stef makes.art

creative projects by stephanie paulantis

Circus: Deadman Wonderland Rehearsal

January 23, 2013

Over the last several months I have been involved in the production of a show called Deadman Wonderland. It is a theatrical circus show with lots of influences from traditional Japanese ghost stories (Obake) as well as theatrical forms, particularly puppet theater. As the show is getting closer I thought I would share some photos from our most recent rehearsal!

Today we did a lot of character development work, to really help us get more into the characters we’re playing on stage.

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One of the art forms we have been influenced by is Bunraku. While I would not presume to say that we have Bunraku in our show (as it takes many many years to master this traditional art form), we do have a puppet (who is still naked, due to the costume director being behind schedule) inspired by the art form, which was artfully made by Chipp!

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Chipp has been working with me and the SO the last few weeks on lots of partner acro stuff, and today the two of them worked hard honing their act. This pose is a simple one, but I’m still impressed by how it looks. And check out Bellingham Circus Guildie Greg hangin out in the background!

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Here’s another acro move, pea pod.

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Course, it would hardly be fair if the base didn’t ever get a chance to fly… albeit a little awkwardly.

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My participation in this show has been largely in a supportive role rather than a performing one. I have been in charge of making costumes and helping with set building, and will be doing a lot of stage hand work during the shows themselves. However, I will be making some short cameo appearances, and one thing I’ll be doing is basing this pose which I like to refer to as the money maker.

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It is an incredibly easy pose to do on my part, but it looks pretty impressive to have my 190 lb sweetie standing up there. I only wish my back bend form was a tad better in this picture…

You should definitely check out our website, and if you are around the Bellingham or Mount Vernon area in March come see the show! It is going to be pretty fantastic.