*ITHACA COLLEGE CONFERENCE TO HONOR TELEVISION WRITER ROD SERLING

March 28-29, 2008*



 

    The Roy H. Park School of Communications at Ithaca College will 

sponsor a two-day conference honoring one of television's best-known 

writers.  THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF ROD SERLING will be held on campus 

March 28-29,/ /and will feature presentation of academic papers as well 

as panel discussions, screenings and results of a nationwide Rod Serling 

scriptwriting competition.



Following the success of a similar event in 2006, this year's conference 

is expected to draw writers, researchers and Serling enthusiasts from 

around the country.  The creator of the ground-breaking series "Twilight 

Zone" lectured on creative writing at Ithaca College, and several of 

this year's conference sessions will examine Serling's role as a teacher 

-- featuring some of his colleagues and students from the early 1970's.  

Topics for other sessions include: the writer's earliest work as a 

struggling writer in Cincinnati, Ohio; Serling's critically-acclaimed 

screenplay for "Seven Days in May" as a prophetic exploration of the 

roles of the U.S. military and the legislative branches of government in 

times of political stress; his frustrating attempts to dramatize the 

murder of Emmett Till -- an experience that would sharpen his views on 

sponsor censorship and network interference; the "twilight zone" as a 

philosophical concept; "The Rod Serling Archive" at Ithaca College -- 

one of the largest collections of the author's creative work; and, a 

multimedia presentation which combines "Twilight Zone" dialog, familiar 

soundtrack music, and images from the series to explore the show's 

influence on American pop culture. 



In addition, a popular event from the 2006 conference will, like the 

series itself, have a "rerun."  During a live "Twilight Zone Marathon" 

episodes from the original series, which aired on the CBS television 

network from 1959 to 1963, will be shown --- including introductions and 

analysis of each script's themes.



The two-day conference will conclude with a staged reading of Serling's 

script "Noon on Doomsday."  In cooperation with Ithaca's Department of 

Theater Arts, this never-before-produced work will be brought to life in 

a fitting tribute to THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF ROD SERLING.



Conference registration details are available on the event website at: 

http://www.ithaca.edu/rhp/serling





-- 

Melissa M. Gattine

Special Programs and Public Relations Coordinator

Roy H. Park School of Communications

Ithaca College, 378 Park Hall

Ithaca, NY, 14850

(607) 274-1023

(607) 274-1108 fax







----

Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite

http://www.ScreenSite.org