By Kristin Ow
Staff Writer
Not another teen movie! Saturday night’s film in Elkin’s Auditorium was far from cliche and predictable. The 30-minute three-act film, “Sin and Shampoo” has been highly praised as unique and convicting. Directed and produced by TJ Volgare, this film is part of Cognitive Dissonance, a student led group that helps to promote the performance arts.
“Sin and Shampoo,” starring senior Jeremy Lostetter and Taylor Batolucci, is a film about an ambiguous man’s life. The protagonist, Larry, suffers from severe agoraphobia and xenophobia, a fear of heights and aliens. In addition, he also has an obsessive compulsive disorder and adheres to bizarre rituals. The film follows him through everyday rituals. One day he has a panic attack and is saved by a prostitute, who visits him every Thursday at 4 p.m.
The film is in black and white, and the protagonist does not speak. Senior Jessi Crino contributed to the project as the chief editor and junior Paul Golightly was the director of photography who worked with Volgare. “It was was very difficult to create something provocative on tape that is very mundane,” Volgare said. “If you amplify the mundane, it becomes dramatic and inspires the beholder. There was very little dialogue to work with.”
“Sin and Shampoo” is Volgare’s first film.
“This film is seminal in that it represents what I am essentially capable of doing within this medium when I have very limited resources,” Volgare said. “And it shows me the plausibility of doing this forever.”
Volgare currently is co-president of Cognitive Dissonance with Golightly. He has been actively involved in several other projects at Pepperdine University ranging from stage plays to musicals. He said he plans on pursuing film and the performing arts in the future.
Volgare wrote the screenplay for “Sin and Shampoo” with Ryan Webber, a 2002 Seaver alumnus. “Ryan and I for so long have had this great chemistry,” Volgare said. “I have always felt as if we were united and that if our imaginations were to converge, something really profound and hilarious would emerge.
“The idea of “Sin and Shampoo” came about when Ryan and I were brainstorming and looking over the conventions of screenwriting and creative writing,” Volgare continued. “We wanted to do something that was in every way unconventional. We wanted to create a protagonist that was so one dimensional and unmotivated. It would be impossible not to look at the character other than figuratively.”
Not only does this film challenge the audience aesthetically, but it also carries a strong message.
“As we confront the possibility of war, I hope that people will be shocked out of their indifference and forced into action,” Volgare said. “I hope that this movie will make progress inevitable. Complacency can be very dramatic. In his world, there is the disagreeable advent of a woman. This man is faced with an ultimatum, post-modern American culture at its best.”
About 70 students attended the preview. Freshman Maz Ameli has gone to other Cognitive Dissonance performances, and has been interested in the group’s activities. “‘Sin and Shampoo’ was definitely unique, something that I hadn’t seen before,” Ameli said. “The message was an interesting idea. There were really cool camera movements throughout the film. It was quirky and dark, but also convicting.”
Fellow freshman Jason Eppink agreed. “I enjoyed the film,” he said. “It was very creative, and there were some really good lines. It was not typical at all. It was very artsy. Everyone seemed excited about seeing something new.”
Eppink also said that Larry’s muteness was an important part of the film.
“I think that the film is interesting because the main character managed to say and do very little, but there was still tension. The acting and directing was all done very well.”
Cognitive Dissonance has many plans for the future of the organization. A poetry reading is planned in March and Volgare’s project, “Secrets of the Light,” will be previewing March 5-8 in the mini-theater.
Cognitive Dissonance supports all initiatives in the performance arts. For more information or questions concerning “Sin and Shampoo,” Cognitive Dissonance or upcoming events, visit www.cog-diss.org or e-mail Lindsay Elmore at housemanager@cog-diss.org, avolgare@hotmail.com or righo@bigfoot.com.
February 20, 2003
