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Sitar's Student Filmmaker are Harris' Heroes

Sitar's student filmmakers were recognized on WJLA ABC7's Harris' Heroes for their work creating a documentary film commemorating the life of beloved Sitar art teacher Tim Gabel.

Click here to watch the full video.

A group of art students in D.C. found a unique way to honor a beloved teacher as he was dying from liver cancer. They created a documentary during his last days in classes at the Sitar Arts Center, a program that provides arts education for low-income students.

Tim Gabel had been teaching there for 10 years, never missing a day, until he became sick.

His last months became the subject of a documentary produced by sitar students, entitled 'life as a collage'.

From producing and directing to even composing the film's original music, seven students managed every aspect of creating the documentary.

Forrest Penrod, a 16-year-old student, directed. For him, the project was about much more than shooting and editing.

“I learned how to deal with death, I learned much more about emotions, who I am as a person, how I deal with death,” he said.

Their teachers, Brandon and Lance Kramer of Meridian Hill Pictures, said despite the students' youth, they were amazed at their ability to manage the sensitive subject. The students showed “maturity, creativity, innovation, sensitivity and compassion,” Kramer said.

“The thoughtfulness that they all directed towards this project was just unbelievable,” he said.

“For some people who really loved Tim, they can know that Tim is still there through the film,” said student Tokunbo Adedeinde.

Through the film, the students have immortalized what became Gabel's last art lesson: “Do your art because that's your art and the most important thing you can do is to finish it no matter what happens.”

Sitar Student Documentary on The Kojo Nnamdi Show

Sitar Arts Center's student documentary, produced in partnership with Meridican Hill Pixctures, was featured on the Kojo Nnamdi show on WAMU 88.5.

"When it came to finding a subject for their documentary, the Sitar Arts Center students chose a topic close to home and to their hearts: an artist and longtime volunteer teacher at the center who was dying of liver cancer. The resulting film, "Life as a Collage," is as much about the students dealing with the subject of death as the teacher himself."

Click here to listen to the segment.

"How to Make a Musical" in The Washington Post

Six weeks before performing a musical in public on a real stage, the actors can hardly look at each other, they don’t know the songs and they miss almost every cue.

But it’s like this every year when the Sitar Arts Center in Adams Morgan produces a Broadway musical featuring local kids ages 10 to 18: What seems impossible on Week 1 becomes a miracle on opening night.

“My first summer I didn’t know how it was going to happen — but now I know that we always pull it off, somehow,” said Jhoselin Contreras, 14, who has one of lead roles in this year’s show, “Bye Bye Birdie.” Set in the 1950s, “Bye Bye Birdie” is about a rock-and-roll star named Conrad Birdie, who has been drafted into the army, and the publicity stunt his manager plans for live TV before the star leaves. But the plan ends up causing a lot of crazy problems!

This is the third year Jhoselin has been in the Sitar show, which runs July 28-31. “I love the drama of it,” she said of performing for an audience.

The 46 kids with parts in the show (another 16 work backstage or on costumes and lighting) auditioned in April. But rehearsals didn’t begin until the performers arrived at a summer camp that runs every afternoon for six weeks — and requires a lot of hard work.

“Some of the songs and some of the dances have been difficult for me to do,” said Ndidi Mason, 12, of the District, in her first Sitar production. But as with many of her fellow actors, performing is Ndidi’s passion, and she knows it takes effort. She says she wants to be “a dancer on Broadway” when she grows up.

For lead actor Forrest Penrod, 16, the hardest part is memorizing his lines. He wants a career in the theater, but he’s still nervous that he’ll flub a line. “I rehearse my lines when I’m in the shower, playing video games, reading the paper,” he said. “It’s ‘Bye Bye Birdie’ 24-7.”

The kids at Sitar get a lot of help from a professional theater crew, including director Lorraine Robinson, who has worked on many theater productions around Washington and is on staff at Sitar. She sits in the middle of Sitar’s 94-seat theater watching the kids go through scene after scene, offering a constant stream of ideas, changes and suggestions, as any director would.

“You want to be walking across the stage at that point,” Robinson might call out to one of the actors. Or if the kids who are not on stage for a particular scene are chatting and giggling, she will yell out, “Quiet in the house!” Additional comments that guide the rehearsals come from the choreographer, vocal coach, acting coach and stage manager.

It’s slow going to learn a two-hour musical. Four weeks into the camp, a run-through of the full second act, which is less than an hour long, takes almost two whole afternoons.

But opening night, Robinson said, is very special, and gives all the kids an incredible sense of accomplishment.

Elshadie Araia, 11, of the District, said he’ll never forget how his parents reacted last year when they came to see “Hello, Dolly,” his first Sitar musical.

“They were blown away,” he said. “They were just so excited.”

— Margaret Webb Pressler

Click here to view the article on The Washington Post's website.