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The Park School of Communications at Ithaca College will sponsor a two-day conference honoring one of television’s best-known writers.
THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF ROD SERLING will be held on campus March 28-29, and will feature presentation of academic papers as well as panel discussions, screenings and results of a nationwide Rod Serling scriptwriting competition.
Following the success of a similar event in 2006, this year’s conference is expected to draw writers, researchers and Serling enthusiasts from around the country. The creator of the ground-breaking series “Twilight Zone” lectured on creative writing at Ithaca College, and several of this year’s conference sessions will examine Serling’s role as a teacher -- featuring some of his colleagues and students from the early 1970’s. Topics for other sessions include: the Serling’s earliest work as a struggling writer in Cincinnati, Ohio; his critically-acclaimed screenplay for “Seven Days in May” as a prophetic exploration of the roles of the U.S. military and the legislative branches of government in times of political stress; the writer’s frustrating attempts to dramatize the murder of Emmett Till -- an experience that would sharpen his views on sponsor censorship and network interference; the “twilight zone” as a philosophical concept; “The Rod Serling Archive” at Ithaca College -- one of the largest collections of the author’s creative work; and, a multimedia presentation which combines “Twilight Zone” dialog, familiar soundtrack music, and images from the series to explore the show’s influence on American pop culture. In addition, a popular event from the 2006 conference will, like the series itself, have a “rerun.” During a live “Twilight Zone Marathon” episodes from the original series, which aired on the CBS television network from 1959 to 1963, will be shown –- including introductions and analysis of each script’s themes.
The two-day conference will conclude with a staged reading of Serling’s script “Noon on Doomsday.” In cooperation with Ithaca’s Department of Theater Arts, this never-before-produced work will be brought to life in a fitting tribute to THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF ROD SERLING.
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