Who Made Me?

You might have noticed the Nerve Tank link on your right. The Nerve Tank is an experimental theatre company and my Dr. Frankenstein runs it with my producer, Melanie Armer. You could say, then, that I'm an unholy union of live performance and cinema, at least in the world-colliding mind of Chance Muehleck. For more info about him and Melanie, click on over here.

Brian Wengrofsky has been working as a cinematographer since 1997 when he shot the majority of the award-winning South African documentary "Pavement Aristocrats." His other documentary credits include the Emmy-winning "A Lion's Trail," which was shown at Cannes and on PBS’s Independent Lens, as well as "When the War is Over" and "The Mother's House," both of which aired on the Sundance Channel. He has been recently adding to his TV resume with series such as "The Next Iron Chef" for the Food Network and the globe-hopping "70 Days Around the World" for Germany’s N-TV. Brian holds a BFA in Film Directing from the School of the Arts at SUNY Purchase and currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. Find him at www.brianwengrofsky.com.

Marshall Coles is a lighting designer and co-founder of Lumenhouse, an emerging arts organization based out of a refurbished factory in the burgeoning creative scene of Bushwick, Brooklyn. Marshall has collaborated with visual artist Aurora Robson to create this dynamic venue where the creative processes of artists at work can be viewed simultaneously with ever-changing exhibitions. He has worked as a gaffer and camera operator on many independent films and TV shows, including "Dateline NBC" and "Down to the Bone."

Molly Camp has extensive regional theatre credits with leading roles at Berkeley Rep, Vineyard Playhouse, Syracuse Stage, the O'Neill Center, Sundance, and the Actors Theatre of Louisville. She has appeared on such TV shows as "Law & Order: SVU," "Gossip Girl," and "All My Children." Her website is www.mollycamp.com.

Jason Howard has performed with the Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, Theater for the New City, LaMama, ManhattanTheatreSource (founding member), the Ontological, EST, Circle Rep, the Ohio, HERE, Judith Shakespeare, and the Adobe Theate, et al. He is a member of The Nerve Tank and has toured internationally doing puppetry with Drama of Works. His TV and film credits include “The Launch,” “3rd Watch,” “Solar Vengeance,” “Soldier in the Shadows,” “Baseball Trilogy,” and “Pandora Machine.” Visit him at www.jasonhoward.org.

I thank them all, as well as the production assistants, caffeine faeries, and understanding neighbors who were so generous with me. It takes a village to raise a film.

Synopsis & Pics

I promised to let you know what the hell I'm about, and I'm a film of my word.

Here's what my long-winded creator came up with:

"Sponge is a short independent film about a homeless girl who secretly lives in the closet of a wealthy doctor's apartment. Inspired by a true story, Sponge is a haunting look at the distance and connection found between two solitary people."

Not bad for a gateway drug. Because, really, you need to see me to appreciate my subtleties. I'm goddamn subtle! I should probably also mention I'm the film debut of writer/director Chance D. Muehleck. But you may have guessed that by now.

Jason Howard

Molly Camp

Jason Howard

Molly Camp

I'm gathering more info about all the people who worked on me. I will try to keep it PG-13.

Greetings

Hello. This is Sponge, the short independent film being made by Chance D. Muehleck.

Is it strange that I'm speaking (or writing) to you directly? After all, I'm a movie. An object. A thing.

And yet, I exist! Well, almost. I'm waiting, you see. Waiting to be given form. Which is all kinds of frustrating. At the moment, I'm 100 gigs of memory sitting in a rugged LaCie hard drive. All that potential, baby. All my crazy beauty. Warming up a tabletop.

I'm not bitter. No, no. Films can't afford to be bitter these days. It's unseemly. I hear my creator talking a lot about money, which, as far as I can tell, is like a concept without a story (or vice-versa). But I promise you this: You will see me soon.

I'm comprised of some amazing talents, including Molly Camp (the girl), Jason Howard (the man), Brian Wengrofsky (cinematographer), Melanie S. Armer (producer), Marshall Coles (gaffer), and Rachel Soll (wardrobe). 

While I wait, I thought I'd talk a bit about my journey. If interested, please feel free to follow along. I can't promise to post with regularity, but I welcome all comments and questions.

Until next time, then, when I'll drop a synopsis and some screen grabs. Mmm... tasty.