project is rolling... team number two!!

Here is Christine Tschirgi  in her studio working on Dohee & my costumes for the shows for the Redshoes. As you scroll down, you will see the delicate and deft details of some of the hand stitched work, dye work, and beautiful fabrics she has chosen and put together to create the garments.

Christine in her sewing studio

Black Ridinghood detail for Chapter one

the girl Miwak's cotume detail with Red ridinghood

 ...There are 5 chapters of this re- imagined fairytale, and a girl Miwak must go through each chapter as a trial/ test of her journey  ( by a mysterious, enigmatic & sometimes menacing shaman ) as one human being on a ride of an insane creative path. Dohee and I are constantly playing multiple charactors, and we are so excited to able to wear her sumptious and eye candy garments that will surely give us wonderwoman powers. She has been teaching me about what a bias cut is- to what smocking means, and also tips for all kinds of trouble on stage! We are eager each time to see her whoop out one after another, a gorgeous artwork.
I would like to thank again, all of the generous doners for the materials!! Christine has also brought in an amazing Kellie Dunn who have been working on our boots for the charactors. They are reaaly amazing.







Speaking of Shaman's costume, our collaborating scuplter Colin Ernst will be making a built- in mic facial mask for Dohee to sing and play with. His mask with a chest harp will be mounted and merged with Christine's Shaman garment. Colin, in the past has been creating Circus Contraption's crazy ride contraptions.

Kellie Dunn's wolf boots for black Ridinghood

On the left- Colin Ernst busy at work in our Frye Commerce Center working on our multiple items. Or.. he is actually posing for the photo. (? ) I will post his work soon!
Today we had a really great music rehearsal.Jherek's composition and Joshua's sounded so intensely beautiful. The string quartet musicians, Karen, Nathalie, Kendal and Brianna and we had a lot of good 2 and a half string rehearsals accompnaying my dance.. Jherek is a wild and remind me of some kind of a cartoon charactor, extremely animated in a kind of a TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE way.He memorized every detail of my Broken-Doll Choreography, and I was so touched he has been reworking some materials after much consulting/re assessing what the dance means to me, and to the piece. Speaking of intensley beautiful, Dohee's voice soared and pierceing, possessing the poor grandmother charactor in the screen- eagerly waiting for the little red ridinghood  :)We all felt the power of her charactor today and got so excited.

Robb Kunz is doing our sound installation for the Swan chapter!

Theresa Ulrich and Terry Podgorsky has been a dynmic tech team for the shows.Without them, we would not have any of these production possible.As I gradually got to know Terry, he is like a true diplomat, and  a kind spirit. I over hear a lot of the consulting, discussion, and problem solvings that go on between him, Theresa, and each team members across the big echoing space. I felt comforted by his presence in the huge wide vast big 6000 sq feet space!

The project is on the way ! - introducing team number one first :)

This is a sketch by one of our collaborator/Sound sculpter Ela Lamblin.He is a sculptural instrument inventor with a keen awareness of how the body can relates to the instrument in space- and  at the same time able to create beautiful sounds.It will be a device that is integrated with my body on which i can learn to play substantial musical compositions. Most part of our project has already moved into the Frye's Arts Commerce Center( In Seattle Washington ) and everyone is hard at work........

The second photo is of my collaborator and dancing/ music partner for the project Dohee Lee.She is a percussionist/vocalist and dancer that is deeply involved  in the style of Korean shamanistic peformances.She has been coming to our 3rd intensive rehearsals ( all the way from Bay area)and am about to come up for the 4th one!
She is extremely hard core...I was hoping she would push me for this project but ACCORDING TO DOHEE, we ended up pushing each other ,and once we have started going, we had to tear ourselves from the project, and slam the door from each other so we could get some rest at least in the evening, and not keep going insanely like a coked up feverish people, tortured by the project and the pressure we gave our selves.   For me-Coming from the Butoh tradition of drinking SAKE after some session, I have come to realize VERY QUICKLY that Dohee is not only a master of drumming, but A MASTER OF HARD CORE DRINKING as well. She have told me stories that she and her Korean master teachers would drum all night and drink and drink, and DRINK all night ( and Day? ) as well.Goodness! we have hard core fun and challenge each other!.. the rehearsals are often filled with lots of laughter and saying to each other-  towards the end -" Oh my Gahd.....!" and Dohee asking " wow... you guys eat a lot..! "

As Jherek Bischoff, our collaborating composer would say, " dAnG , gIRL! "

  

 In this Blk and white photo taken by Rex Hohlbein, here is Jherek singing the part of the composition with the chamber ensemble that has done some readings of the composition of his and Joshua Kohl's.Joshua and Jherek, Dohee has been composing for the 5 chapters of our contemporary take,  a re -imaginiing  of the Redshoes story that the Degenerate Art Ensemble will perform this spring in Seattle and New York.Along with their music/ sound team, Suzie Kozawa and Robb Kunz will be joining for the sound installation that will accompany our pieces. In the photos, there are (Dohee singing, Dylan playing the cello, Briana on the viola, Kendal on the violin, Joshua on Dohee's drum, and Paris also on the violin  )

Here is Trinidad Martinez, my  friend and the star from my last big DAE project at the Moore theatre in Seattle.She is a dancer and a director from her group Magpie Productions. She has been TIRELESSLY helping my rehearsals,the chapter's choreography, being an outside eye, and giving me an honest sharp tongue and extremely objective eye and opinions so I can keep myself on my toes. (! ) She is spanish, I am japanese, we joke about being in the U.S. and comparing everything to our own countries. ( !) I think maybe we did that with Dohee too.
A photo below is Leo Mayberry, Jason and I. Starting with Leo, He is the  bold and  brainiac video artist who creates wild and playful, great obssesive, complicated  ideas onto a screen, always working with a challenging concept of illusion of the eyes, and he has been an incredible creative partner on the video concept working with the story, the charactors, the vision, , along with me and the team. (Leo and I somehow always go late in the night NERDING INTENSELYon the project plan and it is always a strange and relentless lullaby to Joshua, who ends up snoring HEAVILY on the couch while we are still scribbling and experimenting  with paper cuts or mock-ups on our living room floor ) The Scene with the mysteriously beautiful artificial trees is the scene of the "Black riding hood". She
disguises her self as the mischievous girl in the forest but she is also the wolf. Who has made the trees?

 Above photo is Jason, he MADE THE TREES for the video realm as well for the sets. Jason Puccinelli, our new team collaborator and guest here, is biting on a SWAN's neck. Yes, there is a swan chapter that I will be dancing, inspired by the WILD SWANS, by Hans Christian Andersen. I will explain why so many fairy tales are intertwined with the actual story later, I would like to talk about Jason. He is a painter/ performance artist and and also an installation artist who has a very strong vision and a unique perception. He makes work that asks viewers to question the society we live in and immerses them in carefully constructed interactive performance installations.I enjoy very much working with him ! He is creating the sets and most of the props for the project. He and I have had intense brain-storming sessions in the beginning with the concept escpescially of the protagonist's journey through out the piece.We have been focusing greatly on the SWAN CHAPTER lately, and continuing our dialogue as it keeps evolving to an exciting place. Below is Joshua Kohl of DAE. ( Degenerate Art Ensemble) and above -mentioned people at work! Team number two will be positing next week!