Will Schutz - Der Blaue Engel

This Video was created in Lincoln Nebraska around 1983 or 84. I met Will at the University of Nebraska Drama Department where we were studying Theatre Arts. With the help of a few friends we made a fun student film called "Ill Gotten Gains" which included clips of my now defunct punk band The Spam Grenades, some poetry performed in Lincoln Memorial Cemetery, Will performing two of his original songs and a 10 minute vignette based on The Blue Angel that Will and I wrote and performed. This video "Der Blaue Engel" was a tribute to the Marlene Dietrich film of the same name. The idea was that Lola Lola and her ill fated admirer Professor Immanuel Rath are caught in limbo, condemned to replay their little travesty over and over till doomsday. Even as an undergrad Will took up the challenge of every role with fervor and a sense of discovery. You can see this when Lola points out that he has awakened from his slumber in a tuxedo and not in the demoralized state where he ends up in the Dietrich film. Will dons his top hat and checks to see that his watch is still there and ticking. Will came up with that entire bit and when we were rehearsing he stayed in character as you can see by our tango at the end. And yes, thats Claudios soliloquy from Shakespeares Measure for Measure. I wish I hadnt been singing so loud over it so you could hear Wills amazing rendition. His acting skills and dedication were undoubtedly the reason that my father, William R. Morgan, cast him in plays he directed at UNL during the early 1980s. I miss those plays so much and Will helped me more than he ever knew. He honored me by asking me to direct him in Rattlesnake in a Cooler. He was awesome in the play and that project gave me more confidence in myself than I had ever had before. Will was not only an actor he was multi-talented and excelled in many areas. Will was an absolutely amazing person and dear friend. He passed away May 25th 2009 and left his indelible mark on the Chicago theatrical community.