[ spotlight ] Woody to be honored onstage in light of 100th birthday LAUREN WEITZ Lantern reporter weitz.20@osu.edu The legend of iconic Ohio State football coach Woody Hayes lives on around campus, in places like Woody’s Tavern and Woody Hayes Drive, and his likeness now stands as a bronze statue, erected Wednesday, in front of the Woody Hayes Athletic Facility. While students are reminded of the coach’s impact on OSU with items and locations around campus, former OSU faculty member Walter Adamkosky is bringing Hayes back to life in a different way. “Woody: His Life, Times and Teachings” is a one-man show written and directed by Adamkosky, slated to take the stage on Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Capitol Theatre. The play will run just days after Hayes’ 100th birthday, which falls on Thursday. The play gives a glimpse into the life of Hayes and talks about his focus on education, hard work and paying forward. “Everything the man did and everything he was about (was reflected in) those three things,” Adamkosky said. “(The play) explains all of that and how he came to be that way.” Adamkosky was inspired to write a play based on the legendary coach while teaching as an adjunct professor at OSU in the 1980s in the School of Journalism, “I asked my students what they knew about Woody Hayes,” Adamkosky said. “All they could come up with after a long silence was, ‘Isn’t he the guy that punched that kid?’ and I thought, ‘Uh oh, we’re in trouble.’” During the Gator Bowl in 1978 Hayes punched
Clemson University’s Charlie Bauman after Bauman intercepted a pass against the Buckeyes. Hayes was fired the next day. After doing extensive research on Hayes and dozens of interviews with past coaches, players and family members, Adamkosky finished writing the play in 2010. Before he started to cast for the role of Hayes, he wanted to get the approval of those closest to the coach. “I sent the manuscript around to several people I had interviewed and said, ‘I’m going to stop right now if you tell me this doesn’t sound authentic,’” Adamkosky said. “They all called back and said, ‘Oh yeah, that’s him.’” Adamkosky held auditions for the role of Hayes in 2011, and when Jeffrey Hall came through the door wearing Hayes’ iconic block “O” hat, glasses and whistle, he knew he found his man. “He came storming into the room and he did the pages and stormed out when he was done, and the cameraman looked at me and said, ‘Need we go any farther?’” Adamkosky said. “Nobody ever came close to him.” Besides just physically looking like the coach, Hall said playing an icon like Hayes is a big responsibility, and he strives to keep his legend alive. “If it didn’t come from my heart, it wasn’t going to work. That was my goal, has been my goal and that’s what I strive to do is to bring Woody alive from my heart,” Hall said. Since its premiere in September 2011, the play has been performed five times in various cities around Ohio. Many former coaches, players and family members that were close to Hayes have seen the show and are touched by Hall’s performance, Adamkosky said.
“You get this really wonderful feeling when something like this has transcended entertainment, when people come up to you in tears and say they appreciate the show,” Adamkosky said. “It’s very moving when you see the impact that Woody had on people and then to be able to give them that again.” Adamkosky hopes to broaden the show’s audience and thinks every student at OSU would benefit from seeing it. “We would love to be a part of First Year Experience,” Adamkosky said. “We think it would be great if every new student learned how to be a success from one of the icons of the university.” Thomas Shepherd, a third-year in psychology and communication, said Hayes was more than just a great football coach. “He was obviously a fantastic football coach for the Ohio State Buckeyes, but he also turned the football program into a model for the way people should behave as well,” Shepherd said. Shepherd thinks the play would give a look into Hayes that many people don’t have the fortune of knowing first-hand. “I think it would be a very interesting perspective of a historical figure that not a lot of people know a ton about,” Shepherd said. Hall hopes his performance helps to keep the Hayes’ legacy alive. “I’m hoping that what I do in the show keeps alive the Woody Hayes legend,” Hall said. “To let people know that education is important, hard work is important and definitely paying it forward is something that everyone should be thinking about.” Tickets range from $16 to $36 and are available through Ticketmaster.
Courtesy of Walt Adamkosky
‘Woody: His Life, Times and Teachings’ stars Jeffrey Hall as Woody Hayes and is slated to run Feb. 16 at the Capitol Theatre.
