48 Hours
Joyce Rudolph
Sometimes the best notions come to people chatting over a good meal at
a local restaurant, and that’s where the idea for The Animation Academy
was born. Charles Zembillas, president of the animation school, says it
was founded in the back of the Coral Cafe in Burbank.
Today the school, which also does a lot of professional production,
occupies the second floor of a building on Olive Avenue, says the 17-year
Burbank resident.
The positive feedback he’s received from local studios that hire his
graduates, he says, has proved his is an effective school, offering
training in the basics of animation, character animation and
preproduction design. Many of his graduates working in the industry come
back to teach.
He’ll be offering career guidance and recruiting students at the
Animation Expo 2000 today at the Glendale Civic Auditorium. The trade
show and interactive educational event is hosted by ASIFA-Hollywood, the
international animated film society, and sponsored by The Hollywood
Reporter. Workshops and panels will take place at Glendale Community
College.
Zembillas will be reviewing porfolios of the people interested in
employment in the industry who come up to the academy’s booth, he says.
“I will give them a very honest critique of their skill level,” he
says.
He will either recruit them for his school, recommend another one more
in line with their skills or, if they are at a professional level, will
recommend them to an animation studio.
The academy offers different levels of internships, from discounts on
classes to paid opportunities, and the chance to get professional
experience.
“(The expo) is good for us because we can make new contacts and reach
out to people who are serious about making animation their career,” he
says. “We can guide them in a way that is beneficial to them as well as
us.”
The expo was started seven years ago by Antran Manoogian, president of
ASIFA-Hollywood chapter. Its purpose is to provide an event not only for
the professional animator but those interested in getting into the
industry, he says.
“So whether it be visiting exhbitors or taking a seminar or workship,
we trust there is something there everyone can benefit from regardless of
their level of experience,” he says.
In his 13th year as president of animation society, a volunteer
position, Manoogian is employed as an associate producer at Walt Disney
Television Animation. He oversees the creation of a production, keeping
an eye on budgeting and creating schedules so projects get produced and
delivered on time.
The Burbank resident has been working in the animation industry since
1988, getting his first taste of the fun of it at age 11.
He produced his first animated short with a fellow classmate as a
school project. They entered it into the KCET Young People’s Film
Festival and won.
“It was at that age that I decided that anmimation was the field I
wanted to follow,” he says. He joined ASIFA-Hollywood at age 16 and later
graduated from Cal State Northridge with a major in TV and film
production.
The expo is from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at the Glendale Civic
Auditorium, 1401 N. Verdugo Road. A basic one-day floor pass is $10 with
addtional fees for workshops and seminars at Glendale Community College,
1500 N. Verdugo Road. For information, call 842-8330 or go online to
www.asifa-hollywood.org.
SPECIAL EVENTS
‘A Chorus Line’ taps across Alex stage
Music Theatre of Southern California is presenting “A Chorus Line” at
The Alex Theatre in Glendale this weekend. The story follows the audition
process as faced by a group of chorus dancers as they are narrowed from
30 down to 16, and then ultimately down to four boys and four girls. It
is directed by Bill Shaw and choreographed by Rikki Lugo, with musical
direction by M. Roger Lockie.
Show times are at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. today, and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Sunday at The Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale.Tickets are from
$22 to $42. Call (800) 233-3123. The remaining shows in the season are
“The Music Man” in May and “Ain’t Misbehavin’ ” in July. For information
on those shows, call (626) 308-2868.
Glendale College Community Orchestra in concert
Winners of the 10th annual Piano Concerto Competition will be featured
in the second concert of the season for the Glendale College Community
Orchestra at 4 p.m. Sunday. The concert will be held in the Glendale
Community College auditorium, 1500 N. Verdugo Road, Glendale..
The competition is co-sponsored by the Glendale Music Teachers’ Assn.
Winners will perform a solo during Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17.
Also on the program are Aaron Copland’s Rodeo Suite and Sibelius’
Karelia Suite. Ted Stern is conductor.
Tickets are $5 and $3 for students and seniors. The box office opens a
half-hour before the concert. Seating is on a first-come, first served
basis. For information, call 240-1000 ext. 5621.
THEATRE ARTS
‘Princess and the Pea’ opens today
A musical version of “The Princess and the Pea” opens today at
Glendale Centre Theatre, 324 N. Orange St. Glendale. Shows are 11 a.m.
Saturdays through June 24. Tickets are $8 for children 11 and under and $10 for 12 and older.
For reservations, call 244-8481.
‘Fiddler’ on stage at Glendale Centre Theatre
The musical classic, “Fiddler on the Roof,” based on the book by
Joseph Stein, is playing through April 8 at Glendale Centre Theatre, 324
N. Orange St., Glendale. Show times are 8 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday
with a 3 p.m. Saturday matinee. Tickets are $15.50 to $18. Martin Lang
directs the production, which features music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by
Sheldon Harnick. For reservations, call 244-8481.
‘A Shayna Maidel’ at The Colony
“A Shayna Maidel” is being produced at The Colony Studio Theatre
Thursdays through Sundays with tickets from $20 to $26. Scott Segall
directs the play written by Barbara Lebow. “A Shayna Maidel,” Yiddish for
a pretty girl, is the story of two sisters who are reunited in New York
in 1946 after 18 years of separation. One has spent her life in America
while the other survived Nazi concentration camps in Poland. The play
continues through April 9 and the playhouse is at 1944 Riverside Drive in
Silver Lake. For reservations, call (323) 665-3011.
ART EXHIBITS
The National Watercolor Society is exhibiting more than 60 works at
the Brand Galleries beginning today through April 8. Works featured are
those by society members who are the premiere watercolorists in the
country. The show was juried by Joseph A. Gatto, dean of visual arts at
the County High School for the Performing Arts at Cal State L.A. The
opening reception is from 5 to 7 p.m. today. There will be an art talk
including discussion of the history of the society as well as work in
this year’s show at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 11. All events are free. Brand
Art Galleries are at Brand Library, 1601 W. Mountain St. House are 1 to 5
p.m. on Saturdays. For weekday hours and other information, call
548-2051.
LIVE MUSIC
Eat dinner at Jax, a jazz joint
Jax Bar and Grill is a supper club and jazz joint. Today it’s Gas
House Dave and Sunday Dead Ringer takes the spotlight. Jax has live
entertainment from 8 p.m. to midnight on Mondays; 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Tuesdays through Thursdays; 9 p.m. to 1:30 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays;
and 7:30 to 11:30 p.m. on Sundays. Dinner is served until 1 a.m.
Happy Hour jazz is Tuesday through Saturday from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Jax
is at 339 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale. For information, call 500-1604.
If you have press releases for the 48 Hours column, please call
features editor Joyce Rudolph at 637-3241 or fax them to 241-1975.