Fairy Tale Roundup: The Importance of Fairy Tales, the Irony of Fairy Tales in Ads, and Zooey Deschanel's new TV Show

Goodness, February has been insane. Probably the busiest month I have had in a long time, and full of unpredictable stumbling blocks, loss, and challenges. However, I am taking a break on this penultimate day of the month to give you a small, but meaty sampling of fairy tale things:

An Introduction to Fairy Tales by The National Theatre 

Something to Read for the Train showed us this beautiful video discussing the importance of fairy tales, how they help us process things we might not otherwise be able to process. They are survival stories, for both young and old. You get different things from them at different ages. They have almost no characterization so that we can step into the role of the hero or heroine ourselves.

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Fairy Tales Sell 
Tales of Faerie muses upon the fact that even though fairy tales have more than the usual share of gore, tragedy and horror, they are used to sell products. Products that promise if you by them, they will give you  happy ending, or even products that may not have done too much research into the fairy tale they are named after. An excellent examination.

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(pic obviously not from the show)

Zooey Deschanel to Exec Produce New Animated-Workplace-Comedy On Difficulties Of Running A Fairy Tale 'Queendom'
Here is a fun bit of fluff! Once Upon a Blog has informed us that Zooey Deschanel is going to produce a TV series about an evil queen called The Queen of Everything: "The show is a modern fairytale about an evil queen who realizes that running a Queendom isn’t easy when you have no people skills and everyone hates you. But with a little help from her staff, she will try to change her ways." That is pretty much all we have for now, but it could be fun! See Once Upon a Blog

Fairy Tale News Roundup: Obscure Films, Bullfighter Snow White, Japanese Monsters, Snow Queen Productions, New Maleficent Trailer!

Quick fairy tale news round up! We opened the show on Monday so everything has been insane, and I will have a post with pics soon!

10 Obscure Fairy Tale Films (Flavorwire)
Flavorwire has given us a list of obscure (and I mean OBSCURE) fairy tale films! Not only are the films themselves obscure, the tales are refreshingly so as well! They look very foreign (lots of Russian, Italian, Slavic and Japanese films) and trippy and delicious, so check them out!

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Why you need to watch Spanish Snow White movie "Blancanieves" AT ONCE. (Hello, Tailor)
In addition to the other two Snow Whites that came out recently, we apparently missed the good one! Hello Tailor tells us all about the Spanish Snow White movie Blancanieves, in which Snow White grows up and becomes... wait for it... a BULLFIGHTER! But wait, there's more! 1920s carnival-esque design, focus on familial relationships and no prince! I cannot wait to see it. Here is the trailer:

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14 Terrifying Japanese Monsters, Myths and Spirits (Io9)

Since I am also looping mythology and folklore into my mission a bit, I thought I'd include these! My favorite is the Aka Manto who wanders around bathrooms and asks you what color toilet paper you want. Your choice determines how he will kill you. The most terrifying, though, is the Kuchisake-Onna, who wears a surgical masks and asks children if they think she is pretty. When the kids say yes, she reveals that her mouth is slit wide, like the Joker. She asks again and if they say no, she cuts them in half. If they say yes, she slits their mouths like hers. <shudders>

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Snow Queen Adapted for Stage (Once Upon a Blog)

In the wake of the announcement that Frozen is going to be a stage musical, Once Upon a Blog has been doing a lovely series on plays of the Snow Queen. It is amazing how beautiful, imaginative and different they are! (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

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New Maleficent Trailer (Everyone)

Everyone covered the new Maleficent trailer to mixed success. Once Upon a Blog screen caps it, and seems to have a pretty positive view of it. Io9 is so not cool with the synopsis:

"The untold story of Disney's most iconic villain from the 1959 classic "Sleeping Beauty." A beautiful, pure-hearted young woman with stunning black wings, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until one day when an invading army of humans threatens the harmony of the land. Maleficent rises to be the land's fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless betrayal - an act that begins to turn her pure heart to stone. Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces an epic battle with the king of the humans and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom - and to Maleficent's true happiness as well."

They worry Disney is turning their greatest villain into "a misunderstood goth girl with amazing headwear?" Also, they are creeped out by the fairies, and I have to say I am with them on that one. The Mary Sue simply says "DEAR GOD, WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?" Flavorwire simply hopes Elle Fanning does not drop the accent, and that Angelina maintains her fantastic bitch face throughout the film.

