WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP NEWS REPORT - 8/25/05
Nervousness, fatigue, and excitement rushed through Michael Licisyn minutes before his movie “Township” was set to premier. More than 500 people, including Mayor Paul Moriarty and Washington Township’s Board of Education, sat patiently as they waited for the play button to be pushed at the Commerce Bank Arts Centre last Wednesday night. “I’m nervous beyond all belief,” said Licisyn as he stood, anxiously overlooking the crowd as the lights dimmed throughout the auditorium. “My knees are jelly and I feel like I’m going to fall over, collapse, and die.” The premier, after all, was the largest audience that has ever gathered to see one of Licisyn’s films according to the 21-year-old director. Prior to Wednesday night’s event, he largest screening that he had was about 100 people at a film festival. “This was the biggest screening audience we’ve had,” said Licisyn. “Movies are generally meant for a smaller audience. It was crazy how many people were there.” The crowd, which filled the lower half of the curtained off CBAC, was treated to a satirical portrayal of their hometown while they followed a struggling author’s search for new writing material and his encounters with his hometown. “It’s hard to believe this place,” said the film’s narrator, speaking of Washington Township and its nearly 50,000 residents. “Think super-suburbia. An endless town so big that occupies six postal zip codes and a high school close to a mile in length,” he continued, as the audience was treated to an aerial view of the sprawling township. “But hey, it’s home.” Those words, spoken in the opening lines of the movie, set the tone for a movie full of light-hearted humor and some of Washington Township’s favorite inside jokes. No Name Street, a joke about the township’s abundance of Wawas, and even a reference to a local Getty gas station got laughs simply do to the audience’s familiarity with the landmarks and the sarcastic way s in which they were portrayed. The many speed humps that have recently sprung up throughout local developments were also featured as a topic worthy of audience laughter. As the lead character, Mark, drives through the township, he encounters for the first time some of the township’s hotly debated road alterations. “What the hell was that?” asks a confused Mark as the screen rattled violently over several humps. The camera then panned out to show a series of brightly painted yellow speed humps, eliciting a roar of laughter from the audience. “I thought it captured the spirit of living and growing up the township,” said Todd Oberholtzer, a Washington Township High School history teacher. “Home is where your life is,” said Oberholtzer, contemplating the movie’s slogan that appears on the “Township” posters that decorated the lobby of the CBAC. “It really made you think and that’s what I’m going to do when I get home tonight.” Bob Partridge, a township resident who found the Wawa references to be especially funny, thought that the movie was worth the price of admission. “I enjoyed it,” said Partridge. “Living here in the township, it brought back memories and was a fun movie.” The positive reaction that Licisyn received was an added bonus after the 90-minute movie ran its credits. Once the screen went blank, the young director decided to announce his big news that he had been hiding from the cast and crew for weeks. No only had “Township” been accepted into two upcoming film festivals, the New York International Independent Film Festival and the Delaware Valley Film Festival, but they have won several awards as well. The Delaware Valley Film Festival, which received nearly 100 projects from filmmakers, selected Tara Aquesta, or Alexis on film, as Best Lead Actress, gave Michael Licisyn Best Director honors, and chose “Township” as the Best Feature Film. “It’s encouraging. I’ve known about this for a few weeks and kept it from the cast and crew,” said Licisyn, who decided that he should hide the good news to avoid making expectations too high and also to make the event more exciting.” “[The premiere] was surreal. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would be like this.” |
