Shuangxi in Spring

We don’t often see icicles here in the Tallahassee area. Even though temperatures have been averaging in the 20s for the last couple of days I was still surprised when I was driving to work this morning and saw this:

It was surreal, but also pretty amazing.

Ok, I’ll be the first to admit I’m really late writing this. I saw the performance on December 8^th, 2007. I’ll skip the rest of the small talk and go right for the review.

It was an interesting mix of dress and casual in the crowd when I arrived. I found my seat quickly and decided to flip through the program to pass the time until the play started. In the little introduction penned by the director, Eva Nielsen-Parks, I found this little nugget:

“What appealed to me most about this particular adaptation is how the script preserves the essence of Carroll’s characters and refuses to reduce the work to a syrupy, frenetic cartoon…”

Well, no offense to Ms. Nielsen-Parks, but attacking what is arguably the most beloved version of the story outside of their original tellings is not exactly the best way to start something like this. It’s especially boggling considering that some of the costumes and characterizations seemed to be lifted virtually directly from the Disney film. All in all, despite the odd position of characters that sometimes left them facing away from the audience, this was a pretty darn good show.

Some of the actors were quite outstanding. There were a few interesting choices and a bit of over dramatizing here and there, but you could tell that everyone worked hard and it seemed to pay off. A few notable performances included Brent Collingsworth as the Mad Hatter, who appeared to be channeling Ed Wynn with great flair, Will Parente as the March Hare, Patrick Vaughn as the Queen of Hearts, and Christie Fraser as the Caterpillar.

Liz Torres stood out amazingly well as the Cheshire Cat and her masterful facial expressions were nothing short of astounding. They were all thoroughly entertaining to watch.

Jessica Byler was an outstanding Alice, somehow managing to be cute, clever, innocent, and exasperated all at the same time. She gave her all in the performance and it showed. The only quibble I had was her breathy exclamations at the end of nearly every line. I was afraid she was going to have an asthma attack at one point. Though it did get a little old, it really did nothing to detract from her excellent performance.

Far and away the most amazing and entrancing performances of the evening came from Ivie Gabrielle Slocumb as the White Chess Queen and Marissa Chastain as the Red Chess Queen. I absolutely cannot find enough words to justify how incredible these two young women were on stage. They were funny and energetic and I honestly don’t see how Turner auditorium was large enough to contain their practically immeasurable talent. Ms. Slocumb as the somewhat dim-witted White Chess Queen was a delight and had the audience practically rolling on the floor with laughter. Ms. Chastain was equally skillful at bringing the viewers along with her as she amused as the seemingly martial Red Chess Queen. I would say that these two amazing actresses have a huge future ahead of them, but that would be painfully obvious to anyone who has seen them perform. They’re destined for great things and I hope that at least some of it will happen here in Tallahassee. I’d kick over the cost of a ticket to watch them read the phone book, there is no doubt in my mind that they could make it the most interesting reading one could imagine. Amazing doesn’t even come close to describing them. They were definitely the highlight of the show and you could just tell they were having fun.

All in all, I found the performance to be a success and I look forward to seeing many of these actors move on to other productions in the area. They were a talented group of performers and I, for one, appreciated all their hard work.

I started looking into the idea of making puppets shortly after Dragon*Con. Three of the projects that are currently burning a hole in my brain are puppet related and I intend to see at least one of them through to completion. Both Muppet style and full body puppets are on the agenda and it will be interesting to see which of them gets finished first.

I’m also planning on making a pair of puppets for some wonderful friends of mine once I get a little skill under my belt. Things were kind of meandering along on all puppet project fronts until the Assimilation convention in Orlando, FL at the end of September. The incredibly fun puppet panel there really lit a fire under my tail and so tonight I will begin construction on my first test puppet. Pics should be up in a few days, depending on what happens.

Here are some of the traditional-style hand puppets that were made during that panel:

(Thanks to Pops for the picture.)

Also, I’m still cranking out a trip report for Assimilation so look for that soon.

Also, part deux, if the people currently riding my tail at work let up I’ll be back in Orlando this weekend for another seven day trip to WDW. Pics of that will come sometime as well.