Here it is! Care to weigh in?

Performance: Glassheart Update

Hello everyone!

We are heading in to our first preview tonight! It is Pay What You Can, so if you are in the DC area, come on down! It has been a crazy whirlwind of tech. I have been eating, sleeping and breathing this show.

We had a "Meet the Cast" feature on the Rorschach Theatre Facebook page, so I thought I would share them with you!

Meet our Lamp and Company Member Megan Reichelt

Who are you?
I am Megan Reichelt, administrative assistant/ librarian student by day, actress and fairy tale enthusiast by night.

Where are you from? 
I am originally from Baltimore City, then Catonsville, then CUA, then Silver Spring!

Why are you here? 
To tell stories that people connect to, that help them feel understood, give them an escape, or help them change their lives for the better. The right story at the right time to the right person can change the world.

Also because once upon a time, seven years ago, Deb Sivigny asked me to stage manage a Rorschach show.

And also because fairy tale adaptations are one of my favorite things in the whole world. I love how the stories of the past still speak to the present, and how we reinvent them and live them in every era of human history. “The latest incarnation of Oedipus, the continued romance of Beauty and the Beast, stand this afternoon on the corner of 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue, waiting for the traffic light to change.” - Joseph Campbell

What are you enjoying most about Glassheart?
The Lamp is probably the largest, and definitely one of the most difficult characters I have ever played. I am enjoying the challenge of digging into her brain and her heart, listening to her in rehearsals, living in her skin (or her metal and fabric).

I am enjoying playing with my cast mates, none of whom I really knew before we began this process, and collaborating with Lee, whom I have known for a very long time. It is a wonderful gift that we can work on this show together.

I am enjoying living in a fairy tale, an actual fairy tale where "Happily Ever After" is not guaranteed.

If you were a fairy tale character, who would you be and why? 
I would be the girl from East of the Sun and West of the Moon, a Beauty and the Beast (or Cupid and Psyche) story where the girl is taken to the palace of the Polar Bear King in exchange for her family's wealth and happiness. She learns to love the bear, but she makes a terrible mistake and he is taken far away to the castle of his evil stepmother that lies east of the sun and west of the moon. The girl must go into the wilderness, farther than she has ever been, to rescue her prince.

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Meet the Beast

Who are you?

Andrew Keller. Anything past that is just guesswork, and temporary anyway.

Where are you from? 

Born: St. Louis, MO

Raised: Just east of there

Undergrad: An awful place southwest of there

Grad: A glorious place an ocean away

Recently: A toxic place with a few good people

Currently: A beautiful place called "here"

Why are you here? 

Geographically: Because all the cool kids are here.

Emotionally: Because I'm a very lucky person who's been very unlucky in the past.

Physically: Because all systems continue to be functional.

Artistically: Because I've had the unique and incredible blessing of being welcomed by people like me, who encourage individual exploration in the context of a common goal, for nearly my entire artistic life.

Spiritually: Because to be anywhere else than "here" is to miss the point.

What are you enjoying most about Glassheart?

I love being in the company of other people who play, and these people love to play. Like, a lot.

If you were a fairy tale character, who would you be and why? 

Suleiman Bin Daoud from "The Butterfly That Stamped." To be so powerful and yet to be wise enough to not ever use it for one's personal gain is to be the best of humanity.

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Better know your cast w/ Natalie Cutcher, our Aiofe

Who are you?

1.) A day in the life: Good morning, thank you for calling...hi there, may I help you with...are you in need of anything else? What should I pick up? Please tell me we got the coffee shipment. Wait. It didn't arrive?!] How may are in your party? Smile. Smile. Smile. Who and I training today?great. Of course! HOW WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR EGGS POACHED? She love you yeaah, yeaah, yeaaaaaaaaah!
Meanwhile, rehearsal provides the : escape, play, challenge, beauty, laughter, genuine connection

Where are you from?

2.) Virginia technically but really Maryland, college in Pennsylvania (and an incredibly lucky stint in Italy) then DC

Why are you here? 

