GBH Openvault

Alive From Off Center; Mountain View; Dance sequence from Mountain View

Part of New Television Workshop.

John Sayles and Marta Renzi's work spans a period of 24 hours in a motel named "Mountain View." This short excerpt shows a frenetic dance sequence in the hotel bar. While this sequence features the music of The Pogues in the actual program, it is mute throughout this short clip. Approximate date: 1989


License Clip
Series
Alive From Off Center
Program
Mountain View
Program Number

506

Title

Dance sequence from Mountain View

Series Description

"Alive From Off Center" was established in 1985 as a production of KTCA (St. Paul - Minneapolis) . The show featured independent works by artists in a variety of media. Its showcase format was similar to the Workshop's "New Television" series. At some point the series changed its name to "ALIVE TV." Many works created by or for the Workshop were also shown on "Alive From Off Center." Additionally, some Workshop produced pieces were coproduced and/or commissioned by KTCA specifically for the series. Susan Dowling served as Executive Producer for these programs. Series release date: 1985

Program Description

“Mountain View,” 1989, is a dance drama work created by choreographer Marta Renzi in collaboration with director John Sayles which, through movement and very little spoken text, details the interaction of several people residing at or visiting a motel or motor inn named Mountain View. The work spans a period of about 24 hours, following the individuals through late afternoon, an evening spent in the motel bar, and a picnic-style social gathering the next day. Some of the characters encountered are the family who run the motel (a mother, her young adult son, and an older man, perhaps her father); a spunky, tomboyish girl; an interracial couple lodging at the motel; a young mother; a pair of newlyweds; a barfly; three people involved in a love triangle; and the punkish friends of the motel owner's son.

Asset Type

Clip

Media Type

Video

Subjects
Family
Phillion, Christine
Desmond, Jim
Renzi, Marta
Drama
Elkins, Doug
Alexander, Jane
Grossman, Caroline
Motels
Sayles, John
Shultz, Mary
Miller, Marta Jo
Alexander, Jace
Dance
Interpersonal relations
Lee, Nathaniel E.
Hidaka, Chisa
Publication Information
WGBH Educational Foundation
Citation
Chicago: “Alive From Off Center; Mountain View; Dance sequence from Mountain View,” GBH Archives, accessed November 21, 2024, http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_3F7EB0DC05E84FA68B1B87EE19D72DE4.
MLA: “Alive From Off Center; Mountain View; Dance sequence from Mountain View.” GBH Archives. Web. November 21, 2024. <http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_3F7EB0DC05E84FA68B1B87EE19D72DE4>.
APA: Alive From Off Center; Mountain View; Dance sequence from Mountain View. Boston, MA: GBH Archives. Retrieved from http://openvault.wgbh.org/catalog/V_3F7EB0DC05E84FA68B1B87EE19D72DE4
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