Leone takes part in filming of ‘Prairie Tides’
Sept. 11, 2003
“Prairie Tides,” a docudrama about the building of the Illinois-Michigan Canal, will air on WTTW, Channel 11 in Chicago, at 8 p.m. Sept. 18.
An IVCC staff member and several IVCC students figured prominently in the filming that took place in the Illinois Valley during the summer of 2000.
Giacomo Leone, dean of the division of humanities, fine arts and social science, was a crew member in charge of hair and makeup, assisted on costumes, did some scenery work and also acted in the film. A number of theatre students were also on the crew and appeared in the film.
“It was a phenomenally good learning experience for our students,” said Leone, who was the theatre director at IVCC for more than 20 years.
The 60-minute film chronicles the construction of the 97-mile canal that transformed Illinois into a center of commerce and industry. The canal extended from the Chicago River to the Illinois River at Peru. Construction began in 1836 and was completed in 1848.
Leone described the film as a very accurate portrait of the construction and impact of the canal.
“A lot of research went into it,” he said.
The film, produced by Constance Mortell and directed by Bill Youmans and Mortell, was developed in cooperation with the Canal Corridor Association and the I & M Canal National Heritage Corridor Commission.
Before production on the film began, Mortell met Leone through the Illinois Arts Council and asked for his help. Leone acted as a liaison between the producer and the college and the producer and the IVCC theatre students. Leone agreed to take on technical crew work, but during production, he was persuaded to play a role as a priest.
Mortell lectured about the production of the film on the IVCC campus as part of the Arts and Letters Series in spring 2001. The docudrama has been shown in this area, and copies are available on videocassette through the Canal Corridor Association headquartered in Lockport.