|
|
FARMINGTON – On Sunday Oct. 24 Doug Protsik will perform his original piano score for the silent Buster Keaton comedy classic “The Cameraman” alongside a screening of the film. The performance begins at 7:00 PM at Lincoln Auditorium, Roberts Learning Center, UMF. Admission is $6 but is free for ages 16 and under and all UMF students.
“The Cameraman” is a Keaton classic. Lucia Bozzola of allmovie.com writes that “Keaton’s adventures as a … newsreel man amply demonstrated his signature athleticism and visual cleverness, as he films a Tong War in Chinatown, plays baseball with himself in an empty Yankee Stadium, and gets a little too involved in Charles Lindbergh’s tickertape parade. An improvised situation involving a shared Coney Island dressing room and bathing suit showcased Keaton’s well-honed gifts for comic timing and unscripted creativity.”
Doug Protsik (a UMF graduate) has been performing old-time piano for over 30 years, both as a solo artist and with bands such as The Old Grey Goose and the Maine Country Dance Orchestra. He learned the style and technique from old-time piano players here in Maine, who not only played at dances and Grange halls but also provided live music for silent movies and radio programs. The old-time style became unfashionable in the 1930s but Scott Joplin’s ragtime music in the popular movie “The Sting” revived interest in the early 1970s.
Basically an extension of the solo barroom/dance hall piano style developed in the mid-19th century, old-time piano music combines elements of traditional dance music, ragtime, folk music, classical music, and early jazz. It is sometimes referred to as the “stride” style, with the all-important left hand striding across the bass keys to provide solid bass and rhythm for the melodies and harmonies of the right hand. The style had its heyday during the silent film era.
Doug Protsik learned the art of scoring silent movies from Danny Patt, who first accompanied silent movies when he was growing up in Union, Maine. Patt’s talent for this music regained currency in the 1980s when the public’s interest in old silent movies revived. Since Patt’s passing Protsik has continued this tradition, and has performed his scores for numerous screenings. Inspired by old sheet music from Patt’s collection and research at the Bagaduce Music Lending Library in Blue Hill, Maine, Protsik’s scores attempt to embellish the action on screen in an original and authentic way, often challenging the discerning ear to catch unique musical puns.
