COURIER POST - 2/24/05

`Township' ready for its close-up

Student to make film in Washington Twp.

By LISA GRZYBOSKI
Courier-Post Staff

WASHINGTON TWP.

Michael Licisyn has got a thing for golden statuettes.

"My ultimate goal in life is to win an Oscar," said Licisyn, 21, a Rowan University junior majoring in radio, TV and film.

He hopes his latest project - a feature-length film set in his hometown of Washington Township - will bring him one step closer to transforming reverie into reality.

Describing it as a classic tale of homecoming, the film Township is meant to shed some light on the quirks of growing up in Washington Township, a place Licisyn likes to refer to as "super suburbia." Many a time, he's tried to explain the peculiarities of the township and its South Philadelphia pedigree to his college friends from North Jersey and they never seem to get it, said Licisyn, a Washington Township High School graduate.

"So I decided to make a movie," he said.

Licisyn wrote a 96-page screenplay - his longest to date - centered on two characters in their early 20s and hopes to shoot the film over 16 days this summer at various township locations. He is holding open auditions for the two unpaid lead roles on Saturday at the main entrance to the township high school's 11/12 building. Actors must be between 18 and 24 years of age.

In the script, Mark is a struggling writer living in Philadelphia who has lost his inspiration. His friends persuade him to come home to Washington Township for a few days and that's where he meets Alexis, who's "pretty much every guy's fantasy", Licisyn said.

"The plot may be a little cliche, but it's all about the jokes, the characters and the dialogue," Licisyn said. "I really think the community, especially the youth community in township, will relate to it."

Jonathan Hakun, 24, a township native, agrees.

"I think it captured well the quirks and peculiarities of growing up in middle class white suburbia," said Hakun of the film's script.

Granted, Hakun is scoring the movie with all original music. But he notes he's not getting paid and is only working on the project because he believes in the material and in Licisyn, who produced a promotional video for his band, "39 Mariner."

"When nobody's commissioning you to write, you kind of just sit on your ideas," said Hakun, a bass guitarist. "This is forcing me to get creative."

That has never been an issue for Licisyn, who has been creating short films and spoofs since he was old enough to use a camcorder. In fact, he and a friend established Mixed Nuts Productions in 1995 and have more than 20 films and videos in their portfolio, most written and directed by Licisyn.

Some of the material has actually won awards like The Single Guy, which was released in 2003 and got the Homegrown Award for Best Student Film at the Garden State Film Festival in Asbury Park. Licisyn's dramatic short, Prayers, about the power of faith during times of utter desperation, received the audience award for best narrative short at the 2004 Philadelphia Youth Media Jam.

"There is definite improvement," said Marty Bouchard, 49, a technology education teacher at the township's high school. "His eye has changed. He's refined his skills quite a bit."

Licisyn estimates the project will cost him $2,000, but he sees it as a career investment.

"This film will never get an Oscar," said Licisyn of Township. "My hope is to just get a little recognition from this and a little notoriety."

IF YOU GO

Auditions for the two unpaid lead roles in `Township' will be Saturday at the main entrance to Washington Township High School's 11/12 building. Actors must be between 18 and 24 years of age.