ArtscoEntertainment
Nebraskan
Wodnesday, April 6, 1994
UNL alumna goes west,
makes it big in movies
Production designer
credits her success
to theater department
By Paula Lavigne
Senior Reporter
From the bridge of the newly remodeled
Starship Enterprise at Paramount Studios in
Hollywood, Calif., Sandy Vencziano said she
missed the secure lifestyle of the Great Plains.
Vencziano, a University of Ncbraska-Lin
coln alumna, earned her Master of Fine Arts
degree in 1978 and went on to prove that a
small-town girl can make it in the big city and
on the big screen.
As a production designer for “Star Trek: The
Next Generation The Movie,” Vencziano said
she credited her success and that of her class
mates to the professors in UNL’s theaterdepart
ment.
“They instructed an overall view of design.
When I graduated from there, there wasn’t a
question that 1 couldn’t pick up my portfol io and
get a job wherever 1 wanted.”
And she was right.
With a resume that lists movies such as
“Dead Poets Society,” “Father of the Bride,”
“Star Trek V: The Final Frontier” and “Terms
of Endearment,” Vencziano staked her claim
on production as soon as she landed in Califor
nia.
“I didn’t even think about competition,” she
said. “That’s what I wanted to do, and I did it.”
Starting out as a set designer for “Dallas,”
“Eight is Enough”and “M*A*S*H,” Vencziano
worked her way up to assistant art director,
designer and eventually production director.
As a production director, Vencziano is in
chargeoflheovcrall look oftheshow, including
the set, costumes, makeup and lighting. She
said it was very much a team effort.
“You have your crew under you, and you
work as a team,” she said. “Theater people
know how a team works.”
She said she had to lake a different approach
with the movie she was working on now.
“It’s Starfleet, it’s Star Trek, and there are
certain guidelines you must follow knowing
your Starfleet limitations.”
For “Dead Poets Society,” a period piece, a
lot of research was required to find the right
school for the movie. Vencziano said.
“It was very specific about color palettes and
lighting,” she said. ‘You have that old tradition
in the colors and costumes and everything.”
Along with working on set design and other
production elements, Veneziano is in constant
contact with several movie and television stars.
“Some of them arc just unbearable, and some
of them arc genuine professionals," she said.
“Jack Nicholson is a pro. When he walks on the
stage, you watch.
“Then you have the ones who need Evian
water to wash their hair, arc constantly late and
pretty bitchy.”
Because of the differing personalities.
Veneziano said she had to play several roles
hcrscl f.
“You’re a politician a lot when you work in
the movie industry. You have so many person
alities from actors to grips and technicians.
“You need to pass through each section with
a great deal of political correctness to gel every
body to communicate and agree,” she said.
Al though her work is demanding, Veneziano
said it was rewarding.
“It’s a lot of work, it’s a lot of time, but it’s
very creative and very fun,” she said. “When
you get a good movie on the screen and affect the
audience in a positive way. it’s great.”
One ofher greatest experiences was working
in her hometown on “Terms of Endearment.”
Veneziano received a key to the city and an
Alumni Achievement Award from UNL as
well. She said these awards made her feel
terrific, because they reflected back to the teach
ers who brought her to where she is now.
“Their knowledge, commun ication and tight
ness with the students made it special,” she said.
“You didn’t just write a paper; you did a lot for
design. You learned a little bit about all the
areas overall, and that helps immensely in
film.”
Veneziano’s lies to teaching arc so tight, she
might want to try it herself. She said she wanted
to establish a film design program at UNL and
become a professor while maintaining her pro
duction director jobs.
Born and raised in Nebraska, Veneziano has
other reasons for coming back —overpopula
tion, crime and her 6-ycar-old son.
“Hollywood is much better for work, obvi
ously, but as for a lifestyle and living environ
ment, it’s not a great place to be,” she said. “The
Midwest is much better.”
She said living in Nebraska wouldn’t affect
her career, because many production compa
nies are filming out of state. As long as she has
a base in a large city, she can live and teach in
Lincoln.
Living in a large city, Veneziano has en
countered a lot of the Nebraska stereotypes.
“Some of them still think there arc still
Indians and no toilets,” she said, “but that’s
only from people who haven’t been there."
Regardless of the stereotypes, Veneziano
said she was proud ofher Nebraska heritage.
“From growing up in the Midwest, you can
do anything you want. That’s the way we're
raised.
“Nebraska has an ethic about it. Here’s the
job. Get the job done. Now. go play.”
A guide to this week's entertainment
Bands
Wad.-Duffy's Tavern: Dream Machine with Rosebud
Royal Grove: Ivory Star
Speakeasy Lounge: Alibi
Yia Yia's Pizza: Justice League of the Blues
Zoo Bar Catfish Keith
Thurs.—Duggan's Pub: Sean Benjamen
Morgan s Upstairs: Bill Ritchie Quartet
Ninth Street Blues: The Gypsies
Royal Grove: Ivory Star
Speakeasy Lounge: Alibi
Zoo Bar Yabba Griffiths
Frl.—Duggan's Pub: Leory & The Liars
Knickerbockers: Echoing Green with the Geckos
Morgan's Upstairs: Lost & Found
Mountains Grill & Deli: Karma
Royal Grove: Ivory Star
Sidetrack: Joyce Durand, Paul Newton, Sam Schultz
Speakeasy Lounge: Alibi
W.C.'s: DV8
Zoo Bar: Yabba Griffiths
Sat.—Duggan's Pub: Leory & The Liars
Knickerbockers: The Return with The Plowbabys
Morgan's Upstairs: Skinny and the Wingtips
Mountains Grill & Deli: Karma
Ninth Street Blues: Tuna Fish Jones
Royal Grove: Ivory Star
Sidetrack: Joyce Durand, Paul Newton, Sam
Schultz
Speakeasy Lounge: Alibi
W.C.'s: DV8
Zoo Bar. Yabba Griffiths
Sun.-Duffy's Tavern: Gregory and
Lorianne
Laser Shows
Mueller Planetarium, Morrill Hall, Frl. &
Sat. -Led Zeppelin at 8,9:30 & 11 p.m.