So, Dragon*Con, what can I say? This year was, on the whole, I think better than last year. I was sick most of the time, but it helped contribute to a lower stress weekend. Since I have the feeling no one really wants to read a ten thousand word dissertation on my D*C 2007 experiences, I’ll keep things brief.

Thursday: Arrived in town and went to pick up badges. A word of advice here: never wait and have to buy through Ticket Master. Not only do they charge a million dollars, but I have never been in a line that was that slow. There couldn’t have been more than 40 people in line ahead of us and it took about two hours to get our badges. Crazy. After that we discovered the Metro Café just down the road from the Hyatt and the Marriott. Two words: Turkey Melt.

Friday: Slept in, then got ready to camp out at the Walk of Fame to spend some quality time waiting for Lou Gossett Jr. I stood in line for more than an hour while Mr. Gossett’s handler (who was also Lori Petty’s handler) fluttered around. It wasn’t until a girl with an ample bosom got in line behind me that he bothered to mention that Lou would only be there on Saturday and Sunday. After that, we basically wandered around the dealers rooms. I have to say, out of all the years I’ve gone to D*C, this was the most disappointing in terms of what was for sale. It’s become replica weapon/corset con. Very few comic dealers, even fewer video and toy resellers. It worked out in the end, because there was nothing I wanted to buy. The Wolf Pack dinner was Friday night and Steak and Ale and I think things went pretty smoothly. Again, wasn’t feeling my best, but compared to others who got sick over the weekend, I wasn’t in too bad a shape.

Saturday: The infamous D*C parade. Due to the ongoing medical issues, I opted not to gear up and instead parked myself on a street corner near the Hyatt to take pictures of the action. There were a number of good costumes in the parade this year including Robocop. The WWII folks looked great as always and the 501^st and the Wolf Pack never fail to impress. Unfortunately, in my location the parade either flew by as it turned the corner or stalled out right in front of me. Consequently, I have tons of pictures of some sections and almost none of others. I definitely need to find a better spot next year. After the parade, I finally got my autographs from Lou Gossett Jr. I also did lots of hanging out with some folks from TF:2K5 and, as always, it was tons of fun. Dinner was, alas, not at the Varsity as originally planned but at the Metro Café. (Turkey Melt!)

Saturday was also the Wolf Pack party which, to my understanding, was a pretty big success. I lent a small hand with the set-up and stuck around to hand out raffle tickets until 11:15 or so and then wandered back to the hotel to catch a bit of rest. During the party set-up, I did meet some phenomenally nice individuals. So to those folks I say thanks for being so great. It’s always nifty to meet great people and you lot certainly are.

Sunday: Sick most of the day on and off. I managed to get downstairs in the Marriott to check out the awesome G.I. Joe costumers (and great folks all around). Met more awesome people in the process, making for a very nifty morning. I also ventured out to the Masquerade for the first time. I think we got in line three and a half hours early to get decent seats. It was pretty low key just sitting there and didn’t put too much strain on the system. Highlights of the show, for me, were Grant Imahara (from Mythbusters) proving once and for all that not only does he have massive geek cred, but that he’s funny as heck, the Jack Skellington rod puppet, the Wash’s dinosaurs skit, the incredible Wallace and Gromit costumes, and the Sailor Scouts of Moulin Rouge with their well deserved Best in Show (Novice/Journeyman).By the time we got out at eleven, I wasn’t feeling so awful and I spent most of the rest of the night gathering more pictures until the battery in my camera finally died.

Monday: Got peeved at the Marriott, but everything turned out for the best and we headed home.

Some of my favorite costumes of the entire con were: the trio from Wicked (Elphaba, Glinda, and Fiyero), Robocop, the G.I. Joe team, the Strawberry Shortcake gang, the Jack Skellington rod puppet, the Marvel Zombies (out in force) and so many others. Thanks to everyone who took the time to construct such wonderful costumes to entertain the masses.

Now that I’ve made you read all of that, I’ll post the link to the pictures.

Click here for D*C photos!