Build Build Build!

Today was a devoted build day and Kate helmed a group of volunteers to get some major work done on the set and puppets in the show.

The caterpillar has grown a face and the dream sequence has grown a tower.

Every day something new takes shape!

Warming up with Walls

It's six million degrees below zero, but we here at chashama 217 are keeping things toasty with fabric, staples, and zip-zap-zop.

Hidy-ho, Alexis the Director here.

We've seen some pretty dramatic enhancements in the space over the past few days. The bubbling walls are beginning to take their final shape and are looking fantastic. It turns out that sticking your face in soft spandex is an excellent destressing technique. In addition to telepathy, I'll be leading a relaxation workshop after this show opens featuring Fun With Two-Way Stretch exercises. ...Well, maybe.

The Dogu screens have paper, and very nearly all the show's internal wooden-skeleton is up! The rest is falling into place and the space gets more beautiful every day. Best of all, we've been having some great rehearsals with the cast - starting with theater games and object workshops, and moving on to exploring each set element as it finishes.

I want to thank our volunteer builders again. Castmember Miyu has put in some work at our carving table, Ethan continues to be a tremendous help, and welcome to Antoine who is new to the world of spectacle-theater but is darn handy with masking tape and craft paper.

And get this: Our FABULOUS composer Sxip Shirey has completed the first draft of our score! The cast and I will start working with it this weekend. Let me just say this: it will make all of your internal organs do sommersaults! One at a time, though, so don't worry. There's no health risk in taking part in this ride. Except that you might never look at performance the same way again.


à tout à l'heure...

Bugs and Bubbles

Hidy-ho! Alexis the Director here.

Rehearsals have begun! Our fantastic cast has started to play with objects and rehearsal props in the space. Here they are improvising with some lovely black lace spandex - as we all like to do from time to time.

We've been playing a lot of theater games to strengthen the ensemble so they will be able to operate using the "group mind." Which means, you guessed it, I'm teaching them telepathy. If you are interested in learning from me, please let me know. Best way to contact me these days is to stand outside of 217 E. 42nd Street and yell "boy I wish I was stapling fabric together right now!" I'll be there in a jiffy.

Speaking of fabric-stapling... We have begun to mount one of the show's most dramatic visual elements - the Bubbling Walls! How to walls "bubble" you ask? There's only one way to find out...

But not everything we're building is quite so large. There are small, delicate pieces too. We've been spending a fair amount of time carving, and filing (thanks again Ethan!), some intricate designs for the show's opening scene. I think they look pretty great...


...And Now... The Moment You've All Been Waiting For...
THE CATERPILLAR FASHION SHOW!! (Thanks for the pics Neimah)
















Kate wanted to see the costume from the outside. I *had* to oblige...










A little role reversal... to shake things up.










Until next time! :) a

TD and Snowman

Well all the hard work and long hours this week must have finally gotten to Mike. Here he is having a dance party with the snowman pencil.

Snow and lumber

Hi-ho, Alexis the Director here...
Well the weather outside is frightful, but the hand-drill is so delightful! We've finished some major building basics for Dark Space. The Dogu towers are completed (tho still unpainted), and one of the walls is ready for some fabric magic. David Bowie is keeping us jumping (and reminding us of the babe) while we paper mache and carve matte board.

Yesterday the large caterpillar costume got some well deserved attention and I hope to be able to post some fashion shots of that progress soon.

Kate, Mike and I are plugging away and so far we've had some very helpful visitors! Thanks to Neimah, Marina, and Ethan for your hard work so far! If you'd like to join the fun, contact Kate to find out about open build times: mail.us.here@imnotlost.net

The snow may be coming down, but 1x3s are going up. We're pushing hard to get most things done before rehearsals begin on Monday. Luckily this is a great little group, so there's a fair amount of whistle-working. Or belting along with Freddie Mercury, as the case may be.

Getting excited? Now's your chance to reserve tickets! Dark Space is designed to lead small audiences throughout the space as the show unfurls, so each performance has only a tiny number of tickets available. It is strongly advised to purchase your tix in advance to reserve your space. The event is now for sale at Brown Paper Tickets (a pretty fantastic organization that you all should know about): www.brownpapertickets.com 1-800-838-3006

Moving into Chashama

It's been an exciting week so far moving into a space of our own! Even though we've got almost 4 weeks before we open, i'm nervous about getting everything done! The ENTIRE space will transformed and unrecognizable. At least, that is how I hope it will be experienced. And not only are we building walls and devices, but we are also building multitudes of puppets. A huge caterpillar, puppet boxes, the dream scene, the small caterpillar, a huge moth.... oh so much!

VERY EXCITING business this art-making.