Sundance 2010 Orientation Night
The drive up to the Sundance resort is more familiar now—I hug each curve against sheer mountainside with less adrenaline and know exactly when my time to turn approaches. I know where to park and I walk confidently up the nearest steps, where the deserted ticketing area is illuminated by a the low hum of a fluorescent floodlight. It’s cold. I see my breath. No sounds except my own footsteps. I walk past an empty ski rack toward the edge of the light, confidently stepping onto a dimly lit paved path. I know this place.
Last year when I reported to the Sundance Screening Room for film festival volunteer orientation night, I didn’t really know where I was going. When I could find signposts, they weren’t clear. I was nervous that I was in the wrong place; I didn’t even see any people walking around. I can’t remember if this huge evergreen tree was decorated with lights then, but it was tonight. It made me smile.
I knew exactly where I was going tonight and had no fear of getting lost on the winding paths that lead deeper into the resort. They’re not that long, really. I familiarized myself with them last January and then learned shortcuts and new paths when I volunteered for the Sundance Institute over the summer. Walking familiar paths in the dark on a solitary winter night spreads a sense of peace over me.
The orientation/check-in was pretty straightforward and similar to last year’s, except that I knew some of the people this time. I slipped into easy conversations with fresh faces. At times I felt like a goddamn high school senior, calling out names of people I remembered and waving and chatting about what we’ve been up to since last January.
The group of volunteers at the Sundance resort is tiny and tight-knit in comparison to the number of volunteers at the festival hub in Park City. It was easy to get lost in the crowd when I checked in there for the festival in 2008. Sometimes it’s good to lose yourself in a crowd, but for me, I love the small and informal nature of the festival team at the Sundance resort.
Volunteer check-in tonight meant picking up my “staff volunteer” credentials and information along with a free Sundance 2010 water bottle. There were no women’s jackets (apparently they’re stuck in customs, which I guess means they’re not made in the USA) so I won’t get mine until my first shift next week. They’re mostly off-white (this is not good for my clumsy nature) with red and black accents, sponsored again by Kenneth Cole. They look nice, but instead of having a removable vest as the inner lining, they have zipper-removable sleeves. I predict that will result in lots of lost sleeves around town.
While standing in that haphazard line waiting for my turn, my eyes drifted to the wall of foam-backed photos. Just like last year, the photos were from the summer Sundance Institute. I giggled a geeky giggle when I saw this one of Denis O’Hare:
Because I was there. Sitting right behind the professional photographer when that photo was taken.
Part of my summer volunteer duties, outside of the inglorious lifting and organizing, involved transcribing video notes for Denis O’Hare and Lisa Peterson as they workshopped a one-man version of the Iliad. It was an exciting, surreal experience that made me catch my breath at times. Even though I saw pieces of the play coming together in person and in video clips, I didn’t understand how powerful it would be when performed on stage. If I am able, I want to see the final version of An Iliad at Seattle Repertory Theater in April/May.
(As an added bonus, Denis and Lisa are both fabulously nice people.)
So, that was my night. Another exciting lead-in to mid-winter Sundance excitement. I’m really looking forward to the next two weeks!
