An IMAGINE Report

The weekend of September 24 and 25, 2004 was one of those magical times for all those involved, from audiences to performers, to film and stage crews. The Tony Montanaro Tribute Concerts brought together 38 performers from across the country to pay homage to their mentor. The acts ranged from a British drawing room mystery with one person playing all 6 roles, 3 person ball juggling, Mr. Rogers consoling us, a comic dance interpretation of the Wreck of the Hesperus, Ed the insomniac teddy bear, and 2 very different women in a sauna. All of the acts and interviews with the performers were filmed for "Tony Montanaro, The Miracle of Inspiration" by filmmakers, Richard Searls, Leland Faulkner, and Huey The film started production in 2002 and will be released in 2005.

 

L-R: [1] Karen Montanaro in "Baseball”  [2] Tom Bergeron in"Yoga Made Easy”  [3] Doug Berky  

The documentary traces the life of Tony Montanaro (1927 - 2002), one of the greatest mimes of the 20th Century. Montanaro redefined mime as a basis of physical expression and gesture for all types of theater. Montanaro was also a great teacher and all the actors in the Tribute Concerts studied or performed in one of Tony's performance companies or with Tony himself. The filming of the Tribute Concerts documented Montanaro's legacy to us all, the living legacy embodied in all the performers he taught and inspired.

Tribute Concerts’ artistic director Karen Montanaro was deeply moved by the weekend. She said the energy on stage was amazing with a roller coaster ride of emotions from the joyous to the sad as members pulled out all stops to perform work inspired by Tony or learned under his tutelage. Tom Bergeron, host of Hollywood Squares, performed a piece. "Yoga Made Easy', he developed at the Celebration Barn, South Paris, ME during one of his workshops with Tony in the early 1980s. Karen Montanaro revived Tony's mime masterpiece "Baseball" playing pitcher, batter, umpire, and hot dog seller. In all 42 different acts were performed. The audience laughed heartily and gave standing ovations to all 3 shows.

L-R: [1] Filmmmakers Lee Faulkner, Huey, Richard Searls [2] Leland Faulkner in "Cages"   [3] Karen Montanaro and Alan Day in "Museum"

Filmmaker Huey said, "we captured some dramatic moments, hilarious acts, and moving interviews over the weekend. Excerpts from all of these will go into the film showing how Tony's spirit continues on today."

The Concerts were filmed with 3 cameras in the house and 1 camera on stage and one handheld camera recording performers getting ready and unwinding after their performances. Interviews were filmed while tech rehearsals were going on stage. The show was switched live during the performances. The cameras all recorded back up footage on tape. Sound was recorded from lavalieres on performers, from a hanging mic above the stage, and stage floor mics. Beta and DV-Cam formats were used for recording.

Robert Post in "Pasquale's Kitchen"

Production will end after follow up interviews with performers and Montanaro family members are shot in the next month or two. Postproduction will take about 10 months and plans call for releasing "The Miracle of Inspiration" a year from now. Fundraising efforts are on going. People interested in learning more about the film or wishing to make a tax deductible donation to the non-profit sponsor of the film can go to www.montananromovie.com.