The People's Will

FAIN: TD-266430-19

Center for Independent Documentary, Inc. (Newton, MA 02458-1341)
Tracie Holder (Project Director: January 2019 to December 2022)

Development of a sixty-minute documentary using the 1849 Astor Place Riot as a vehicle to explore the history of theater and Shakespeare in nineteenth-century America. 

In 1849, American militia and police opened fire on a crowd of 15,000 rioters in the heart of New York City. Twenty-three people died and scores more were wounded. Improbable though it sounds, the riot was sparked by two rival productions of Macbeth and marked the first time American troops would fire on American citizens. The People's Will, a 60-minute documentary, will tell the dramatic story of the Astor Place Riot, an event all but lost to history. Based on wide-ranging scholarship, the film will explore the seething debates of the antebellum period over competing definitions of democracy, economy, and culture that would ultimately define the young republic. We are seeking a total of $74,992 to consult with our panel of scholars, write a script, and produce a sample reel for the film. Beyond the film, we have established partnerships with The Public Theater and the Folger Shakespeare Library with whom we will develop public programs and a companion traveling museum exhibition.

Associated Products

The People's Will (Film/TV/Video Broadcast or Recording)
Title: The People's Will
Writer: Tracie Holder
Director: Tracie Holder
Producer: Mary Recine
Abstract: The link below is of a "test scene," for The People's Will. This short, 3-minute animated sequence was created to as part of the development phase of this NEH-funded project. In creating this animated piece, we refined the "tunnel book, style of animation to be used in the finished film and introduce our two main protagonists, actor Edwin Forrest and William Charles Macready, and several additional key characters central to the story's narrative.
Year: 2020
Primary URL: https://vimeo.com/user8562647/review/474060888/e3dc17a066
Primary URL Description: As mentioned above, we are providing a 3-minute animated sequence that provides a very brief introduction to the story of the Astor Place Riot. The sequence also introduces the two actors at the heart of our story and establishes several of the humanities themes the final film will explore at length. Finally, this piece is a showcase for the style of animation that will be incorporated in the final film.
Secondary URL: www.peepshow.org.uk/the-peoples-will-nea (Password: AstorPlace)
Secondary URL Description: This webpage provides an overview of the animation development process that took place over the second half of the NEH Development grant period. The attached webpage features many of the elements developed over in the course of establishing the visual style for the animated sequences to be featured in the final film. Among those elements are Styleframes, Archival Treatment of historic images combined with atmospheric lighting, a Character Sheet, examples of Developmental Illustration as well as our initial Stylings and earliest Storyboards.
Access Model: The link below should be open access but should a password be required, it is Astor.
Format: Video

---