​The Park Theatre Annual Meeting​ will Feature Silent Films

JAFFREY, NH — What did people watch before holiday TV programs such as "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "A Charlie Brown Christmas" first aired in the 1960s? See for yourself with a special program of holiday classics from way back during the silent film era, all accompanied by live music.

Included will be the first-ever film versions of such popular tales as "A Christmas Carol," by Charles Dickens and "Twas the Night Before Christmas," the poem by Clement C. Moore; each is less than 10 minutes long, according to a press statement.

The family-friendly program is part of The Park Theatre's 10th Annual Meeting and Reception, scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 1 from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Jaffrey Women's Club, 33 Main St., Jaffrey.The meeting and film program are free and open to the public. Attendees are asked to register in advance by either calling 603-532-8888 or online at theparktheatre.net/now-showing/.

Live music will be provided by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based silent film accompanist who performs regularly at screenings around the nation.This year’s meeting and entertainment will follow the tradition of meetings past that featured live music, delicious refreshments, sing-a-longs, comedians, Boy Scout Troop presentations, and performances by the Peterborough Chamber Choir, Small Pond Productions, Project Shakespeare, and stage readings by local stars. The program will include the first known movie versions of "A Christmas Carol" (1910) and "Twas the Night Before Christmas" (1905). The films each run less than 10 minutes long and were both produced as novelties by Thomas Edison, the inventor credited with pioneering the motion picture.The evening will be highlighted by a screening of "Big Business" (1929), a Christmas-themed silent film comedy starring Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy.

"Even in the early days of cinema, the movies helped popularize classic holiday stories," Rapsis said. "So it's a real treat for us to turn back the clock and see where the tradition of holiday movies and TV specials first began."The Park Theatre's holiday program will give local audiences a chance to experience silent film as it was meant to be seen—on a large screen, with live music, and with an audience.Also, it's a sample of the entertainment and cultural possibilities that a revitalized Park Theatre would offer the community."

"All those elements are important parts of the silent film experience," said Rapsis, who improvises a movie's musical score live as it screens."Recreate those conditions, and the classics of early Hollywood leap back to life in ways that can still move audiences today."

Rapsis performs on a digital keyboard that reproduces the texture of the full orchestra and creates a traditional "movie score" sound. The Park Theatre is the dream of Romulo Vanni, an Italian immigrant who sought to better his community with the bold idea of a movie and vaudeville house right downtown. In 1922 Romolo cut his house in half and raised it on columns so patrons could pass under it and into his barn for movies and shows.

For 54 years, The Theatre was a vibrant center of Jaffrey’s cultural and community life before going “dark” in 1976. Rediscovered in 2001, the Theatre has become the focus of a community-wide revitalization effort. Once reopened, it will present movies, children’s programs and live fine arts performances in a state-of-the-art facility. After more than a decade of planning and fund-raising, construction on the new Park Theatre is scheduled to begin in 2017. A program of holiday silent film classics will be shown as part of The Park Theatre Annual Meeting on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Jaffrey Women's Club, 33 Main St. in Jaffrey. The meeting and film program is free and open to the public.

Attendees are asked to register in advance by either calling 603-532-8888 or online at theparktheatre.net/now-showing/.

For more info about the music, visit www.jeffrapsis.com.

Submitted by Jeff Rapsis.