“Shadows are cool! They force us to see extremes of black-and-white but invite us to explore the gray.”
Responder: Aretta Baumgartner, Partner
Name of Company: ONE DOUBLE-O FOUR EIGHT
Name of Show: Shadow Realm: Down the Rabbit Hole
- Why should people see your show?
Puppets are cool! They provide a personal but objective jumping-off point for people to see themselves universally in art. Shadows are cool! They force us to see extremes of black-and-white but invite us to explore the gray. This show is cool! It combines shadow puppetry, human silhouettes and projections in unique ways. The inspiration material, Alice in Wonderland, is cool. It’s a world filled with bizarre characters and situations.
- What about festivals intrigues you? Any why the Atlanta Fringe?
Festivals don’t just expose artists to audiences, they expose artists to artists! Connecting to a broader community of artists energizes us and reminds us of the many ways we share stories and of our responsibilities. Why Atlanta? It’s home, baby. It’s home. Since first moving here, I’ve been proud to support the festival as a box office volunteer, a venue manager and a donor. Every artist needs to support their local arts scene.
- What inspired you to create this?
This piece began its life in July 2019 when colleagues from Orlando, Florida asked if we’d be interested in creating a puppetry experience for a room in their 300-foot long interactive maze for the “Creative City: IMMERSE” event. The inspiration for the maze would be Tom Waits’ 2002 album “Alice,” the soundtrack for playwright Robert Wilson’s dark and personal reimagining of the Alice in Wonderland story. Because, the IMMERSE festival was impacted by a hurricane, we never got to fully explore the piece. Despite applications and invitations to expand and share it, the pandemic forced it to go into hiatus. In the past two years, we’ve realized the original themes of exploration, darkness and light, and dreams have taken on new relevance as humanity struggles with isolation. This incarnation builds upon the original themes but frames the story with Alice on a quest for emotional and psychological well-being.
- This year ain’t normal and there’s no sense pretending it is. How has Covid affected what you’re doing for this festival?
As noted above, Covid has directly influenced the message and theme of this piece. The most powerful art reflects on current conditions: human, social, political, artistic. Even if they don’t know it, every artist will be responding to Covid in their piece in some way. We can’t help it.
- What have you learned from working on your show so far?
The idea that no show is ever finished, that every show can be richer and deeper by not being afraid to take it in new and intimidating directions. This piece has invited us to ask Alice to confront her mental health, to explore her emotional and psychological well-being. The research into these areas has been humbling, eye-opening and inspiring.
- There’s a mysterious stranger in the back row of your show, wearing a big ol’ N95 mask and a baseball cap and there’s something weirdly familiar about them, and then they come up afterwards to tell you they loved your show. In your WILDEST DREAMS, who is this mysterious stranger? (Bonus points if your mysterious stranger is an Atlanta celeb.)
Vince Anthony, founder of the Center for Puppetry Arts.
- Fringes are the place to really push the boundaries so we gotta ask: are you inviting your family to this show are “Hey, maybe sit this one out you guys…”
We’re inviting every member of our puppet family to come see this show as they are at the heart of every piece we do.
- We’ve asked this question every year for the past ten years or so but it hits different this year: Will your show change the world?
Absolutely. It has already changed ours. We’re confident that the audience members that come to the show, ready to ask and answer the question, “am I ok?” will be different after the lights go down, or come up (it’s a shadow piece – I’m not sure how to answer that… let’s just say after the show is done). We are all ok, or will be soon.
- Zoom meetings: dress up head to toe or Donald Duck it?
No more Zoom meetings, please. Let’s find a patio or deck and meet in person and Donald Duck it there!
- We’re making an excellent Fringey Feelings playlist. Describe your show in two or three songs we can add to keep the jams flowing.
White Rabbit – Jefferson Airplane
The River (It Will Be A Good Day) – Yes
O-o-h Child – The Five Stairsteps
Sounds incredible, right? Gonna need to nab those tickets, right? Click here to reserve your seats today!
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