CHICAGO —
In Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein", creation is a work of fear.
On the last Saturday, in a rehearsal room here, the creation was also breath-holding and very cold. (
The fan is broken;
The heating is broken. )Scarf-
The dressed actor ran around the stage, avoiding the extension cord and shivering as he manipulated the four overhead projectors.
On a small table in the center, a monster waits lazily for birth.
This is a rehearsal for the almost silent film "Frankenstein ".
In November, the University of Chicago's Court Theatre began performing a mixed theater. 1.
It's the latest work at this height. ingenuity, low-
Technology puppet company (
"Ada/Ava", "Lula del Rey", "Memento Murray ").
This adaptation
Or, re-animation? —
Combine Shelley's novel with Shelley's biography, emphasizing the recurring themes of desire, birth, and loss.
"This is a story about the animation of dead matter," drew Deere, a colleague
Said the artistic director.
"That's what we do as puppetry.
"The deceased in question may be 18 inch long.
Deformed, with a bulging eye, it is shaped like a doll that only a very twisted or very lonely child will like.
It is operated by a puppeteer, shot with a small camera, and looks bigger and more terrible, like the "ugly offspring" described by Shelley ". (
When she wrote the book, Shelley recently lost a newborn, her own mother died of postpartum complications, and the scene was a stage of drama, so the offspring were not necessarily a happy or neutral idea. )
The technology in Shelley's novel is so advanced.
It seems we haven't caught up yet.
If you read the novel, you will know that it is a good thing.
This "Frankenstein" technique was deliberately looked back.
Yes, there's a camera.
Yes, there is electricity independent of lightning.
But the puppet, the magic lantern, the scene of the painting slowly unfolds between the poles.
A device called a tooth tray.
All of this is familiar to Shelley.
Artificial cinema is a cooperative team.
If Deere had conceived the work, he would have developed the work together with two other artistic directors of the handmade film, Sarah Funas, and Julia wanasdale Miller.
Two other art directors, Ben Kaufman, and Kyle Vigo, created the music.
That is to say, this is a company that used to splice new works with different parts. in the past, it was surprised and surprised by its achievements.
"A show has grown so big," Miller said . ".
"For me at least, it's getting more and more like I thought it was.
It sounds a little dangerous.
Is there a company that makes movies by hand like monsters and opens them to life?
"Fortunately, they can't have life without us," Fornace said with a smile . ".
"The puppets can't move without me.