OSU-educated filmmaker to have Columbus homecoming with release of ‘The Power of Few’ KAYLA BYLER Design editor byler.18@osu.edu An Ohio State alumnus is returning to Columbus and bringing with him a film that combines action, drama and science fiction — and allowed fans to make major decisions during the production process. Through the film’s website anyone could provide input on casting, certain elements of the story and even edit a sequence of the film. The film, “The Power of Few,” is a “religious conspiracy colliding with urban crime on a day of danger, mystery and possible transformation,” said Leone Marucci, the film’s writer, director and producer. Its Columbus premiere is a homecoming for Marucci. “The idea for the script came from my years at Ohio State,” said Marucci, who graduated from OSU with a degree in media studies. “It’s extremely exciting to be bringing it back to the place where it all began. “The plot of the film “The Power of Few” is “a multiple perspective story where the story unfolds in the eyes of all of our characters and you get to see that through all of their different perspectives,” Marucci said. Christopher Walken headlines the cast as Doke. “The characters were influences that existed on High Street, some people I would cross paths with on the way to and from class,” he said. In addition to a localized plot, Marucci provided an interactive way for fans to become involved in the actual making of the film. Participants could submit their own video auditions to be cast in the film or vote for others’ videos. “We found a young girl from Malta who kind of blew us away and she made it into the film,” Marucci said. The girl they found, Stephanie Mejlaq, is cast in “The Power of Few” as Carmen. The website also allowed users to vote on certain elements of the script and placement of characters’ tattoos. In the film’s post production, participants could download a scene from the film and edit it themselves, and then re-upload it to the website. “People from all around the world got their hands on the movie and kind of manipulated the scene,” Marucci said. The film’s interactivity “supports the idea of a multiple-perspective type story,” he added. It also reflects a shift in filmmaking to where anyone can produce a movie.
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Courtesy of Steelyard Pictures
‘The Power of Few’ director Leone Marucci (right) works with actress Q’orianka Kilcher (center). “People are making movies in their basements and garages now,” Marucci said. “We were excited to be able to open some doors and offer this to the world.” The film was shot in New Orleans, but the setting was originally designed around 10th Avenue and High Street in Columbus. New Orleans “is the most unique American city,” he said. “You can set your camera up and through the lens you can see the texture of that city.” This city was chosen because the film takes place over the span of a single afternoon and needed to be filmed in a location with consistent weather, Marucci said. In addition, Louisiana offers tax incentives that encourage filmmaking. “When you’re independently financing, you have to look for those breaks,” Marucci said. “The Power of Few” is the first feature film produced by Steelyard Pictures, a media production company Marucci helped found. The film was independently financed through private backers.
Marucci said he enjoys all aspects of filmmaking from producing to screenwriting to directing, and he doesn’t distinguish heavily between them. “It all comes pretty natural to me,” he said. “It’s all filmmaking in the end.” Marucci met with OSU students Wednesday afternoon at the Wexner Center for the Arts for a discussion on the film and answered questions from students. The Film Studies Program and the Wexner Center for the Arts organized the event. “This event is a great opportunity for students to meet someone working in the film studies industry,” said Matthew Swift, academic coordinator for the Film Studies Program, in an email. “(Marucci’s) experience will help provide them with real-world knowledge for entering into the film production industry from the unique perspective of an OSU graduate.” About 10 students attended the event. Several agreed the opportunity was enriching.
“He was super informative and it was really awesome seeing someone from OSU who actually made it in the film industry,” said John Ross, a secondyear in marketing and video production and vice president of the Film and Video Society. Adam Skov, a second-year in international business and Chinese and president of the Film and Video Society, agreed. “I thought he was really interesting and very in-depth,” Skov said. Both students said they are planning on attending the film’s Columbus premiere. Ross said he is most interested in seeing the film because of “the five different story lines.” “Those are always fun movies to see how they put it all together,” he said. “The Power of Few” is opening exclusively at the AMC Lennox in Columbus and Boardman Tinseltown in Youngstown, Ohio, on Friday and will run for at least a week.
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