Review

Rapp Sheet 8-10-10: A new place for professional video and film production opens in KC

StagePort General Manager Jon Trozzolo (center) oversees a photo shoot on StagePort's Stage A. Image: courtesy of StagePort

High on a hill, overlooking downtown Kansas City in most every direction, the world-class Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts is being constructed before our eyes. This major, state-of-the-art facility offers the promise of more economic resources, more attention, and, hopefully, much more appreciation for the Crossroads Arts District and the Kansas City metro area overall once it is completed next year. It will be a landmark image that sporting broadcasts cut-to between commercial breaks, a location where New Year's Eve can be covered from. The planned walkways and garden paths will lend themselves to an array of memorable strolls and outdoor events. The opera, ballet, symphony, and theater community has found its own crossroads, and this fertile ground is being prepped for endless possibilities.

But nearby, deep in the splash of revamped warehouses and renovated buildings that the grand center presides over, another arts-related construction has been taking place with much less fanfare. This project on West 19th Street is more humble and relatively less expensive, but arguably it is just as crucial to the development of arts in the city as what is going on just up the street. This facility addresses the burgeoning production of moving images, which is erupting like vines out of the many nooks and crannies that are the charm of the Crossroads Arts District.

It's no accident that film and television production has found a collaborative partner alongside the robust visual arts, fashion, and music scene that thrives in these few blocks. But whereas there are many homes for showing these pursuits, there has been a noticeable lack of shooting space — i.e. functioning, sizable, fully equipped stages to accommodate the needs of those who wish to produce on a larger-scale. That is all about to change as the StagePort production center opens its doors to the world, with a coming-out party auspiciously scheduled for this Friday, August 13.*

StagePort, boasting three shooting stages and authored by OfficePort co-founders Shaul Jolles and Michael Edmondson, its general manager, Jon Trozzolo, and co-founder/builder, Jeff Owens, seems poised to become a major player in the development of this district. It will have limitless backdrop capabilities and one of the largest green-screen stages in the region. Appropriately, it is an off-shoot of the mail OfficePort center — a free-flowing series of individual office "pods" that encourages entrepreneurial thought, with its communal principle that provides full amenities while furnishing several meeting places for tenants to share ideas.

Official logo for StagePort production facility.

With the prestigious Take2+Back Alley Films just across the street, and strongholds like Wheeler Audio, 19 Below, and countless other niche media businesses surrounding them, StagePort has found itself in the historical hotbed of activity.

"For decades the Crossroads District has been the nucleus of film production and distribution," says Trozzolo. "So we naturally thought it would be a good fit for people in the area interested in production."

"We sat down around the table and talked about how to do this as a large-scale project," says Jolles. "We want to create a multi-media campus of video, sound, photography, web designers, and other industry-related business. And making it part of OfficePort made perfect sense, since we have seen a lot of media-related businesses renting the ancillary offices. Building this dream has been an unbelievable ride. We just kept adding to it and growing it from a modest undertaking into a substantial one."

A longtime associate of legendary production god Jeff Owens, Trozzolo credits a great deal of StagePort's progress to the man who would be assigned a very difficult — yet ultimately satisfying — challenge. "Jeff Owens and I go back to the '70s," says Trozzolo. "He is an extremely creative guy who designs, builds, rigs — he's a special effects artist … a carpenter. I bumped into him one day when this was in progress and asked him to come over and look at the space. He walked around and said, 'You've really got something here. This could be one of the most important structures in the future of media in Kansas City.' Next thing we know, we're in the thick of it."

The second floor of OfficePort is largely occupied, appropriately, by many of the aforementioned media-related companies, with photographers, cinematographers, advertising, film organizations, and graphics professionals all sharing the same creative bath. Collaborations spring easily from this setting, and that is exactly what the proprietors hope will be the model in StagePort as well:

"I would like to see many of  the tenants in OfficePort be involved in the productions going on in StagePort," says Jolles. "That's why we decided to dedicate the second floor to media. There is so much talent, and it would be ideal to see them all working together. This place should be a big boost for everyone. Not just for the Crossroads, but for the city in general. I'm hoping by bringing things like StagePort to the area we will bring a new charge to the industry. We can all benefit from more interest and more production work in Kansas City."

Shaul Jolles, co-founder of OfficePort and StagePort. Image: courtesy of StagePort

Jolles, like so many others, has noted the shift in the wind, as more media businesses spring up and the skill level they demonstrate steadily increases. "I'm not coming from this with an industry perspective," he says. "Being in real estate in Kansas City, I located and re-located a lot of media businesses in the Crossroads. I didn't realize how many production-related companies and individuals existed until then — and many had the same concerns: that while there were a few shooting spaces in the area, none of them was large enough for bigger projects; plus, you didn't feel like the whole thing could be housed under one roof. Here, between OfficePort and StagePort, we are seeing a number of businesses interested in shooting in a large stage. Now, they will have one available to them right next door to their office. And we're not out in the suburbs with nothing happening around you. We're in a great, fun area with coffee shops and galleries and everything else around us."

Though OfficePort is based on a "non-structured" model, StagePort will be run quite differently.

"The vibe of OfficePort will apply to StagePort, certainly, in the sense of shared ideas and creativity," says Jolles, "but it will be an entire different structure. It will still be an open canvas — a sandbox — but it will be meticulously organized so that every client feels like they are being provided for."

A producer himself, Trozzolo knows how stressful the film and video industry can be; projects are invariably time sensitive or under budget constraints — or both. The role of StagePort, he says, is to be present for its clients and their various needs, whether for video shoots for the web, corporate or training videos, commercials, or multi-camera shoots. StagePort is available for pre-production work, too, such as casting, auditions, and rehearsals.

"We can accommodate any and all requests," he says, pointing out that StagePort has amenities such as make-up and dressing rooms, conference rooms, and production office space, even a loading dock with a hydraulic lift that allows vehicles to be driven inside the space.

"StagePort will be especially beneficial to independent filmmakers," adds Trozzolo. "Here you can accommodate a full crew and cast, with plenty of areas to lounge in. Not only that, but it will be financially friendly to struggling filmmaker budgets. Of course, while we're supporting the local film community, we also hope to be the place filmmakers from around the globe can come to if their production needs take them to Kansas City."

Part of StagePort's core team: co-founder/builder Jeff Owens (left), with OfficePort co-founder Michael Thomas Edmondson (right) and general manager Jon Trozzolo (center). Image: courtesy of StagePort

And as the construction continues up on the hill, with a daily average of 250 workers scrambling to get ready for the opening of the Kauffman Center in September 2011, the merry band of dedicated StagePort workers scrambles around the clock to get ready for the end of the week. Jolles is thrilled to share the area with its big-budget neighbor and looks forward to seeing a joint mission develop between the entities.

"The Kauffman Center will do something that no other project has done downtown," says Jolles. "It will bring a new set of people to the Crossroads. It will attract people from around the world to a world-class location, and that is very exciting. With all of us doing our part in building out the city, and creating a great vibe around our community, I think we will see an incredible artistic bloom happen over the next couple of years in Kansas City."

"I'm very excited about our grand opening," adds Trozzolo. "People have seen little glimpses of the progress, but they haven't seen it yet in its full glory. I think they will be blown away by the potential that is now available to them."

Note:

* StagePort will host its grand opening mixer on Friday, August 13, from 6 to 10 p.m. at 208 West 19th Street in Kansas City, Missouri. To inquire about the facility or to seek credentials to attend the event, please contact General Manager Jon Trozzolo at jon@stageport.tv or jtrozzolo@gmail.com.

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