11/13/96
CONTACT:Sandra Sleight-Brennan, 614/593-4857, or Emily Caldwell, 614/593-1890
ATHENS, Ohio -- Students from Ohio University's telecommunications classes will take part in a national teleconference Thursday night featuring former Ohio University student Nancy Cartwright, the voice of television's Bart Simpson.
The Museum of Television & Radio's teleconference on "Creating Prime-Time Comedy: The Simpsons'" will take place from 8:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday (Nov. 14) in Radio Studio A in the Radio and Television Communications Building on the Athens campus. Interested students are welcome to attend the teleconference, and should arrive at the studio by 8 p.m.
The one-way video and two-way audio event is part of the museum's four-part University Satellite Seminar Series this fall on "Television: The Creative Process." The series is designed to be an instructive case study on how prime-time television is conceptualized and created. Ohio University is among 106 institutions participating in the series this fall.
Cartwright, an Ohio University interpersonal communication major in the mid-1970s, last visited the campus as part of Communication Week in 1992. In addition to "The Simpsons," Cartwright's credits include "Twilight Zone -- The Movie," "Flesh and Blood," and the television shows "Cheers" and "Empty Nest."
Also included in the teleconference will be Matt Groening, creator and executive producer of "The Simpsons," staff writers Bill Oakley and Josh Weinstein, and supervising director David Silverman.
The panel discussion will focus on how each show evolves from original idea through script and story board development and into production.
"For our production students, it's important to understand the entire creative process and how people work together during that process," said Sandra Sleight-Brennan, assistant professor of telecommunications and a senior radio producer. She said participation in this seminar will function as a trial for Ohio University, and that classes may participate in future Museum of Television & Radio series events as well.
After the hour-long presentation is conducted over a video feed from Los Angeles, students will have the opportunity to ask questions and discuss issues concerning telecommunications over two-way audio.