Saturday, November 7, 2009

Sleeping Beauty Steampunk Theatre Production

Note: Yes, I know I said I'd be posting on steampunk Cinderella
and that IS coming but this is breaking news I must share:


There's a new theatrical production of Sleeping Beauty - a steampunk production!

From the time traveling narrator to the set, to the symbolism included in the steampunk influenced costumes, right through to incorporating some traditional ballet-mime gestures from the ballet, this is a Sleeping Beauty that combines the old and the new - literally.
Promotional photo of the Sleeping Beauty production from Storybook Theatre

Here are some excerpts from an article I read yesterday to give you some examples of how the steampunk aspect is employed:

There is also (the) narrator of this tale, which gives the play a true "storybook" feel. But rather than make the narrator be just a regular person, MPC's creative team has turned the narrator into a time traveler who can transcend the years while the lovely princess sleeps.

The creative symbolism goes even further with the artistry of costume designer Kathleen O'Brien, who has taken the fairy princess gowns and added elements of steampunk.

"It's a fun Edwardian romantic style, then you have bits of sprockets of cameras, computers, springs, parts or entire pieces mixed into costumes," said Rosa. "It's an interesting juxtaposition of the Victorian era look with things that are outside that era."

...The theme of timelessness is also incorporated into the set design by Ramie Wikdahl. "The set is wonderful," said Rosa. "It has a Tuscan Renaissance feel to it. Then there is a steampunk element in the land of magic — the fairy section of the set. There is a romance feel and feeling of time passing as well. The stone wall is crumbling down into the land of fairies."
You can read the whole article HERE.

Sleeping Beauty by Margaret Tarrant

Apparently this version has more than one prince trying to rescue Sleeping Beauty - two that fail and one that doesn't, though whether he breaks the spell or just happens to have good timing is often not explained. I'm curious to see if this production does.

Speaking of time, I love this idea of Sleeping Beauty, steampunk and time travel. I've always thought the spinning wheel is a good symbol of time and it works doubly well for the steampunk approach (gears, wheels etc).

The director/choreographer Carol Heiland-Rosa says this production is aimed at the family with fun and wonder for younger children to enjoy but also layers of symbolism and humor the adults will enjoy.
Carol Heiland-Rosa

"This is a very fun version of Sleeping Beauty,'" said Rosa. Many of the fun adaptations are the handiwork of writer Michele Vacca, whose work is known for its ability to mesmerize young audiences while at the same time having enough wit and style to entertain adults.
From the Monterey Peninsula College's website:
Michele L. Vacca's scripts are distinguished by their proven ability to entertain and educate younger audiences, while having the style, verve, and wit to fascinate adults.
The production is being put on by Monterey Peninsula College's Storybook Theatre and had their first performance last night (there was also a preview night on Thursday) and is set to run for three consecutive weekends through to November 22nd. While Storybook Theatre uses theater arts students as part of the production, the standard is professional and company highly regarded. Not surprisingly, some of the shows are already sold out.
Sleeping Beauty by Millicent Sowerby

Here's the information from the end of the article:

·What: MPC Storybook Theatre presents "Sleeping Beauty"
·Where: MPC Studio Theatre, Monterey Peninsula College, 980 Fremont St., Monterey
·When: Opens at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6; continues at 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3p.m. Saturday and Sunday matinees through Nov. 22
·Tickets: $9-$15, with group discounts available, at MPC Box Office (646-4213) 3-7p.m Wed-Fri. and two hours prior to each show, or online at www.TicketGuys.com/mpc
·Information: 646-4213 or www.mpctheatre.com


For another Sleeping Beauty story involving time travel you can check out Sheri S. Tepper's "Beauty". This book, while centered around the Sleeping Beauty story, retells the stories of other fairy tale heroines too - eg Snow White, Cinderella and more - in a fractured fairy tale-type way. Tepper is known for tackling social issues in her books, such as environmentalism and women's issues and this book is no different. There's an interesting positive review HERE and a different informative one HERE.Regarding the play, I'd dearly love to see this unique production but after much time spent trying figure out my travel options from LA I don't think I can manage it. If anyone attends I'd love to hear what you thought - make sure you go get your tickets ASAP, before it completely sells out.