Music Performances
Wed.-Big Guitars from Memphis with The
Fishheads at the Nebraska East Union 8:30
p.m,
Thurs.-University Orchestra and the
Oratorio Chorus, directed by Emil Aluas,
performing Puccini's "Tosca" at Kimball
Hall 8 p.m.
Fri. & Sat.-The Scarlet and Cream Singers
at Kimball Hall 8 p.m.
SaL-Gerry Mulligan at the Lied Center 8
p.m.; Concert of Classical Music from India,
Rajeev Taranath, Westbrook Music Bldg.
6:30 p.m.
Sun.-UNL Percussion Ensemble 8 p.m.
Theater
Thurs.-Sat.—"True West" at The Temple
Building, Studio Theatre 8 p.m. (2 p.m.
Sun.)
Thurs.-Fri.-"The Empty Plough" at the
Johnny Carson Theater, Lied Center 8 p.m.
(2 p.m. Sat., 4 p.m. Sun.)
Event of the Week
Mon.-Melissa Etheridge with Matthew
Sweet at the Orpheum in Omaha 8 p.m.
ON graphic
Courtesy of the Lied Center
Jazz great Gerry Mulligan will perform with his quartet Saturday night at
the Lfed Center. Mulligan has jammed with Duke Ellington, Billie Holliday
and Louis Armstrong.
Jazz great to visit Lied
By Paula Lavigne
Senior Reporter
Blaming U.S. radio stations and the media
for the hidden role jazz has played in recent
musical history, jazz veteran Gerry Mulligan
said this musical art form had a chance at
rebirth.
And he should know.
Founder of the pianoless quartet, this famed
saxophonist has collaborated with jazz greats
Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong and Billie
Holliday. His latest album, 1992’s “The Re
Birth ofCool,” proves that all the legendary jazz
greats haven’t blown their last horn.
Mulligan will be blowing his own horn at the
Lied Center this weekend.
When he was a boy, Mulligan grew up with
jazzbandson the radio. Things have changed in
the years since Mulligan tuned into the sounds
of Dizzy Gillespie on his radio dial. Jazz has
fallen out of popularity with the younger gener
ations, as they turn toward rap or rock instead.
The problem was one of radio economics.
Mulligan said.
“Radio is a totally different vehicle than it
was 30 years ago. Stations play only one type of
music,’’ Mulligan said. “A station has a musical
policy, and they adhere to that. There’s no
variety.”
He said radio stations and the media often
picked up on only the most popular music and
neglected other styles. European radio stations
arc more creative, because they arc subsidized
by the government and do not have to cater to
sponsors, he said.
The future of jazz, Mulligan said, depends
on the future of America.
“ “The major problem of the world of the
future is how to deal with an overpopulated
planet,” he said. “What we grew up with in this
century is individualism. It becomes supersed
cd by what’s gwxJ for the group."
J a/./ could become the future m usic of c ho ice
because of its adaptability with other cultures
and musical styles. On “The Re-Birth ofCool."
Mulligan used that theory when he mixed jazz
with Brazilian melodies.
“Musicians in any given country have their
own variations in jazz,” Mulligan said. “How
it’s received by an audience is something more
complicated. It depends on how people use
music in their culture.”
Mulligan’s work with jazz, legend Duke
Ellington reinforced those points.
‘‘His outlook was typical of the worlds we
pass through,” Mulligan said.
Another aspect of working with Ellington
was traveling by train. Mulligan said. That led
to a fascination with trains, and Mulligan went
up and down the East Coast on the rails.
As the popularity of traveling by train fell to
the convenience of modem transportation, jazz
legends fell to today’s influx of new musicians,
he said.
“Mill Jackson, a vibraphone player, once
said,‘There ain’t but a few of us left,’” Mulligan
laughed. “I think the media are responsible.”
The media concentrate on things that appeal
to the biggest numbers, he said.
“If you’re not on the cover of People maga
zine, you don’t exist. The generation of players
now who are 30 and younger are quite well
known, compared to those two generations
ahead of them.
“None got a chance to develop into a success
ful leader.
New jazz and classic jazz still has a chance
to reach a younger audience, Mulligan said.
“If they are given a chance and get to hear it,
sure," he said. “Universities don't get the coop
eration they need. They still treat it as an
esoteric phenomenon.”
The problem was not getting the younger
audience to like jazz; it was getting jazz to the
younger audience, he said.
Mulligan is doing his part in making jazz
more accessible by working on new projects in
modern jazz, writing saxophone chamber mu
sic and leaching.
Mulligan will be on stage at the Lied Center
this Saturday at 8 p.m. Regular tickets are $22
and $16; student tickets arc half-price.