27 Mar 2010 ‘Table at Luigi’s’ Premiere

Facultyand students from Digital Filmmaking, Theatre and Music have collaborated onthe film. Thescreening will begin at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free on a first-come,first-served basis. VIPs will depart the limousines for the red carpetbeginning at 6:45 p.m. in front of Reynolds. 

Frank Romeo, an actor from Los Angeles, plays the lead role of David,and local actress Rebecca Jones plays Emily, the female lead. Other castmembers include Chris Fritzges, assistant professor of theatre as Stephen, andBob May, visiting assistant professor of writing, as Donald.  The cast is rounded out by other Arkansastalent, including students from theatre and music for a total of 15 actors and34 extras. 

Thefilm crew is made up of 35 UCA students and five faculty members, includingDirector of Photography Mike Gunter (Digital Filmmaking), Costume DesignerShauna Meador (Theatre), Set Designer Scott Meador (Digital Filmmaking),Composer Paul Dickinson (Music) and Film Editors Jordan Anderson (undergraduate film student) andJonathan Childs (graduate film student).

The98-page script included 91 scenes that were shot in 13 locations, one of whichwas built from scratch in the UCA television studio. More than 1,400 shots weretaken totaling more than 16 hours of footage. All this digital data filled 900gigabytes of hard drive space.

Filmingbegan during the 2009 summer academic session. Students who were enrolled inthe summer course worked with faculty and graduate students. The shortenedversion of the schedule was a daunting 11 pages long stretching over 24 days. 

Mostdays were scheduled for an average of 12 hours of filming each. These longhours resulted in 25 meals for cast and crew, 23 of which were donated by 12local restaurants. In addition, 14 other local businesses provided locations,materials, and time.