Ava Chuppe
Staff Writer
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The TV Club will hold the premiere of their short film, “Grief,” in the Curris Center Theater on May 7 at 1 p.m.

At the end of every school year, TV Club usually showcases the short films they have made over the fall and spring semester. However, the pandemic has derailed this tradition for the past two years.

The short film, which will be free and open to the public, explores the five stages of grief. Jayson, the film’s protagonist, is a college student attending therapy sessions while struggling to deal with the death of his girlfriend.

Freshman vocal performance major Zacharie Lamb, who wrote and helped direct the short film, began writing the script over Christmas Break.

“It has been so great, because I’m a freshman myself, so I did not expect to be in a position like I am now,” Lamb said.

Lamb said the goal when writing the film was to humanize the topic of grief, so it is not as difficult for people to discuss.

“The goal was to create a very human and honest representation of grief,” Lamb said. “There is no generic way to do that.”

Junior music business major Alec Wadley, who plays Jayson, was involved in the Theatre Arts program’s recent production of “Murder on the Orient Express” alongside Lamb. “Grief” is Wadley’s first experience acting in front of a camera, despite his involvement in several live theater performances.

“It was enlightening to gain the knowledge of not only how to act, but to see what goes on behind [the camera],” Wadley said.

Senior psychology major Leah Harley, the female lead in the film, said she was honored to be a part of the project.

“My experience making the film has been an absolute blast,” Harley said. “It is a lot of work, because we all sacrifice a lot of our time to do this, but every single shoot has been so much fun and lighthearted.”

Harley said the film is relatable because everyone will grieve or has grieved at some point in their lives.

“I hope everyone sees the importance of holding those you love just a little bit tighter, because you never know what day will be their last,” Harley said.

TV Club President Ashley Jones said many different things needed to be done to make the film happen.

“Besides the director and the videographer, there is no role that the same person works each time,” Jones said. “I have helped with audio, lighting and even talked to the director and videographer to suggest different shot ideas for the film.”

At the end of every school Jones said it is exciting to showcase a short film in the Curris Center again.

“I encourage students and other campus community members to come out,” Jones said. “It means a lot for the students to see the work they have done be displayed on the big screen and have people come and watch.”

Lamb added that interested students should be on the lookout for more projects from the TV Club.

“We have more plans in the future to do short films with the same crew, and there have been a lot of bright ideas for next semester,” Lamb said.