Working in Theatre: Speciality Props

Working in the Theatre: Prop Masters

Behind the Scenes of Wicked (Set Design)

Working In The Theatre, Scenic Design

Laurie Anderson, Artist

"At the heart of Delusion, an evening of Laurie Anderson's personal meditations on life, language, memory and identity, is the belief that words and stories can create the world, as well as make it disappear. Even if you've had the chance to see Anderson in concert or on screen, her full-scale, live performance art will sweep you away in a stunning collage of visual imagery, electronic soundscape and spoken vignette—the poetic language that has become Laurie Anderson's trademark." Source is Emerson College. Link here.

William Kentridge, Born 1955, South Africa

A satirical short story by Nikolai Gogol written during his time living in St. Petersburg. During this time, Gogol's works were primarily focused on surrealism and the grotesque, with a romantic twist. Written between 1835 and 1836, "The Nose" tells the story of a St. Petersburg official whose nose leaves his face and develops a life of its own. "The Nose" was originally published in The Contemporary, a literary journal owned by Alexander Pushkin. The use of a nose as the main source of conflict in the story could have been due to Gogol's own experience with an oddly shaped nose, which was often the subject of self-deprecating jokes in letters. The use of iconic landmarks in the story, as well as the sheer absurdity of the story, has made "The Nose" an important part of St. Petersburg's literary tradition.

William Kentridge, Shadow Procession

Link here to watch video on You Tube.

"William Kentridge is recognized for his lush animated films and drawings. His highly original films projected from laserdisks, are from the very traditional medium of charcoal drawing, which form the basis for his films. Kentridge adjusts his drawings by introducing new marks or erasing pre-existing ones. This technique ensures that the drawings retain traces of every bit of action that took place in the scene.

William Kentridge is a South African artist who is globally recognized for his handcrafted animated films, drawings and theatrical productions. His project for The 59th Minute, Shadow Procession, depicts a haunting procession of black puppet-like figures made from cardboard cutouts. The figures, hunched and crippled, move from left to right across the screen hauling their belongings-donkeys, carts, chairs, sacks, even whole towns on their backs-as if in an exodus.

Influenced by the brutality of his native land's Apartheid, Shadow Procession conveys the drudgery of living amidst prolonged violence. Their passage looks like a classical frieze of anonymous shadows in a collective journey. William Kentridge's Shadow Procession humbles onlookers with its astonishing simplicity in rendering the displacement and flight of a people amidst the cacophony of Times Square." Source The 59th Minute. Link here.

Miwa Matreyek, Artist

Above image is a still from Myth and Infrastructure.

Myth and Infrastructure

Dreaming of Lucid Living

From TED:
"Miwa Matreyek's work blurs the line between real and unreal. In live works that integrate animation, performance, and video installation, she explores how animation changes when it is combined with body and space (and vice versa). In her video projects, animation takes on a more physical and present quality, while body and space take on a more fantastical quality.
On one hand, Matreyek's performance can be viewed as a cinematic experience taking place on a screen. On the other hand, what is seen on the screen is a collapsed product of multiple layers of animation, objects and body. Her work exists in a juxtaposition of illusion and nonillusion. Matreyek is also a founding member of the performance media group Cloud Eye Control, which makes theatrical productions with cleverly integrated animation projections."

Phantom Limb Company ,The Shackleton Project

The Shackleton Project is a series of dynamic tableau vivants inspired by Sir Ernest Shackleton's 1914 Trans-Antarctic Expedition. Co-conceived by The Phantom Limb Company and The Kronos Quartet. 

A narrative installation-in-motion melds theatrical performance, puppetry, photography, and film with original contemporary music and an unconventional acoustic palette to create a stunning—and unprecedented—artistic and emotional journey. 

Still video on performance. 

More to see on website. Link below. 

https://phantomlimbcompany.com/69south

LAKBAY, Shadow Theatre

Click here for website. Play the third video, LAKBAY.