Culture & Community | Arts & Culture | East Haven | East Haven Public Television
Bridget Stasko Photos.
Visions of 90’s aliens, conspiracy theory podcasters, and government scientists in hazmat suits danced around the room at East Haven Public Television on Monday night.
“I’m not quite sure how I ended up here,” Kim Espinal said while introducing herself, to an outburst of laughter. “But I’m happy to be here.”
The feeling was mutual. Community took center stage as the cast and crew for local filmmaker Josh Stasko’s newest project, “Alienated,” gathered for a table read of the script.
“I want this to be a very fun project for everybody,” Stasko told the room. “I want this to be a project where everyone genuinely cares for each other and cares about the work we’re doing together.”
East Haven Public Television (ETV) was the perfect venue for a read through of the script. As a community media center, ETV airs three public broadcast channels and offers audio and video services for local podcasters, singer-songwriters, and filmmakers alike. Throughout the table read—actors focusing on their lines, and chuckling at jokes—the welcoming AC of the center, the team spirit, and the funny, light-hearted story were all in harmony.
In “Alienated,” Krant and Galvor—father and grandfather to the cutest claymation larva you’ll ever meet—crash-land on Earth in the middle of a traditional naming quest for their gurgling newborn.
To get home, they need to work together and confront their own dysfunctional relationship, but they also must contend with varied responses from the locals (including, but not limited to: sound parenting advice, shady scientific experimentation in hazmat suits, and a hysterical high-speed kidnapping, acted out by writer and comedian Jair Pinedo.)
“I don’t know how Josh knew I had a hazmat suit,” art worker Ernst said, “But Stephen, we might be doing some duets.”
Bridget Stasko Photos.
Filmmaker Stephen Bisaccia, who may or may not be in a hazmat suit, also competes in New Haven’s annual 48 Hour Film Project. He and Stasko are “aligned in how we want to make stuff: smaller stories, independent collaborative spirit,” he said.
Others members had also worked together in the past. Actor and filmmaker Woubalem Tezeta, audio engineer Eamon Linehan, and special effects artist Melisa Alvarado all attended Hang Out Film Fest, a community-oriented film festival Stasko organized earlier this year.
“It’s fun to see it building from the workshop, to the festival, and now to this project I’m putting together,” Stasko said.
Some had never met each other before, like Mariah Sage, who teaches acting at Quinnipiac University and is the founder and audition coach of Present & Perform.
Some have known each other a long time: Marissa Conklin is an old friend of Stasko’s and worked with him to film a comedy sketch.
“We’re big on community building,” producer Marc Harris II said. He, writer and comedian Deven Ladson, and actor Seamus Herriman have all made films with Stasko previously, though “Alienated” marks their “biggest” project yet.
“I’m new to the community. They invited me with open arms, now we’re making our first feature film,” Harris said.
This quality, Stasko said, is something special about New Haven. “In the New Haven area, people are down to go to things,” he said. “It would be hard to put this together in other places, but thankfully there’s a lot of people in this community who are just jumping in.”
Bridget Stasko Photos.
The enthusiasm for New Haven’s filmmakers and artists was echoed by other crew members. It also informed the goals they hope “Alienated” to achieve.
“I would like for it to build more community in New Haven,” Ladson said. “More filmmakers. We’re making very creative, I would say Stephen Spielberg, kind of things. It’s fun!”
“We make things for the joy of it, the authenticity of it; completion is the goal,” Harris responded. He added that he’d like to submit “Alienated” to film festivals as well: “But recognition outside of that, that we made something not just for us but something that resonates with people outside of our own community.”
For Stasko, all of this aligns with the mindset he brings to his projects. At the start of the table read, he told his crew: “My slogan is emotionally intelligent filmmaking, and that’s very intentional.”
This mindset, he says, is important to avoiding the pitfalls other film projects can fall into.
“I want people to be comfortable and have fun,” he said. “I think that’s going to make a better movie than when you’re focused on the money, and stressed about time.”
His crew members’ goals reflected his own. When Stasko thinks about a completed “Alienated,” he thinks about the community.
“I think it’d be really fun to have a local screening that is free to the community; for everyone involved, their family and friends, for anyone looking for entertainment and to support local arts,” he said.
“I’d also love to submit to local festivals and see where it goes, but we’ll find opportunities when we’re at that point.”
For right now, he has a film to shoot and a clay alien larva to animate. “Alienated” will touch down in New Haven sometime in 2026.