OT: Our Town (2002)

Director:

Scott Hamilton Kennedy

Writer:

Thornton Wilder (play)

Genre:

Documentary

Tagline:

Birth. Love. Life. Death. It's not just a play.

Plot:

Dominguez High, in the infamous Compton, CA, has not produced a play in over twenty years. With no money and no stage, two teachers and twenty-four students attempt to produce Thornton Wilder's American Classic OUR TOWN.

Plot Keywords:

Teacher | Student | Opening Night | High School | Watermelon

Awards:

5 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Catherine Borek	...	Teacher and Director of the Play
Karen Greene	...	Teacher and Director of the Play
Ebony Starr Norwood-Brown	...	Herself / The Stage Manager
Archie Posada	...	Himself / George Gibbs
Armia Robinson	...	Herself / Emily Webb
Jackie Oliver	...	Herself / Mrs. Soames
Christopher Patterson	...	Himself / Mr. Webb
Jose Perez	...	Himself / Simon Stimson

Directed by
Scott Hamilton Kennedy

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Thornton Wilder		play "Our Town"

Produced by
Scott Hamilton Kennedy	....	producer
Mark Pellington	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Doug DeAngelis
Kevin Haskins

Cinematography by
Scott Hamilton Kennedy

Film Editing by
Chris Figler
Scott Hamilton Kennedy

Art Department
Kirk Balden	....	graphic artist
Paul Walsleben	....	graphic consultant

Sound Department
Stephanie Brown	....	supervising dialogue editor
Stephanie Brown	....	supervising sound editor
Michael Camello	....	sound effects editor
Terri Ghilani	....	foley artist
Paul Hackner	....	co-supervising sound editor
Joe Milner	....	sound re-recording mixer
Zachary Peirce	....	dialogue editor
James Azizi Penny	....	sound effects editor (as James Penny)
James Azizi Penny	....	supervising foley editor
Scott Hamilton Kennedy	....	sound (uncredited)
Eryne Prine	....	sound editor (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Chris Figler	....	additional camera operator
Peter Judson	....	additional camera operator
Jennifer Pyken	....	additional camera operator

Editorial Department
Edwin Armstrong	....	director of digital film: FotoKem (as Ed Armstrong)
Sara Glembocki	....	assistant editor
P.J. Marsiglia	....	DVD color correction: Company 3
Robin Vanatter	....	tape-to-film scheduler: FotoKem
Les Vary	....	film I/O technician: FotoKem
Chuck Winston	....	film timer: FotoKem

Music Department
Julianne Jordan	....	music consultant
Megan McNamara	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Kirk Balden	....	title designer
Michael Donaldson	....	production legal (as Michael C. Donaldson)
Jim Hannafin	....	vice president of business development: FotoKem
Joey Liew	....	production intern

Thanks
Scott Atlas	....	special thanks
Danielle Banks	....	special thanks (as Ms. Danielle Banks)
Michael Barker	....	more special thanks
Ned Beatty	....	special thanks
Julianne Beebe	....	special thanks (as Ms. Julianne Beebe)
Barbara Bel Geddes	....	special thanks
Robby Benson	....	special thanks
Catherine Borek	....	special thanks (as Ms. Catherine Borek)
Elizabeth Cheshire	....	special thanks
Joyce Cohen	....	special thanks
Ronny Cox	....	special thanks
David Cryer	....	special thanks
Dominique Derrenger	....	more special thanks
R. Jay Engel	....	more special thanks
Karen Greene	....	special thanks (as Ms. Karen Greene)
Jennifer Gross	....	more special thanks
Adrienne Gruben	....	more special thanks
Tony Hall	....	more special thanks
Bradley K. Hamilton	....	dedicated to the memory of
Katherine P. Hamilton	....	dedicated to the memory of
Pamalee G. Hamilton	....	more special thanks
Glen Harrell	....	special thanks (as Mr. Glen Harrell)
Robert Hawk	....	more special thanks
Rick Hess	....	more special thanks
Hal Holbrook	....	special thanks
Christopher Johnson	....	more special thanks
Eleanore Kennedy	....	more special thanks
Michael Kennedy	....	more special thanks
William Lanteau	....	special thanks
Jon Levin	....	more special thanks
Linda Lichter	....	more special thanks
Mark Lipson	....	more special thanks
Susan Meiselas	....	more special thanks
Antonio Mendoza	....	more special thanks
Joe Milner	....	more special thanks
Rupert Nadeau	....	more special thanks
Glynnis O'Connor	....	special thanks
Charlotte Rae	....	special thanks
Kelcey Richardson	....	special thanks (as Principal Kelcey Richardson)
Liza Richardson	....	more special thanks
Roberto Rionda	....	more special thanks
Richard Rogers	....	more special thanks
Corey Shaff	....	more special thanks
Terry Steppes	....	special thanks (as Mr. Terry Steppes)
Dylan Telner	....	more special thanks
Sada Thompson	....	special thanks
Clint Walsh	....	more special thanks
Edith Weil	....	more special thanks
Jeanne Williams	....	more special thanks

Production Companies

• A Stressbox Inc.
• OT Films
• Pellington Films

Distributors

• Film Movement (2003) (USA) (theatrical)
• Film Movement (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Company 3  DVD color correction
• Company 3  more special thanks
• Danetracks  post-production sound facilities and library
• Discreet  more special thanks
• Dominguez High School Compton Unified School District  special thanks
• Films Around the World (II)  'Our Town' licensing care of
• Foto-Kem  tape to film transfer (as FotoKem)
• Hartwest Productions  exerpts from 'Our Town' licensed from
• KP Productions  additional music beats
• Moviola  more special thanks
• People's Revolution Inc.  more special thanks
• Peter Garagliano Production Design  special thanks
• Samuels Advertising  more special thanks

Runtime:

76 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Filming Locations:

Compton, California, USA

Company:

A Stressbox Inc.

Trivia:

The original play "Our Town" opened at Henry Miller's Theater in New York City on 4 February 1938 and had 338 performances.

Movie Connections:

References The Lion King (1994)

Soundtrack:

Straight Outta Compton

It's all about the kids in the film

OT: Our Town is a documentary I'm glad I watched. It's an inspirational story in the vein of those dramas about teachers who make a difference in a falling apart urban school. But really, the kids are what make the movie work.

The filming and editing are good enough, nothing special. It also seems like the filming crew were dropped in the middle of the action with no time to get much back-story. The pieces of background and context they do get are really priceless.

It's nice to see the kids go through this play. To me, the most striking aspect was just how vulnerable and tender the kids actually are, despite the rough neighborhood and the rough situations life has given them.

There are some touching moments as the kids come together and connect with each other. They touch on some issues of feeling competent, dealing with romance, and negotiating relationships with parents. In some ways it's a bit cathartic like a "Breakfast Club" set in Compton instead of John Hughes' suburban Chicago. It's nice to see them come together, but just like The Breakfast Club you have to wonder if it will really last past the experience they had together.

Lets hope these kids remember their successes and go on to be successful and happy in life. They deserve it.