Web of Mystery, Los Angeles (performance)

2011, Photo: Paula Sjunneson
2011, Photo: Paula Sjunneson

On July 9th and 10th, 2011,  I performed Web of Mystery at Rachel Rosenthal Company in Culver City, Los Angeles. In Web of Mystery, a spider dances with it’s puppeteers before overtaking one of them. Melissa Dunphy composed original music.

Web of Mystery was developed at Rachel Rosenthal Company in Culver City, Los Angeles and at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center as part of the 2011 National Puppetry Conference. Assisting with the puppeteering during the Rachel Rosenthal Company performances were Stephanie Shaw and Cheryl Walker. I went on to perform Web of Mystery at Animal Cracker Conspiracy in San Diego later in the month.

Web of Mystery was developed for of Silent Spring, a weekend of performances at Rachel Rosenthal Company at the culmination of her 8 week performance workshop that ran in May and June 2011. Also part of the Silent Spring program were Sarnica Lim, Nehara Kalev, Erin Hael, Joan Spitler, Josue Martinez, Sarah Llewellyn, and Stefanie Shaw.  I also collaborated with Stephanie Shaw on another piece.

From the Rachel Rosenthal Company website:

Rachel Rosenthal, whose 50 year theatrical career was distinguished by continual innovation, founded The Rachel Rosenthal Company, a non-profit organization, in 1989 to work collaboratively with artists from all disciplines and to convey the tenets of her pioneering form of spontaneous collaboration (the DbD “Doing by Doing” technique) through her Company’s theatrical productions and performance workshops.

The Rachel Rosenthal Company is devoted to honoring Rachel’s legacy by redefining the boundaries of theatre; to present thought-provoking experimental works encompassing the visual and performing arts, and to communicating relevant social, environmental, cultural, gender, and spiritual issues to a broad public. The Company workshops offer emerging artists, young and old, an arena in which to create, hone and present original work.