conception et réalisation Gisèle Vienne
texte et dramaturgie Dennis Cooper
réalisation des poupées et animations
Raphaël Rubbens, Dorothéa Vienne-Pollak, Gisèle Vienne
musique et bruitages Peter Rehberg et Stephen O’Malley
lumière Patrick Riou
architecte Rémi Brabis
voix Jonathan Capdevielle
Point Ephemere work studio, early February
'Charles' the robot and his mechanical puppet, early draft
Boy robot #2 (ultimately edited from the piece), early draft
Boy robot #3 (ultimately edited from the piece), early draft
Norwegian television interview
Charles's brain
A sample of the text, early February
[ ... ]
CHARLES: He needs to stop sometimes and breathe or recharge. I think he’s a machine, or he’s possessed. Anyway, my friends and I are trapped in some place I don’t know how to describe. Not a building, or not what you and I would call a building, but … um …
PUPPET: I hesitate to paraphrase Charles within his earshot, but, assuming his wheedling voice has only thinned your understanding and attention with each crazy sounding word, I’ll suggest that, in effect, he is in a sort of labyrinth, although not the magnetizing secret passageways so attractive to the voyeurs in scary stories, nor the barren, Byzantine underbelly of a stage set where actors sneak about and wait their cues to enter, but … a hotel for all intents and purposes, featuring yet lacking the amenities expected of resorts, and, thus, less a hotel in which Charles vacations than an intertwining set of premises that are haunted by his ghost, and for whom beds and chairs are no cozier than colored clumps of fog. Hence, his confusion.
CHARLES: I think the puppet either owns the hotel or he is the hotel. I know that sounds insane.
PUPPET: Charles is dead, in so many words, and this figure is his reliquary, and it is I, indulging in magician mode, who has dubbed any whinnying and purrs and growls you have hallucinated in between his tight, immobile lips. For instance, let’s see, what shall I have him say now … Oh, yes.
CHARLES: I don’t know how I’m here with you. Maybe I’m a projection or a double or a statue of myself that’s been erected here or … , but I swear to fucking God, I am real. And scared shitless. Can’t you see that?! Can’t you tell?!
PUPPET: It is I, this hotel’s … proprietor, let’s say, who is oddly disinclined to treat my guests with the deference one preternaturally accords a customer, and who, at times, seem to be mechanically fraternizing with a sort of work crew that is only in my establishment to fix the plumbing, and other times to be exterminating hotel tenants as though they’re pests, and who pretends not to understand a single word they quite clearly if agitatedly pronounce.
[ ... ]
Stage/set design experiments, mid-February
designs/mock-ups by Stephen O'Malley
Text translated into French (sample), late February
translation by Laurence Viallet
Set construction/instructions, early March
4 rue Martel, voice recordings, early March
Centre d'Art la Passerelle, Brest, early March
the work space
Creating the set design
Preparing 'Charles' the robot
'Charles' gets a haircut
The reception
'Last Spring, a Prequel', moments before the final dress rehearsal
----
*
p.s. Hey. I'll try to get a video sample of 'LS,aP' to show you at some point. Since the piece is all and only about its movements, sound, text, vocal performance, and lighting effects, it can't be represented in still images at all, but I thought I'd give you the construction and build up at least. So, a speedy pre-train trip p.s. this morning, and then I'll be back to normal in and from Paris tomorrow. ** David Ehrenstein, Well, I think about George all the time, and when I write, I'm often writing about him directly or indirectly, but I rarely have the chance to talk about him, and it was the trying to articulate him that shook the emotion out, I guess. ** Oscar B, Cool. I'll give you guys a call when I'm back in the late afternoon! ** MANCY, Thanks, bud. ** Frank Jaffe, Hey there, Frank! Great to see you! The John W thing is on Friday? Very cool. Enjoy the heck out of him. Well, yeah, the DisVoir book goes 'on sale', whatever that means, in two weeks, as I understand it, but maybe there's some lag time getting to Amazon, I'm not sure. The 'Them' CD, possibly with DVD, is still being put together, and money is being raised to finish the mixing and stuff. I'll let you know when it gets concrete. I've been working on that thing up above lately and the 'Last Spring' zine project not a whole lot else, but it's all been good. Now it's on to the early work on the big maze piece and a short vacation. Okay, relish all the great stuff you're in the early middle of, man, and I'll talk to you soon, and let me know how the John W event and stuff goes. ** Jax, Hey, pal. It went good. I guess I'll give a rushed rundown to Itmpw below. I've been pretty tired this week, but, nonetheless, I think George gets all the credit or blame for my emotions crashing out. Dude, totally, about that feeling, the need to write and the anxiousness to do so. I'm missing the in-progress novel thing a lot. Very cool about the initial sitcom idea approval. Man, it's all just so great to hear all your great things, Jack. ** Memoirs of a Heroinhead, Hi, Shane! Oh, your thingeroony will be going up on the blog finally this week when I do a little revamp. I've been too swamped to do much. Thank you again for that! How's the novel/ novelization going? ** David, Thanks for the Lauper warning. I think I'll just let