THEVOICE | 4 THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 2017 | EDITOR LAUREN BOOTHBY Arts&entertainment Actors pulling strings Puppets take the stage in Studio 58's Risky Nights Series = By SAM MOWERS ctors are giving up the spotlight, but are still pull- ing the strings in Studio 58’s first puppet-only play. In Zoetrope: The Curiosity of Puppet Oddities, the story is told through the body language and movement of pup- pets, not dialogue. Students learned new techniques to tell the tale of love and death set in a 1930s circus with some unusual characters. The perfor- mance is part of the Risky Nights Series, which over 17 seasons has linked the classroom experience to a full theatre production. Cast member William Edward said learning puppeteering is similar to learning acting. “As an actor it’s kind of like you're doing the same job,” he said. “You re- ally have to put yourself out there and be able to translate that emotion into a physical form.” “There's something really mysterious and curious about puppets...” — STEPHANIE ELGERSMA, DIRECTOR One of the new techniques students learned was three-person puppetry. Ed- ward said coordinating with two other actors was a unique challenge. “If you're working with a puppet that has up to three people on it, you all re- ally have to be listening to each other and breathing together,” he said. Zoetrope also uses everyday objects like lamps as characters. Cast member Heather Barr said that because puppets are inanimate, they demand more at- tention and commitment from the au- dience, which can be a more rewarding experience. “Everyone has a suspension of dis- belief when they go to see theatre or go see a film, but when it’s puppets, it’s like there’s this new level because they’re not people,” Barr said. “I feel like it auto- matically creates more of an investment from the audience.” Stephanie Elgersma, one of Zoetrope’s directors, said though she has performed with pup- pets, she has never directed them. Studio 58 students learned puppetry techniques prepar- ing for the production, which can be like re-learning how to act. SAM MOWERS PHOTO "There’s something really mys- terious and curious about pup- pets that we respond to in a way that we don’t respond to digital things,” she said. “T think there’s something to the fact that we've gone so digital in our world, that to come back to something tan- gible is quite beautiful.” MORE ABOUT PUPPETS » Object puppetry is using non-traditional objects like a Spoon as puppet characters >» Puppets and magic go hand-in-hand. Puppetry origi- nated in ritual magic, and has been around even since antiquity >» World Puppetry Day is celebrated annually on March 21 SOURCE: ENCYCLOPEDIA.COM Langara at the Fringe Company co-founded by Studio 58 grad a highlight of Vancou- vers Fringe Festival = ByJASON GILDER \ 7 ancouver theatre company Awkward Stage Productions is holding a casting call for their newest theatre production Cry- Baby led by a recent Studio 58 director, which will be on stage in the Vancouver Fringe Festival. Awkward Stage was co-founded by Studio 58 graduate Corwin Ferguson, and is a steady contributor to Vancou- vers Fringe Festival held annually in September. Barbara Tomasic, who directed re- cent Studio 58 production 42nd Street, will be directing Cry-Bady in the fes- tival, a love story about a motorcycle- riding bad-boy and a straight-laced schoolgirl. Accord- ing to Toma- sic, For more arts ome stories visit the ing a Langara Voice Online Fringe show is very strenuous and requires a high level of commitment because every stage has multiple productions every day. “When I finish directing a rehearsal at Studio 58 or Gateway Theatre, I don’t have to take down the set or props,” Tomasic said. “Whereas at Fringe, you are loading everything into your car.” Co-founder of Awkward Stage, Cor- win Ferguson, said that from a produc- tion side, Langara’s theatre program equips students for a variety of situa- tions and environments. “Studio 58 teaches students to work with what they have,” Ferguson said. “It prepares them well for the professional world.” Auditions for Cry-Baby take place between March 28 and April 1 for the September production. Dad Thighs is thrashing sti Langara student finds outlet for self-expression in emo music m™ By CASS LUCKE hile her songs may not re- semble the choir music that shaped her artistic passions as a child, for Victoria Brindise, the emo genre is the perfect outlet for self- expression. Brindise is a Langara liberal arts student by day and a member of two bands, Dad Thighs and Emma Gold- man, by night. She loves the cathartic nature of emo music, the genre of emo- tional hardcore punk, and wants to see more openness about mental health and women represented in the genre. “It's a [platform] I've created to speak my mind and show that women are ca- pable of being part of that [emo] genre as well,” she said. “I feel like sadness is often frowned upon in our society and mental health is something that’s shunned; being able to address that and make people feel like they're not alone in their feelings will help a lot of people out.” “Sadness is often frowned upon in our society, and mental health is shunned...” — VICTORIA BRINDISE, MUSICIAN Brindise named her second band Emma Goldman, after the 1920s-era American anarchist whom many lion- ize as a free-thinking rebel, to bring femininity into the generally masculine emo genre. Brindise also runs the recording label Ophelia Tapes which produces music entirely on retro cassettes. “We use tapes cause its awesome. Within the DIY community, tape is the medium people buy,” she said. Balancing band practices, work, school and a new recording label keeps Brindise and her bandmates busy. “If you can picture a skier going down a double black diamond run on one leg, constantly about to fall but making it to the end every time, that's kind of what our life's like,” said Felix Ruiz de la Orden said, singer and gui- tarist for both Emma Goldman and Dad Thighs. But Brindise and her bandmates agree it is all worth being able to grow together and share the experiences. “Shows can be really intimate and with a band you can explore things you never thought of exploring yourself,” Victoria Brindise strums her bass at band practice. Her band Emma Goldman performs at Red Gate Arts Society March 31. cass LucKE PHOTO said Pavel Ganapolsky, drummer for Emma Goldman. Emma Goldman will be playing at Red Gate Arts Society at 855 E Hast- ings St. in Vancouver on March 31. They hope to tour this summer.