Break a leg MPC Storybook Theater people!

Friday, November 6, 2009

Jack and the Beanstalk Illustration project by Sam Bosma

These illustrations for Jack and the Beanstalk are part of the final student project of illustrator Sam Bosma and remain part of his online portfolio - and rightly so. The work is wonderful. Though he graduated in May of this year his work has already been recognized by The Society of Illustrators.

The captions below the pictures are Mr. Bosma's descriptions.

The swarthy butcher plans on cheating jack out of his goat friend.

I think this panel with the butcher is my favorite illustration. A lot of storytelling happening in this scene.Jack, halfway up the beanstalk, stops for a sandwich.

The giant's wife shows some hospitality.

He apparently rewrote the story for himself as part of nailing down the concept before laying out the illustrations for a book. Though he doesn't say this in his blog, his version seems to have a South American feel, even with the viking-like headdress of the giant's wife.
The giant is less generous with his golden bird.

You can find all his work in progress posts on this project and see large and lovely versions of the final pieces at his blog HERE. I only wish he'd posted his story too. I have to say I'm intrigued by this version.

Much of his work has an air of a folktales or calls to mind urban legends of various kinds (giants and other creatures abound). The black and white illustrations for the Lovecraft story "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" are wonderfully moody and tell the story all by themselves. I recommend checking out the artist's website and online portfolio HERE.

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Review of "Tender Morsels" - Joint Winner of 2009 World Fantasy Award

US Hardcover of Tender Morsels. Illustration by Jody Hewgill

First, the news: "Tender Morsels", the novel length retelling of the Grimm's fairy tale Snow White and Rose Red by Australian author Margo Lanagan, was just announced as the joint winner of the World Fantasy Award this past weekend (the other winner was "The Shadow Year" by Jeffrey Ford). You can read her reaction on her blog HERE and see the full list of nominees and winners HERE.

Now the review:

Many are not surprised at seeing "Tender Morsels" win and I know why. Lanagan's novel has an unusual balance of being beautifully written without drawing attention to the fact.

Here's a taste of her prose (my aim here is to give you some context for all the discussion that comes next):
The girls were two flames at which she warmed herself to humanness, having long been something else—stone, perhaps; dried-out wood. Their perfect trust that the happy times would continue—she watched it and she sipped it as some small birds sip nectar, and she began, if not to perfectly trust it herself, at least to hope more strongly, at least to look beyond the beauties of the immediate season to the plans and practicalities demanded by the next—or the next several years, maybe? Maybe.
Trade Paperback Cover for Tender Morsels (coming Feb 9th, 2010). Illustrator unknown.

In case you know nothing about the book there are three main points about it:

1) It's a retelling of the Grimm's fairy tale Snow White and Rose Red
2) The use of language is gorgeous
3) It's dark content has made it a very controversial addition to the YA genre

I'll begin by saying this: The writing is beautiful, unexpected, quietly poignant and it draws you in. The way Ms. Lanagan uses language is so unique - not at all the way people normally put words together - yet it doesn't feel in the slightest bit forced. I unconsciously slowed my reading down so I wouldn't miss anything.

Ms. Lanagan's handling of the story is to be admired. "Tender Morsels" has rewritten my mental image of the fairy tale in many ways and the passages which deal directly with events of the Grimm's story now seem to me as if they couldn't be any other way. I won't go into a synopsis as I presume you know the fairy tale but to give you clues I'll pose a couple of questions: Did you ever think to ask why a mother of two young daughters lived isolated and alone in the middle of a wood? Did you ever wonder how two girls born to the same woman could be so different in almost all aspects including looks and temperament?
UK Hardcover. Illustrator unknown.

