Liberty Smith is the perfect presidential running mate in a conservative campaign — she’s American as apple pie.
But Liberty has a politically inconvenient secret: She’s in love with her campaign spin doctor, a woman.
No, this isn’t a preview of the 2016 general election. It’s the premise of Andy Kirshner’s upcoming feature film, “Liberty’s Secret: The 100% All-American Musical.”
Although Kirshner filmed the movie in Ann Arbor in late 2014, Liberty Smith has been Kirshner’s brainchild for the past six years.
“I didn’t know when I was a teenager that I wanted to make a film one day,” Kirshner says. “But making art is a gradual process of discovery of who you are. I used to really love performing, but now I love directing and writing.”
Kirshner holds a joint appointment at U-M as associate professor of performing arts technology in the School of Music, Theatre, & Dance, and associate professor in the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design. Additionally, he is in his first year as director of the interarts performance department at Stamps.
Kirshner, who wrote, directed, produced and made an acting cameo in “Liberty’s Secret,” is a firm believer in the interrelatedness of the arts.
“The arts are essentially collaborative. Whether you’re writing a poem or making a movie, the creative process is essentially the same, even if the tools are different.”
“Liberty’s Secret” follows that very principle. Although the movie is fundamentally “a musical and a love story,” the premise arose from the intersection between two creative arenas: political propaganda and the entertainment industry.
“Increasingly, the world of entertainment and the world of politics have become merged,” Kirshner says. “It’s a theme that resonates in the love story as well. A political campaign is a lot like a romance, with a strong element of seduction involved.”
Through the Third Century Initiative, Kirshner developed a class in fall 2014 in which students got real-world experience working on the movie set.
Kirshner’s students were given responsibilities far beyond than what they would have received on a Hollywood set. “The costume design students got to make costumes; art students got to design props. There were long days, but they hung in there,” Kirshner says.
The weekly Spotlight features faculty and staff members at the university. To nominate a candidate, email the Record staff at urecord@umich.edu.
“Liberty’s Secret” was filmed in 21 production days across the Ann Arbor area, from a wedding scene in Trinity Lutheran Church to a dance scene in the Michigan League ballroom. The rapport between Kirshner, cast, and crew helped make long days fun.
From start to finish, Kirshner estimates that more than 200 people, from local professional actors to U-M students and faculty, have worked on “Liberty’s Secret.”
Kirshner aims for a release date for “Liberty’s Secret” during election season, 2016.
“The university community is special. I don’t think I could have made the movie anywhere else,” he says.
Q&A
What moment in the classroom stands out as the most memorable?
So many memorable moments. But the ones I like the best happen when the students are so engaged in what they are learning that they forget I am there.
What can’t you live without?
Humor and flexibility.
What is your favorite spot on campus?
Ingalls Mall, in the spring, by the tulips, with a cup of coffee and a doughnut.
What inspires you?
Jazz. It’s a complex art form that you don’t have to be a specialist to love.
What are you currently reading?
Doris Kearns Goodwin’s “The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, and the Golden Age of Journalism.”
Who had the biggest influence on your career path?
My undergraduate music composition teacher, T.J. Anderson. He heard one of my first attempts at composition and said, “You should do more of that.”
