OK, this is old news. But you’ve gotta see the pictures anyway!
On July 24 and 25, 2008, an ensemble cast performed The Lady Liberty Blues, written in the main by Wes Andrews and directed by Jess Smith, at Live Girls! Theater in Ballard, a Seattle neighborhood.
I was in charge of all the shadow imagery. This was my first time creating puppets for a show, and my first time performing with them. These will give you an idea of what we accomplished:
The Little Boy Who Lived in a Jar
The Chair of Motivation
Little Cartoon Baby Bob Dylan
The Rat Cage
Secret Orcon
OHP!
If you want more information on the show, Wes created a blog, which lives nearby.
That’s the name of an album by Final Fantasy, nee Owen Pallett, violinist extraordinaire.
Pallett is best known in the States as the gorgeous string accompaniment for the Arcade Fire (think “No Cars Go”).
In Canada he is also prominent as a solo artist who creates lush musical textures by looping his violin tracks. This is impressive live, as you will see in the video below.
Why I bring his story to you today is because his live show is augmented by shadows. Stephanie Comilang uses and overhead projector to add even more layers to the performance.
It’s been awhile folks. Sorry for that. Many, many things to blog in the coming days. Maker Faire photos coming soon!!!
For today, I will share one of the most thrilling discoveries of my recent life. There is an artist musician duo out of Toronto that uses shadow theater. Brilliant brilliant brilliant.
So in a couple of weeks I will start teaching my shadow theater class again. This is the second time in history. I figured it would be prudent to start out by introducing the prevailing traditions from, for instance, Indonesia. But pictures are so inadequate for puppets. They really are. I needed wayang kulit. I needed them bad.
So I went to Ebay.
What do you know, there is a guy in Central Java who has a store and sells such things. His store, debakoel, is here.
I bought two puppets, which were in Singapore and are flying this way now.
Pabu Kresna
“His name as a boy was Raden Narayana, the son of Basudewa with Dewi Badraini. He was the twin brother of Sembadra, both of them had smooth black/dark color of skin. He was tall with slender body and a good-looking face, brilliant and wise. No wonder many ladies fell in love with him.”
Just look at that detail. No wonder.
“He loved very much Sembadra and Arjuna. He always patiently took care of his temperamental elder brother Kakrasana/Baladewa. He was the incarnation of Betara Wisnu, the protector of life. After defeating King Yudakala Kresna of Dwarawati, Narayana became the king of the kingdom of Dwarawati and his official name was Prabu Kresna.” (from Planet Mole)
I don’t know who this guy is. I just thought he looked like he could eat anyone that messed with me or my friends. I bet he casts a wicked shadow…