3.) To explore the thriving theatre scene, expand my culinary pallet, and check out many a-museum in a city where you can see the sky

What are you enjoying most about Glassheart?

4.) So far, the team has been one of the best parts of the process. Everyone is bringing their A-Game to make this piece really vibrant. We're all wrestling with difference challenges along the way but digging into them with gusto. Thanks to Lee there's a fearless spirit in the rehearsal room; we get excited to experiment and really flesh out those moments that need a bit more care. I love watching Megan, Andrew, and Lynette make bold choices--it sets the bar wonderfully high for myself. Everyone in the room is simply happy to be there.

If you were a fairy tale character, who would you be and why? 

5.) Oh geez, I get Snow White a lot probably because I'm patient, enjoy reading, and hum while doing dishes but I've always like the Three Billy Goats Gruff. Although it would be pretty satisfying to frolic with woodland creatures at a moment's notice...

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Meet Rorschach actor Lynette Rathnam, who plays Ms. Russe

Who are you?
Feisty, pensive, annoying, annoyed, powerful, afraid, loving, cold, intense, scattered, driven, dreamer.

Where are you from? 
Maryland

Why are you here? 
To heal wounds from past lives.

What are you enjoying most about Glassheart?
Being wicked, magical and complex

If you were a fairy tale character, who would you be and why?
Someone of great power, magical ability and mystery. Neither good nor bad.

Performance: Glassheart with Rorschach Theatre in DC

“In the empty living room of a shabby apartment,

in the dark, a Beast is crying.

There is just enough light to see that he is monstrous,

and that he is clutching something precious to him.”

Ladies and gentlemen, at long last, I am living the dream. I am in a fairy tale. I am acting in Rorschach Theatre's production of Glassheart, by Reina Hardy, an adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. I play the Lamp. It runs January 17 - February 16th at Atlas Performing Arts Center in DC, with Pay What You Can Previews Janaury 17-19th. Here is our blurb:

"Beauty never showed up. The Beast and his remaining magical servant have moved into a shabby apartment near a 7-11, hoping for a lower cost of living and better luck with girls. This fairy tale includes a building manager with a taste for gingerbread and children, spells that come with a price, an eligible maiden, a kidnapping, and a relentlessly cheery lamp that discovers what – and who – must be sacrificed for an ordinary life."

It has been such an incredible experience so far! It is the largest and probably most complex role of my life, and I am loving every minute of it.

Here are a few pics from rehearsal:

We are about to go into tech, where all the costumes and lights and set elements will come together, so I will definitely have more amazing pictures for you soon!

Performance: Into the Woods at CenterStage in Baltimore

 

Into the Woods

by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine

directed by Mark Lamos

Mar 7–Apr 15, 2012 at CenterStage in Baltimore

"What happens after Happily Ever After, after all? In Sondheim and Lapine’s beloved musical retelling of the Grimm classics, a parade of familiar folktale figures find their way “Into the Woods” and try to get home before dark—under the guidance of Mark Lamos, who dazzled us with A Little Night Music in 2008."

The Big Picture and the Close Up wrote a lovely review of the show and the nature of fairy tales:

"Into the Woods (in revival at Center Stage in a co-production with Connecticut’s Westport Country Playhouse) is one of that handful of musicals that can truly be called profound.  And small surprise, because its subject, the folklore passed on from parents to children under the deceptively superficial name of fairy tales, is equally profound.  Fairy tales are timeless because the kitchen drudge who yearns to become a princess, the little girl vanquishing a wolf encountered on the way to grandmother’s house, the simpleton who sells the family cow for a handful of magic beans, and their kindred, are archetypes of each of us, at various moments in the trajectories of our lives.  As such, there is actually nothing superficial about them.  By mashing up these stories, composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim and book author James Lapine demonstrate the common dynamics in these tales that enable them to speak so powerfully to us." (Full Review)

Watch the beautiful trailer:

 

This will always be one of my favorite musicals, though I am often confused as to what they are trying to say at the end. I will do a full review of the Bernadette Peters version in due course, but I wanted to post this in case anyone in the Baltimore area was hankering for some live fairy tales!

