Filmmakers stick with Ohio

It’s been 10 years since Ken and Dan Mizicko formed Stuck In Ohio Productions and started filming the exploits of extreme-sports enthusiasts.

To mark the milestone, the two brothers from Vienna have released “Still Stuck” and posted the 31-minute documentary on YouTube.com. The Mizickos, both Youngstown State University graduates, have a lot of ties to the action-sports scene — snowboarding, skateboarding, waterskiing, street luge, etc. — in the region, and are participants themselves. Their films capture the action.

About a third of “Still Stuck” was shot in the Mahoning Valley, including skateboarding in downtown Youngstown and motorcycle stunts at Harley-Davidson Biketown in Austintown.

The film is interspersed with interviews of local extreme athletes who talk about the glories and challenges of practicing their passion in Northeast Ohio. The title, it becomes clear, is tongue in cheek — the athletes are happy to be “stuck” in Ohio.

One young man talks about how the area makes skateboarders better, because it forces you to get creative in finding locations.

“We have lots of love for Ohio,” said Ken Mizicko.

‘Seinfeld’ character actor coming to the funny farm

When you have an infrequently recurring role in a sitcom, it’s hard to make an impression. But Steve Hytner did just that.

Of course, it helps when the sitcom is “Seinfeld.”

Hytner played Kenny Bania, the annoying comedian who was always in competition with title character Jerry Seinfeld.

Hytner will bring his stand-up act to the Funny Farm comedy club in Austintown for three shows this weekend. Showtimes are 9 p.m. Friday and 8 and 10 p.m. Saturday. The Funny Farm is located inside Mojo’s Pub and Grill, 6292 Mahoning Ave. Tickets are $20. Call 330-759-4242 for reservations.

Although Hytner is still best known for his role as Kenny Bania, he also has played character roles on “How I Met Your Mother,” “Friends,” “Mike and Molly” and HBO’s “Hung” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.”

Kent State tragedy told in Film and book

David Hassler’s play “May 4th Voices,” which is about the 1970 student protest at Kent State University that turned deadly, premiered on the campus in 2010.

The play was based on the Kent State Shootings Oral History Project and featured an all-Kent State student cast. It consists of first-person narratives about the tragedy, based on the testimony of people who were there.

Four students died that day — including Sandra Lee Scheuer of Boardman, who was an innocent bystander — when National Guardsmen turned and fired into a mob that refused to disperse.

That 2010 stage production of “May 4th Voices” was filmed and has been edited into a film. A free sneak preview screening will take place at 7 p.m. May 2 at Kent Stage, 175 E. Main St., Kent. The broadcast premiere will be at 10 p.m. May 3 on Western Reserve PBS.

The Kent State University Press also will release the book “May 4th Voices: Kent State, 1970: A Play” and a companion teacher’s resource book, in tandem with the film’s premiere.