Fall Themester course features “Twilight Zone” production
A fall course tied to the College of Arts + Sciences’ Themester programming will focus on creating three episodes of the Rod Serling’s 1960s-era TV series, The Twilight Zone.
Students in senior lecturer Steve Krahnke’s MSCH-M453: Multimedia Video Production course will produce “Three by Serling: 21st Century Twilight Zone,” using original scripts written for the show.
Krahnke said he chose the scripts because of their relationship to the Themester 2017 topic, Diversity-Difference-Otherness. The series, which ran from 1959-1964, was the brainchild of screenwriter and producer Rod Serling, who also introduced each episode. Topics ranged from paranormal to horror to fantasy. Most episodes were produced in black and white, and the eerie music has become iconic even for those who have not seen the series
Krahnke said students will produce three scripts: The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street, The Shelter and Will the Real Martian Please Stand Up?
“They are plays written for the screen, so they have long scenes in single locations, which make them ideal candidates for production,” he explained. “At least one of the ones we are doing, The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street, is often studied as ‘literature’ in high schools, so there is a strong liberal arts component to their content as well.
“Finally, the themes of most, if not all Twilight Zone episodes resonate very well with the theme of the 2017 Themester about Difference+Diversity+Otherness,” he said. “The paranoia of the late ’50s is analogous to the fears many have about refugees, terrorism and our own government’s surveillance.”
This project provides opportunities for student writers, directors, actors, managers, cinematographers, editors, production designers, graphic designers, costumers, studio directors and technicians.
Students may participate in the re-creation of these episodes in three ways:
- For those interested in producing: Register for the Media School topics course MSCH-M453, which will meet 1-2:15 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays.
- For those interested in creative/craft positions: Register for MSCH-X490, a for-credit “group project” course.
- For those who want experience outside a classroom: Volunteer.