Performance: P. Nokio: a Hip Hop Musical at Imagination Stage

Voice of America has an article about a fantastic new children's hip-hop musical called P.Nokio, a version of the fairy tale Pinocchio for the modern age. It looks like a really exciting and relevant twist on the story, and has good lessons for the kids (and adults):

 

Scott Suchman/Imagination Stage

The Graffiti Fairy (Paige Hernandez) confronts P. Nokio (Psalmayene 24) in a scene from Imagination Stage's hip hop retelling of "Pinocchio."

"In this version, the main character’s name is P. Nokio, and he’s not a wooden puppet, he’s an animation in a video game, brought to life by the Graffiti Fairy.

The play, "P. Nokio: a Hip Hop Musical," is the creation of Psalmayene 24. 

“For some reason Pinocchio has always resonated with me,” the playwright says.

Psalm, who has written other plays inspired by hip hop culture, thought the story “really lent itself to that type of interpretation.”

Psalm not only wrote the play, he also plays the main character. Like the wooden puppet, this P. Nokio chooses fun when he should be going to school.

And he lies, which causes his nose to grow, a development which that is shown on video monitors above the stage.

“At its core, Pinocchio is really a story about redemption,” Psalm says. “We have this puppet who makes many mistakes. He goes astray many times, but at the end he finally does the right thing.” 

P. Nokio, like his predecessor, risks his own life to rescue his father. “We all make mistakes,” Psalm says, ”but you always have an opportunity to right your wrongs.”

Psalm has written adult plays, but he enjoys writing for young people. “I feel like I can really let my imagination run free and run wild, because children will follow you almost anywhere, as long as you keep things active and really interesting.”

The musical clearly does that, often using call and response to get the young audience involved. "P. Nokio" performances sold out at Imagination Stage. But the show will return after traveling elsewhere." (Original article).

Click here at the Imagination Stage blog  for more video of the performance, and interviews with the artists!

Click here for the Washington Post Review.

Shout out to my friend Andrew Griffin who designed the lights for this show, and posted this awesome video!

Performance: The Neo-Futurists' The Strange and Terrible True Story of Pinocchio (the wooden boy) as Told by Frankenstein's Monster (the wretched creature)

An exciting project coming currently running at the Neo-Futurists:

"Written and directed by Greg Allen
Previews Thursday and Friday, March 8 and 9 at 8:00 p.m.
Opening Night: Saturday, March 10, 2012 at 8:00 p.m.
Regular performances continue through April 14: Thurs/Fri/Sat at 8:00 p.m.
Tickets are $20, $10 for students/seniors with ID, or
pay-what-you-can on Thursdays. 

All performances take place at The Neo-Futurarium, 5153 N. Ashland, Chicago, Ill.
Neo-Futurist Founding Director Greg Allen presents Carlo Collodi's original 1883 Italian masterpiece through the eyes of Mary Shelley's nameless hideous Monster, using a barrage of puppets, absurd costumes, mesmerizing stagecraft, and his trademark dark humor and meta-theatrics.  Definitely NOT a children's story, this stage adaptation includes all the outrageous, bizarre, and violent scenes which are usually cut from other adaptations of Pinocchio.  Allen parellels the stories of these two motherless, un-born creatures to explore the nature of love, betrayal, mortality, fatherhood, forgiveness, and the meaning of life itself.

Pinocchio/Frankenstein promises to be among the best of Allen's award-winning work."

This actually makes perfect sense, and I don't know why it hasn't been explored before (if it has, please tell me!) Pinocchio and Frankenstein's Monster are both characters looking to be human. They were created by a man not for their own sake, but as an embodiment of an ambition or need from their creator. Friends, in Chicago, please tell me how it is!

Performance: The Pet Shop Boys' The Most Incredible Thing

The Pet Shop Boys were certainly theatrical in their heyday, and have now turned to dance, writing the score for a ballet based on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale "The Most Incredible Thing." It is the story of a king who will give his daughter's hand in marriage to the one man who can show him the most incredible thing.

They combine traditional ballet with more modern dance. The set design is fascinating, because Hans Christian Anderson dabbled in elaborate paper cut outs, and used them to tell his stories. The set is created to look like a paper city, and the protagonist expresses himself through the art of paper cutting.

The video is below:

It begins with behind-the-scenes interviews and then shows a recording of the entire ballet.

SurLaLune Fairy Tales Blog has an article here.