bygones be bygones. True to form, the owl did its best to sabotage 'TIHYWD' last night, but I think we won. ** Sypha, A new blog? Like with a particular focus on your interests or on an interest or something? ** Steevee, There's some great internet radio. Seems like the internet has kind of revived the radio form or something. I find myself streaming radio aka podcasts more than I have in years. I'll look for the Film Comment. Everyone, d.l. steevee aka the writer/critic Steve Erickson has an article on 'Movie Movie' in the new issue of the magazine Film Comment. So, keep an eye out for it. ** Steven Trull, And a big howdy-do to you, man. What's up? ** The Dreadful Flying Glove, Lovely radio stuff, man. Fragrant. As a disliker of nostalgia, I think the combo with horniness is probably a good way to filter it, well, depending on how cooperative your imagination is. Or something. Thinking in hurry, as I am forced to do this morning, is most unhelpful, I must say. ** Heliotrope, Hi, Mark! Indie 103 was pretty much the last thing on LA radio that I listened to, and when it went internet only, that was that except for baseball broadcasts. Ugh, about the infection. I'm glad you bit the doctorial bullet. Yeah, Japan-wise, I hope d.l. Allesfliesst is okay. He's in Tokyo, and he posted right when the quake happened, but he hasn't been around here since, and I hope he's all right. All my other friends there seem to be okay but hassled, obviously. Do get your cold sesame noodle skills in order, yes. I'm going to finally start figuring out an LA trip in the next week. Thanks for being you with a capital Y, man. Love. ** Shannon, Hey. Oh, Norse word Odr, nice. I'll have to google its definition, but it chimes even as a pure visual. Awesome about the essay going up. I'll have to wait to read it in Paris, but ... Everyone, d.l. and writer supreme Shannon has an new essay up and readable at the Junk site, and it's a must to be sure, so click this and savor the thing, okay? Congrats, pal. Sorry to be scrambling today. If I miss my train I'll be stuck here, and another day here would be no picnic. ** _Black_Acrylic, Hi, Ben. Nice! ** Bernard Welt, Greetings, B! ** Chris Cochrane, The Berlin thing is really disappointing, but, yeah, what can be done, I guess. That's why I was suggesting maybe having pick up dancers over here to make the Europe gigs more doable financially, but whatever. Cool, let me know on the ideas. ** Statictick, Hi, Nick. Thanks, buddy. ** Chris (British), The night went very well, thank you. I like the sounds of you easing free, obviously. ** Misanthrope, Man, I hope the clusterfuck was a cruel tease and nothing else. I hope you're not too out of it. Are you? Hope not. ** Inthemostpeculiarway, Hi. No, him moving the couch into his room was weird, definitely. Or I thought so, but it's all dust in the wind now. Wow, you did have kind of a bad day, didn't you? I appreciated reading about it nonetheless. I hope it's a 24 hour only bad. How are you this morning? My day, really fast: Ira interviewed me for a couple of hours. It went okay, I guess, I don't know. I walked up to the arts center, and we did the final prep stuff on the 'Last Spring' piece. The reception started at 6:30, and people started seeing the piece. Great response so far. I have to say, it's a really good piece, one of my favorites that we've done. But then the robot broke. Its eyes, which do a complicated series of blinks, opening and closing, staring, seeming to cry, punctuating things, etc., got stuck open. So we had to shut everything down and repair it, which luckily wasn't too hard to do, but it was annoying. Then we had to rush to the theater for the 'TIHYWD' show at 9 pm. For the most part, it was a very good performance. Everything worked perfectly, and the fog was amazing, and the sound was excellent, and, yes, loud when it needed to be, except the fucking owl wouldn't go onstage, so the piece ended weirdly, but no one seemed to notice or care, thank goodness. Then we had champagne backstage, and I came back here and crashed. Sorry for the lack of detail. That's what I get for trying to do a p.s. on the run. Anyway, are you feeling better? I sure hope so. Tell me what went on today? ** Alan, Hi. That does sound anxiety making. I guess Sujatha isn't a relentless Facebook or Twitter updater. It's one of those situations where such addictions can come in handy. You know that, odds immensely are, she's just fine and dallying for hopefully undifficult reasons. But still. I hope you hear something today. Let me know, if you don't mind. ** 'Stoopid Slapped Puppies', Hi, Nick! Thank you so very, very much. It was beautiful, and the people here became beautiful in its light and regard. I do like your tattoo, yes! The whole thing and design, and that 'head' blackness thing is really eerie. It's kind of 'come hither' and 'run away' at the same time. Yes, I approve, ha ha. Lots and lots of love and deep bowing to you, my friend! ** Little foal, Whew! I mean, I sensed you would test negative, but, yeah, so good to hear that! Enjoy your relief. You earned it. Wonderful! Talk to you more soon, I hope, and love to you, Darren. ** Okay, I'll get this off to you early, and then I'll throw my stuff in my backpack and be on my way. I guess the post really doesn't give you much of an impression of the piece, but, you know, obviously, if you have any questions or anything ... See you tomorrow.
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