A Night to Remember

 

The day of the premiere was a whirlwind. I picked up my two children Victoria and Richard from their respective schools early, so that we could get ready for the premiere of Our Vanishing Past. My son kept asking “Do I have to wear a suit?” While my daughter wanted to know if she could wear heels, even though she was still recovering from a sprained ankle.

 

At 2:30 we headed into the studio to check out the set-up of the HD equipment. As we watched the documentary play on the big screen I was truly impressed with the quality of “high definition”. The colors and architectural details were so vivid. The buildings seemed to be more true to life. We gave the studio crew a “thumbs up” and went upstairs to my office.

 

RSVPs were still coming in. Calls confirming the start time, asking for directions and wishing me good luck continued until 3:30. We went to the music library to pick out some background music for the reception. Richard kept selecting hard rock CDs and big orchestral sounds. We finally found something a little mellower. He liked the fact that the library room is sound proof and that it also has production music for things like “nightmares.”

 

While Victoria and I put on some last minute make-up in the dressing room, Richard sat at my computer and started reading my speech for that evening. When I came back he told me that he had fixed a couple things that were misspelled and had changed HD to high definition because it sounds better. I checked to make sure that was all he had changed and thought the kid’s eleven years old and he’s already editing copy.

 

At 4:15 we headed downstairs and waited for our guests to arrive. Soon the studio began to fill up. My mother Roni DiSipio and husband Jonathan Walker joined us. I was also happy to see some of the people that were in the program arrive, including Pinelands historian Ted Gordon, architect Michael Calafati and education director Jeffrey Macechak. A photographer captured images of many of our guests, including program content advisors Barbara Haney Irvine, Dorothy Guzzo, Ron Emrich and Howard Green.     

 

A little after 5 pm, NJN’s executive director Elizabeth Christopherson and board member Tom Bracken welcomed everyone to the premiere. Then the lights were dimmed and the show began.

 

Audiences create a sense of excitement and energy. It was really interesting to watch the documentary with 200 people in the room. Hearing their reactions surprised me. They chuckled at images of the children’s pie eating contest. Made sounds of surprise during the story on teardowns and Wildwood. Their reactions made me realize that the show was working. They were connecting with it.

 

When the documentary finished there was a moment of silence and I wondered, “Did they like it?” And then the applause came, that said “Yes we do.”

 

I much prefer to be behind the scenes so public speaking is always a challenge for me. When it was my turn to make a speech, I silently said a quick prayer, and then headed for the lectern. Somehow I got through it and it wasn’t as bad as I thought. When I said something humorous and the audience laughed it made me feel connected with them. When I mentioned liking Lucy the Elephant I saw nods of agreement around the room. Then I said that I was sorry I had to cut Lucy from the show due to a lack of time. When I told them that Lucy’s story now lives on the NJN/Our Vanishing Past website I saw lots of smiles.

 

Afterwards at the reception I had the chance to hear many more great stories about historic places. People showed me photographs of their favorite buildings. Told me about preservation battles that they were fighting. And why they liked the show.

 

If you were there that night please post your thoughts on the premiere. And don’t forget to send us photos by e-mail of your favorite building for the Snap Shot Gallery.

 

Cheers!