"Detention" was never this much fun
By Marli Guzzetta + Independent Arts Editor
Atalk show that highlights the life of Nantucket kids doesn't sound much like detention, but Mark Carapezza's "Detention with Oliver Diamond" will hold your child's attention in one place with music, magic, dance, jokes, interviews and skits, all occurring on a talk show-style set.

Mark Carapezza, left, brainstorming with kids on the set of "Detention with Oliver Diamond."

Carapezza - who stars as Diamond, the host - is having each of the six shows filmed. This means people who attend will become the "live audience." He's flown in Tim Kelly and Jerry Pickert of San Franciscobased Friday's Films to act as production managers, cameramen and administrative muscle men. (Kelly, the company's co-owner, is a good friend of Carapezza's.) Island musician Jeff Ross is recording the sound.

"Some of the skits will be self-explanatory, while others only the crew and I will know why we are filming them in order to fit them into the larger plot line," Carapezza explained. "We will record laugh tracks and audience reactions and the atmosphere will be exciting. Audience members will often be asked to come on set and partake in the event."

After the six live shows, Carapezza intends to take the footage, as well as footage gathered over the past three years, and edit it into a pilot episode to be premiered on island.

"At that point I will ask for honest feedback and, depending on that feedback, decide whether it is worth it to go back and re-shoot or re-edit before seeking large scale distribution," he explained. "At the very least, I hope to create a DVD and donate it to the Atheneum for anyone to check out. But if all goes well, what I send to production companies will be well received and taken on."

A year ago, Carapezza left his job teaching art at the New School to begin work on the show. A frequent Theatre Workshop Performer, he launched improv classes and workshops oriented toward making kids more media savvy. The classes financed the show and also identified Nantucket kids and island stories to be part of it.

"This is the biggest, most complex and challenging art piece I have ever put together. Juggling the amount of kids involved, their range of ages, and their busy sport and social schedules has been extremely difficult," he said. "I have done my best to invite and include every child and local artist who has shown interest and dedication."

Carapezza said the classes turned out to be a "wonderful success."

"Students involved created insightful, funny and social commentary on the island while giving an inside look at what kids think about and how they decipher our media-driven society, all while learning important lessons on the trickery of television and how it is created, promoted and produced," he said.

This is a dream Carapezza has had for years now - creating a children's show that makes them more media savvy. And it certainly doesn't end with the stage show.

For the kids who've been involved, "Detention with Oliver Diamond" is sure to remain one of the more vivid memories of their childhood. Watching Carapezza brainstorming with a group of them before the show, it's clear that he's created an imaginative and open environment, where every person's idea is heard, and no idea is a bad one.

"Although the final television show itself will be educational, the whole process is part of the art," Carapezza said. "Those who attend the filming and then see the final product will have a better understanding of how television production works, while the kids who have taken part in the writing, acting, storyboarding and filming will be able to say they were once part of something great and be able to

watch television with a more educated eye." I

When: Fri. and Sat., May 18 and 19, 7 p.m.;

Sun., May 20, 3 p.m.

Where: Theatre Workshop of Nantucket

Performance Center, upstairs at the United

Methodist Church, 2 Centre St.

Cost: Ages 7-10 $5 (floor seating); Ages 11-17

$10; Adults $15

For more information, please call 228-4305

or go to www.theatreworkshop.com.