http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dz6IbsmTeSg
There are some cool images and clips of Lupe Velez movies on youtube. If anyone's interested, check em out.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Scenic Sketches
Here are some rough sketches for the three shows.
Living Purgatory - Act 1
The Big Come - Act 2
Deception Pass
Living Purgatory - Act 1
The Big Come - Act 2
Deception PassThe squiggles (technical term) you see on the "Deception Pass", "Living Purgatory", and in Act 1 of "The Big Come" (sketch in process) is a non-woven fabric called Contra. I am looking at Contra O and Contra Super, images bellow. I really like the look of the curved walls in the "Deception Pass" sketch and will be looking at a similar configuration in all the shows. Let me know what you think.
Contra O
Contra Super
Contra O
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Living Purgatory Costume Questions.
Costume Design Questions.
In the 1st act scenes 5 and 6, the characters Lupe, Frida, Denise, La Llorona, and Malinche start to lactate. Are the breasts going to physically lactate or are the actors going to express lactation in acting styles?
Staying on the topic of act 1 scene 6, for the same characters. They all get suddenly 9 months pregnant, and in the same scene they also give birth. I'm wondering if it is going to be some physical transformation, or using acting to portray that they are pregnant?
In the 2nd act, scene Leo is omitted. how is this going to work out? are we going to still have the wedding, home, and dinner party scenes but just not have the character of Leo present but in notion. Or are those scenes going to be rewrote and revised.
Over the span of the 2nd act, the character of the baby grows in increments. How do you plan that this will unfold. An idea- to just switch out the clothing to determine age.
I'm going to post pictures of my research soon. I look forward to working with all of you on our journey in Living Purgatory.
In the 1st act scenes 5 and 6, the characters Lupe, Frida, Denise, La Llorona, and Malinche start to lactate. Are the breasts going to physically lactate or are the actors going to express lactation in acting styles?
Staying on the topic of act 1 scene 6, for the same characters. They all get suddenly 9 months pregnant, and in the same scene they also give birth. I'm wondering if it is going to be some physical transformation, or using acting to portray that they are pregnant?
In the 2nd act, scene Leo is omitted. how is this going to work out? are we going to still have the wedding, home, and dinner party scenes but just not have the character of Leo present but in notion. Or are those scenes going to be rewrote and revised.
Over the span of the 2nd act, the character of the baby grows in increments. How do you plan that this will unfold. An idea- to just switch out the clothing to determine age.
I'm going to post pictures of my research soon. I look forward to working with all of you on our journey in Living Purgatory.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
WATER
Hello all,
Something I'm chewing on:
p52 "The gladius sinks in the water."
Oh hey, that's right! There's a flood in this play.
All design elements really have to communicate for this to be as creative and spectacular as I know we can make it.
One thought I have is for a fishing net (with seaweed, etc attached) to lift slowly, eventually over the actors heads. Or, no net - just sound and light and huge ass wind machine. And we give all the audience members little bubble wands, like you get as wedding favors, to blow bubbles at the actors...
Okay, maybe not that last one...
Thoughts?
Something I'm chewing on:
p52 "The gladius sinks in the water."
Oh hey, that's right! There's a flood in this play.
All design elements really have to communicate for this to be as creative and spectacular as I know we can make it.
One thought I have is for a fishing net (with seaweed, etc attached) to lift slowly, eventually over the actors heads. Or, no net - just sound and light and huge ass wind machine. And we give all the audience members little bubble wands, like you get as wedding favors, to blow bubbles at the actors...
Okay, maybe not that last one...
Thoughts?
Big Come Puppets
Thanks for all the great ideas and researching, Heidi!
As we discussed via email, the crane is right on track! haunting, eerie, beautiful.
I'd like to keep those same adjectives in mind for Zoe. She and the crane are very much connected. As much as we can mirror them, especially in the wings, will be helpful.
Baby Zoe is a cute and beautiful human baby, but she is also a prophet with wings.
The Mimi Kirchner images are great. Here are some images I thought could work for Zoe inspiration:
This may be complicating things too much, but I kind of like the idea that she is also part mermaid. As pictured here:
Some specific thoughts:
Crane -
p29 - - it will have to be able to have a detachable/reactachable wing that can stand the wear and tear of falling.
Zoe -
p31 -- Possibly both the actress and the puppet onstage (actress operating puppet), so that we can watch the Baby Zoe to Adult Zoe transition happen more slowly
p45 -- Now actress Zoe is on her own. But, we some dress/style that connects her to Baby Zoe. COSTUMES should be in on this conversation.
Tree -
SET and PUPPET convo--
The actor playing Tree Climber and the physical tree in Act II should be very connected. Perhaps the tree is somehow part of/operated by Tree Climber? Maybe by several actors?
How do the roots grow? How do the branches fall off?
