first rehearsal

First, if you were expecting sparkling writing, let me refer you to the first two posts I wrote this morning on this subject. The first one Microsoft ate, explaining that it had to shut down unexpectedly. In the second, during a misguided attempt to arrange the photos in a more appealing layout, the whole thing disappeared. Anyway, I was unable to retrieve it. Here it is again, slightly different, and already old. The first rehearsal for community participants in Q2; Habitat, was yesterday morning. Statistically, I can assume you were not there, as only about 10 or 12 of use were (besides Alison and Mia). Most of the community participants came "from away"--Brooksville. Two of us were from Deer Isle, and one, Stonington. Where were you when we needed you?

As you may recall from the first post about Mia and Primordial Man (this is indeed a quiz), Mia talked about turf, and how everyone wants a piece of it, and we all have to share it.

She failed to mention how stiff turf is, and how hard it is to bend it to your will, especially if you have to get it up from the ground and around your body in one smooth movement--like a Veronica, but without the bull. Anyway, we practiced putting it on, taking it off, laying it out and moving in it. Alison demonstrated (pink sneakers) and then various groups practiced moving in a line, weaving and serpentining like Alan Arkin in "The In-Laws."

It was fun, and the pictures created by tubular beings moving in various sequences is one of those things that's a lot more than the sum of its parts.

It would appear that bird-watching is what Sue Bergen has wanted to do her entire life.

process

Mia says Primordial Man (and I'm not sure that's his name) looks quite different now. Here's how he gets to change. Long-suffering Mark puts the puppet on and staggers around a bit,
and Mia takes a look from a distance, to see what he might look like in the quarry, which is huge.

And here's a picture of Mia in a crane-puppet-head. The mysteries are boundless. What prompts these particular images, and, of course, how do you translate the images into reality. Even though Mia and Mark have a history of making giant puppets, it's pretty remarkable. And, for those of you who have elected not to be in Q2: Habitat, but to watch it (most of you), you miss seeing how big these things are in person, so to speak. It's a trip.

Puppets

Hey! Now that the rains have come, I am back inside, leaving my garden to its own devices. Between the end of last year's Q2 Habitat and now, it seems that it faded from memory. I forgot about the giant porcupine, the backhoe, the hut people, the gulls, and even us (or me and others), the birdwatchers. The winter was consumed with another kind of dancing--this time indoors, on small stages--jazz, modern and something like what used to be called modern ballet. Anyway, we performed in places people could see our faces, and in the Cherryfield Elementary School (eat your hearts out, Broadway dancers) people could count the hairs on our heads if we had stood still long enough. That's so different from performing in the quarry there should be another name for one of those.

Here Mai is working on the head of a "Primordial." She thought that the features were too defined. The easy way, adding something outside the original face, is full of difficulties. She pointed out that anything loose could snag (either coming up or going down...) and that the weight of a puppet 15 feet tall is something to consider. Someone has to hold it up.

Mark is getting into the puppet harness. The puppet is largely pvc pipe and screening, but is still pretty scary, even bent over.

It's easy to forget, over the winter, how huge the quarry is. How big the performance space is, and what it must take to make an impact.

Mia Kanazawa and her husband Mark Kimchi have had that space in their minds all year. When I visited them and watched them work on a prototype "primordial." the size of the whole project came to life for me. The puppet is ominously large, and with its ghost-like face, pretty creepy. It seems not to have the innate joie de vivre that Cableman had (unless you saw him as an animated Golem, but that's your problem).

The casting call/first rehearsal for this year's Q2; Habitat is Saturday, and I'm very curious about what the call will be like--what we will see and do--and what the whole thing will be. Mia says it's all about turf. "We all want our piece of turf. We do; the animals do. It's all of a single piece, so we must find a way to share it. "

at last

I kept looking and looking for the Story at the Quarry blog, thinking I had missed it. Well, here we are, and not a moment too soon. Saturday 10-12 at the Island Community Center in Stonington is the first casting, and if you ever thought you might like to participate in a big spectacle, here's your chance. As usual, Mia and Alison will be there asking odd and interesting things of those who show up. I have already pretended to be a sea gull (you can look at last year's posts). In the more distant past I pretended to be a small scrunchy animal that moved fast, but hunched over. It might be more comfortable for a hamster than it was for me. Carol Estey also tried it.

I drove out to Harborside on Cape Rosier to see Mia Kanazawa and her husband Mark Kinchi work on the puppets. If you have not seen an Alison/Mia/Quarry production, well, shame on you--but you can't imagine the scale of the whole project. One year it was Cableman, 15 feet tall, dangling from a backhoe when he wasn't strolling along animated by brave puppeteers. Last year there were porcupines--two sizes--small and cute and giant and glad you didn't meet it on a dark night in an alley.

This year--well, have a look at what might be a prototype. Or it might be something that doesn't work, but that doesn't mean no one worked on it.

I just got a message from Blogger that it could not be contacted (then how did I hear from it?)
Anyway, it doesn't look as if the pictures will show up today. So I'll try tomorrow.

Meanwhile, think about Saturday. Alice