On Thursday, June 1, the Greenwich Historical Society will offer a free screening of Roll It: A Special Screening of Jim Henson’s Commercials and Experiments.
In this manic mini film fest, curator Craig Shemin will tee up and comment on a mind-blowing series of shorts, crazy commercials, experiments and other rarities from the Henson vault, including an industrial film for Wilson’s Meat, excerpts from experimental TV programs The Cube and Youth 68, and Time Piece, an eight-minute Academy Award-nominated masterpiece that showcases Henson’s innovative editing, visual thinking and talent for making music out of everyday sounds. Special attention will be devoted to work done while the Hensons lived in Greenwich, including scenes shot in town.
Craig Shemin was a staff writer for the Henson Company for 14 years and is president of the Jim Henson Legacy, a non-profit organization devoted to preserving Henson’s work. Among his credits: the script for the New York Pops concert Jim Henson’s Musical World (Carnegie Hall), The Muppets Kitchen, The Muppets Character Encyclopedia, the Smithsonian’s touring exhibition Jim Henson’s Fantastic World, the Museum of the Moving Image’s World of Jim Henson series and numerous video compilations for The Jim Henson Legacy and The Walt Disney Company.
The program will be introduced by co-curator of Jim and Jane Henson, Creative Work, Creative Play Karen Falk. Falk has been archives director and historian for The Jim Henson Company since 1992, is vice president of The Jim Henson Legacy, and author of Imagination Illustrated: The Jim Henson Journal. Falk collaborates with numerous cultural institutions on Henson-related projects.
The screening takes place at the Greenwich Historical Society, 39 Strickland Rd., from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Admission is free but reservations are required. RSVP to shealy@greenwichhistory.org or call 203-869-6899, ext. 10.
The Storehouse Gallery will open one hour before the program starts so visitors can see “Jim and Jane Henson: Creative Work, Creative Play.”
