presents

“QUIET ON THE SET!” -- Movies about Movies
Silent Films with Live Musical Accompaniment

Auditorium, APS Conference Center, Argonne National Laboratory

Friday, February 22, 2002 at 7:30 p.m.

[Charlie Chase] [Will Rogers] [Larry Semon] [Mabel Normand]
Charlie Chase Will Rogers Larry Semon Mabel Normand

Please note that strict security requirements are in place for this event. Click here for details.

More on the program, the artist, the location, and ordering tickets below.

This program is partially supported by The University of Chicago and the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency

  • About the Program

    • Hollywood loves to turn the camera lens on itself. The long tradition of offering glimpses into the techniques and personalities involved in creating films had its beginning in the Silent Era. Major stars of the period, including Charles Chaplin, Mabel Normand, Harold Lloyd, and many more - even the “Our Gang” kids - spoofed the craft of movie-making. Our program features a selection of films from the 1920s on the subject of the movies themselves: who made them, how they were made, and what it was like to watch them. All are enhanced by live performances by silent-film accompanist David Drazin.

    The night's fare includes short films offering sly impersonations of the major stars of the day by American humorist Will Rogers; a tongue-in-cheek look at the perils and pitfalls associated with the Hollywood stuntman's vocation; and a family's trying night at the movies, punctuated by one of silent film's many sound-based gags. The featured film of the evening is “The Extra Girl,” starring the day's premiere film comedienne, Mabel Normand. The onetime Sennett bathing beauty plays a Midwestern girl who goes to Hollywood in search of stardom but finds only menial jobs... until Duke the lion shakes things up.

  • About the Artist

    • [David Drazin] David Drazin
    (Photo credit: Carol Kyros Walker, with permission)

    Live piano accompaniment for the films is provided by Chicago musician David Drazin, official silent-film accompanist for the Gene Siskel Film Center. Mr. Drazin has also played for the Vickers Theatre in Three Oaks, Michigan; the Northbrook and Park Ridge, Illinois, Public Libraries; and the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, North Carolina. A composer, film maker, and motion-picture historian, Mr. Drazin is active in the areas of sound recording and live theater, both as performer and as director. He accompanies ballet classes, has performed in jazz ensembles, and plays in the roots rock band “Jesse Scinto and the Dignitaries.”

  • Location

    • The Silent-Film Night will be presented in the Auditorium of the APS Conference Center (Bldg. 402) at Argonne. The event is open to the public.

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  • Tickets

    • Admission to the silent-film night is $5. Order your tickets by phone (630-252-3751); VISA and MasterCard accepted.

    Remaining tickets will be sold in the lobby of the Argonne Cafeteria (Bldg. 213) starting February 11 between noon and 1:00 p.m. The Auditorium Box Office will be open on the day of the performance at 7:00 p.m.

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