Asbury College Begins Planning Second Narnia Night
Asbury College is already planning to host Narnia Night II for April 25, 2008, a few weeks before the major motion picture release of Walden Media and Disney Studio’s Prince Caspian. A week before the Walden/Disney’s adaptation of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe opened nationwide in December of 2005, 1200 Asbury College students, faculty, and community members gathered in Hughes Auditorium for a night that celebrated all things Narnian. They were treated to a number of talks by C. S. Lewis experts, behind-the-scenes clips from the movie, a filmed interview with Andrew Adamson (the film’s director), and a special world premier of a 7-minute super trailer with scenes from the movie never shown before.
Among the Lewis experts who spoke was Dr. Jerry Walls, the editor of the highly successful book The Chronicles of Narnia and Philosophy and Asbury’s College’s Lewis Scholar, Dr. Devin Brown. Asbury College senior Sarah McCain served as the evening’s Master of Ceremonies.
Both Narnia Nights are the product of a partnership of Asbury College and the Lilly Endowment’s emphasis on vocation. Dr. Mike Peterson, Director of Asbury’s Lilly Grant initiative, explains, “Narnia Night highlighted the unique calling and creativity of C. S. Lewis and served to remind us that we all are called to put our talents and inclinations to use in a way that goes beyond our own material needs. In partnering with Lilly on this second Narnia Night, we hope to communicate this same message, particularly to the many high school and college students who will be there.”
With Walden’s film of Prince Caspian, the second volume in the Chronicles of Narnia, set to come out in May 2008, the countdown to Asbury’s second Narnia Night has begun. Professor Greg Bandy, who has been named as the director for Narnia Night II, is enthusiastic about the upcoming event. He points out, “We are planning this event to be a part of an entire weekend package of events related to how we can effectively encounter culture with the arts.” Bandy added, “We hope to create some great educational synergies here working with a team of departments on campus involved with art, music, cinema and literature. We’re also working much more closely with Walden Media as a result of our partnership with them on last year’s educational resource DVD for Amazing Grace.”
As part of the first Narnia Night, students and faculty from the College’s media communications department created a short documentary titled The Storyteller, which told the story of how Lewis came to write The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. In preparation for Narnia Night II, a second documentary is again being produced by a team of Asbury students and faculty. Storyteller II will pick up where the first left off, telling the history of events which led up to the publication of Prince Caspian.
Tagged: prince-caspian, Narnia and cslewis
