Choreographing Puppets

At the end of their first day of rehearsals at the Broad Brook Grange, Dan Hurlin said to me "we choreographed our first etude today!" I loved hearing how Dan thinks about puppetry in choreographic terms.  Rachael Lincoln, Sheetl Ghandi, Darius Mannino and Zachary Tolchinsky are dancers as much as they are puppeteers.  It has been fantastic to observe them in the studio as they build the work bring Dan Hurlin's objects and Dan Froot's stories to life. 

Dan Froot collected oral histories from five people from Santa Monica who were struggling with food insecurity, and he adapted those stories to create "Who's Hungry Santa Monica?"  It's been wonderful to watch the artistic team at work as they rehearse with the objects and work with Dan's text.  

With the help of Brian Selznik, Gordon Landenberger and Seth A. Partner, Dan Hurlin has created the most amazingly detailed painted objects for this puppet play - inspired by the designs of Dutch delft pottery. 

Community members have also been involved with the process by lending their voices to theproject. Check out what has been going on in the recording studio at the  "Who's Hungry Santa Monica?" blog or by visiting VPL's facebook page.