Some inspiration:
Body Parts-
I love that this script is so challenging!! Yay for cannibalism... Mmmmmm.
As stated in Act II, pain is real. There are consequences to actions, and those consequences HURT.
However, the audience will know that the actors aren't really cutting off their body parts. So, what is the most visceral way to convey that they are. We have to think not realistically, but metaphorically. I really encourage all of you to weigh in with ideas/questions/thoughts.
Hope you are all enjoying this last week before your classes begin!
Best,
Lauren
As we discussed via email, the crane is right on track! haunting, eerie, beautiful.
I'd like to keep those same adjectives in mind for Zoe. She and the crane are very much connected. As much as we can mirror them, especially in the wings, will be helpful.
Baby Zoe is a cute and beautiful human baby, but she is also a prophet with wings.
The Mimi Kirchner images are great. Here are some images I thought could work for Zoe inspiration:
This may be complicating things too much, but I kind of like the idea that she is also part mermaid. As pictured here:
Some specific thoughts:
Crane -
p29 - - it will have to be able to have a detachable/reactachable wing that can stand the wear and tear of falling.
Zoe -
p31 -- Possibly both the actress and the puppet onstage (actress operating puppet), so that we can watch the Baby Zoe to Adult Zoe transition happen more slowly
p45 -- Now actress Zoe is on her own. But, we some dress/style that connects her to Baby Zoe. COSTUMES should be in on this conversation.
Tree -
SET and PUPPET convo--
The actor playing Tree Climber and the physical tree in Act II should be very connected. Perhaps the tree is somehow part of/operated by Tree Climber? Maybe by several actors?
How do the roots grow? How do the branches fall off?
Some inspiration:
Body Parts-
I love that this script is so challenging!! Yay for cannibalism... Mmmmmm.
As stated in Act II, pain is real. There are consequences to actions, and those consequences HURT.
However, the audience will know that the actors aren't really cutting off their body parts. So, what is the most visceral way to convey that they are. We have to think not realistically, but metaphorically. I really encourage all of you to weigh in with ideas/questions/thoughts.
Hope you are all enjoying this last week before your classes begin!
Best,
Lauren
Monday, January 5, 2009
Puppet Images for The Big Come
Hi, I'm posting some images for Zoe and also the bird. Pleae let me know what you think.
I keep imagining the bird as a crane, something lovely but a little ungainly and large. Is this what others are seeing? I'd like to make it at least 4ft tall so that it is a real presence on the stage. Here are couple of crane sculptures I found for inspiration.
I love the curve of the wings on the first one. The second, more abstract one, would be another way to go. I like the idea of having an bird that is natural looking but with exposed hardware like bolts as well. I also like the proportions of the third pic.
I am trying to make the bird puppet something that could be manipulated by one person so as to keep the stage from getting too crowded. As soon as I get some feedback on the look, I will start on sketches and a mock-up to be used in rehearsals.
For Zoe's early incarnations, I really think of her as almost an angelic/prophetic figure, so I've been grabbing some images of cherubim for inspiration. The pic of "cherub pie" just amuses me.
I also want to play up Zoe's status as an objectified character so I've been looking at a lot of doll images. Here are some of the things I've found.
These are by an artist named Mimi Kirchner that I really like. I especially like the images of her unfinished work. It would also be a pretty easy method to repeat and age for the various incarnations of Zoe.
This would be another way to go. It is kind of an American classic and seems, to me at least, to fit with the idea of "white trash." It is also sort of aggressively cute.
This last pic is similarly "cute" but a bit more modern.
I keep imagining the bird as a crane, something lovely but a little ungainly and large. Is this what others are seeing? I'd like to make it at least 4ft tall so that it is a real presence on the stage. Here are couple of crane sculptures I found for inspiration.
I love the curve of the wings on the first one. The second, more abstract one, would be another way to go. I like the idea of having an bird that is natural looking but with exposed hardware like bolts as well. I also like the proportions of the third pic.
I am trying to make the bird puppet something that could be manipulated by one person so as to keep the stage from getting too crowded. As soon as I get some feedback on the look, I will start on sketches and a mock-up to be used in rehearsals.
For Zoe's early incarnations, I really think of her as almost an angelic/prophetic figure, so I've been grabbing some images of cherubim for inspiration. The pic of "cherub pie" just amuses me.
I also want to play up Zoe's status as an objectified character so I've been looking at a lot of doll images. Here are some of the things I've found.
These are by an artist named Mimi Kirchner that I really like. I especially like the images of her unfinished work. It would also be a pretty easy method to repeat and age for the various incarnations of Zoe.
This would be another way to go. It is kind of an American classic and seems, to me at least, to fit with the idea of "white trash." It is also sort of aggressively cute.This last pic is similarly "cute" but a bit more modern.
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