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Adirondack Affair Episode Two
Post November 9, 2011
Adirondack Affair Episode One
Posted October 15, 2011
The following video was shot in Long Lake, NY in the Adirondack Mountains of New York State.
It follows the story of Grace Duryea on her journey home following the death of her estranged father.
The video features Martha Byrne and Ellen Dolan with guest appearances by our talented Adirondack Affair guests.
More episodes will be coming.
Need a place to vacation? Try Long Lake, you'll never know what to expect.
October 5, 2011
Photo by Sue Coflin. Used with permission
The weekend of September 30th through October 1st, Parks, Recreation and Tourism Director, Alexandra Roalsvig, a former Production Assistant for the CBS Daytime Drama, As The World Turns invited friends and actresses, Martha Byrne and Ellen Dolan up to Long Lake, NY for the second time. Both Martha(Lily Walsh Snyder) and Ellen (Margo Hughes), portrayed their characters on As The World Turns for over twenty years and they leapt at the opportunity to visit Long Lake again to connect with fans and to perform and act in scenes written for this special event.
Martha Byrne and Ellen Dolan were kind enough to donate their time to perform a cabaret and spend an entire day on set. Fans were invited to do scenes in a scripted storyline created just for the Adirondack Affair weekend. Not only did the participants have a blast learning lines and blocking and developing their own characters, they got a real taste of how much work, organization and training is invested into production, whether it’s on television or on the web.
Video production launched on Saturday at Quackenbush’s Long View Wilderness Lodge as the site was transformed into a lobby of a hotel, an exterior overlooking the lake and a lawyer’s office. Spearheading the production with his directing skills, Emmy-nominated Fritz Brekeller, developed a playbook to make each fan feel like a professional actress. Fritz took time setting up blocking, decorating sets, delivering acting notes and focusing lights.
Brekeller has worked on a variety of projects including, As The World Turns, Guiding Light, The City, All My Children, One Life to Live, Gotham The Series, independent movies, projects and several theatrical productions off-Broadway in New York City including his long running Off-Broadway success “Foxy Ladies Love/Boogie 70's Explosion.”
The script for “An Adirondack Affair” was written by Roalsvig featuring fictional characters with Long Lake as the backdrop. Fictional character, Grace Duryea, (Martha Byrne) returns to her hometown after the death of her estranged father. The biggest challenge writing the script was to estimate how many guests would be participating in the project. Roalsvig wove local characters into the narrative. Characters included curious onlookers, a desk clerk, secretary, liquor store manager, and Jason, the handyman. There was ample time to make enough material so everyone wanting to participate had a line and Norine Lacuyer was able to play two parts.
The first scene of the day featured Martha’s character, Grace Duryea, arriving in Long Lake to check into her hotel. Desk Clerk, Stephanie, was played by one of Martha’s biggest fans and great re-tweeter and promoter, Jamie Misiak. Jamie flew in from Pittsburgh to participate in the event festivities for the second year in a row.
Photo by Sue Coflin. Used with permission
The final scene of the day was taped at recently opened Ali Baba’s Liquor Store on Route 30 in Long Lake. Affair participants waited patiently in the small space, lined up like sardines, as the crew set up lights and cameras. Ellen Dolan and her acting partner, Norine, ran lines and worked out business with a wine glass and a big box. The store remained open while we prepped the scenes for taping. During rehearsal a couple of hikers and hunters stopped in to pick up wine and were surprised to find studio lights, cameras and a crowd waiting for taping.
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The weekend was a huge success and everyone participating had a wonderful time. The actresses were real troopers donating their time and acting chops to this event sponsored by The Town of Long Lake.
Producers of the event hope that more people will participate once they learn how much fun it is and to see how professionally done it is with lights, camera and action. Over the course of the day Ellen and Martha memorized and taped over 17 pages of material in six hours. Special thanks to actresses Martha Byrne and Ellen Dolan for donating their time, Adirondack Lakes Center for the Arts and KT Productions of Lake Placid for the videocameras. Showbiz Bootcamp for the lighting equipment, Quackenbush’s Long View Wilderness Lodge and Ali Baba’s Liquor Store for the locations and the musicians for putting on a great show.
For more information about events in Long Lake contact www.mylonglake.com
