does for kids and parents alike, and the grins will stay for quite awhile.

Adventures was written by Nathan Hilgartner, a sophomore at Ithaca High School, and Rachel Lampert, the Kitchen's artistic director. Hilgartner helped Lampert with writing The Odyssey II at the Kitchen last year, and they decided to collaborate more closely for this show. Lampert also directed Adventures, along with Tony Simione, an Ithaca theatre newcomer. The directors' expertise shows up in the charming choreography and in the credibility of the acting performances.

Eight-year-old Erin Hilgartner (Nathan's sister) plays Bernadette, a girl visiting her Uncle Howard (Joseph Zappala) for the weekend. He loves opera music; he seizes every opportunity to croon about everyday things. Bernadette isn't a fan, and politely lets him know it. He understands ("One day you will like opera / Though right now you want me to stop-era"), but sings her to sleep nonetheless.

Bernadette wakes up as Despina, a servant girl in a fantastic dreamworld. We meet new characters: Zappala returns as Don Horatio, father of Carlotta (Jessica Flood) and Rosalinda (Maria Jacobi), both of whom receive affections from two wealthy brothers, Alfonso (Max Lawrence) and Alfredo (Larry Komrower).

The actors' relish for their characters engages the audience. Hilgartner has a particularly difficult job, playing a girl who has to keep her wits enough to save the day amidst chaos, while at the same time, making humorous asides acknowledging the fantasy ("Why am I singing?" she wonders). Lawrence and Komrower's teamwork offer a enjoyable dynamic; Alfonso coaches Alfredo on wooing women, and even the difference in their vocal range gives humor to a simple repeated line uttered dramatically by both brothers: "I neeeed you."

Horatio has arranged the marriage of Carlotta and Alfredo, an act that will make him rich (good thing Alfredo is a nice guy, too). Meanwhile, Rosalinda falls for Alfonso, but a few mistaken identities later, their paths all become crisscrossed, and Despina/Bernadette must set things right.

Music in Apartment comes from a handful of operas, most from the 19th century: "Carmen," "The Marriage of Figaro," "Hansel & Gretel," "Don Pasquale," "Linda Di Chamounix," "Tales of Hoffman," "The Valkyrie," Cosi fan Tutte," "Rusalka," "The Elixir of Love," and "Il Trovatore."

The songs have been repurposed in Adventure; Hilgartner and Lampert wrote new lyrics to fit the story. The opera numbers are short, sweet and wholly organic to the plot. They showcase impressive singing abilities all around. Carlotta's "Oh, Hateful Villain!" and Rosalinda's "Lalalalala (Alfredo's Wooing Song)" are two especially memorable performances.

The set consists of pieces from the current Main Stage production, STRANGERHORSE, but they do the trick. The lighting (design by Emily Zoss) is simple and puts the focus on the actors; it also highlights Hannah Kochmann's smart costumes.

By the end of the Adventure, almost as if she'd been tricked, Bernadette realizes that she actually does appreciate opera music after all. Have the kids in the audience been coaxed into liking it, too? Judging by the excited lobby conversations afterward, I'd answer a definite yes - for both the children and the parents.