Though I'd heard amazing things about Ms. Lanagan's work for some time and was keen to read a novel-length retelling of a rarely tackled tale, I was put off for the longest time by two things. Firstly, all I really heard about "Tender Morsels", usually coupled with a brief and grudging respect for the writing, was the controversy; how dark and possibly inappropriate the subject matter/context of the story was for young adults to read. I never found myself in a mood to deal with reading about issues of rape, incest and abortion among other dark things so it kept sliding down my to-be-read pile.

Secondly was my awareness of the different covers. The first two I saw were so different from each other it seemed people didn't know what to make of the story. The first one I saw was this one below.
UK/Australian Hardcover of Tender Morsels Illustration by Jerry Caniglia

It felt so dark to me, it reinforced the idea the book wouldn't be something I'd enjoy. I should explain here that I usually read dark stories quite happily. Edgy urban fantasy, dark fantasy, thrillers and suspense that border on (but aren't actually) horror, vampires and monsters of all kinds - bring them on. But when it came to this fairy tale, perhaps because none of the above-mentioned issues are even hinted at in the Grimm's text (unlike Donkeyskin or The Golden Hands/Armless Maiden in which the issues of violence, abuse and incest are clearly part of the story) I think I worried that the 'darkness' was gratuitous. Quite frankly I didn't want to read a story in which some writer indulged in sordid descriptions of pain, abuse and confusion just to garner attention.

The range of different awards being won, along with the cover at the head of the post (which is the second cover I saw and the one sitting in bookstores in the US), changed my perception somewhat. I do think the illustration at the top of the post by Jody Hewgill does a great job at capturing the folktale aspects of the story and the layered, fairy tale nature of the telling. It definitely influenced me adding it to my must-read pile.

I can't remember what finally prompted me to pick up the book, other than a challenge to myself that I should see what the fuss was about, knowing I could put it down should I ever decide enough was enough, but I'm so glad I did. It now among my favorite fairy tale retellings and has been given a place on my 'books I love' shelf.
Australian Paperback Cover of Tender Morsels. Illustration by RuudVanEmpel
(alsoseehere)

Yes, the book does deal with all those issues people are talking about. Yes, you have to wonder whether YA is the right category for this book (clearly YA is a complex genre way beyond preppy high school stories and romantic vampire love interests - "Lord of the Flies" anyone?) but this is what struck me: The scenes which deal with these controversial issues are so matter-of-factly dealt with and somehow gently blunt that you understand exactly how Liga (the main character) feels about every situation. Some is so sadly normal that in some ways it's barely focused on. Other things aren't completely understood by the character and are light on the specifics so it's only from a more aware perspective that we understand what's happening. This doesn't mean it's emotionally distant though - the opposite is true. When Liga finally comes to terms with her past it's a very 'true' scene with great emotional impact.

This excellent article HERE explains Ms. Lanagan's perspective on dark issues in children's literature and why she wrote what she did. And this interview HERE explains more about her process of writing the book and dealing with various characters and subjects.

"Tender Morsels" is hard to describe other than to say my lasting impression of the book is magical, sweet and complicated and anyone that can give me that after taking me through the horrors Liga had to endure is a masterful story teller (expect some discomfort - the first sentence and opening scene specifically clues you in to the fact this isn't a sugar and spice book). For all the darkness in Liga's story and particularly the early scenes, it is the light and magic that remains. It is very true in this case that the light is all the more bright and sweet for the darkness it is pitted against. While you can't forget what Liga went through to bring her two daughters into the world you still have the sense of magic and of fairy tale in it's truest sense.

I haven't even touched on the bear aspects in this book. Bear Day, on which the author writes an additional note in the back of the book, is based on the journée de l'ours (pictures at this link by the way) held every February in a place called Prats de Mollo la Preste (in the Pyrenees) and holds that same combination of raw earthiness and magical wonder the entire book holds. The character of Ramstrong, who is transformed into a bear and retains his gentle dignity, is one of those I'll remember always. He's a pleasant (and healing) contrast to most of the male characters that come before him. Later scenes in which two 'bear-affected' youths bond over tragic events are surprising and touching. Somehow it never seemed important to me that the bear of the fairy tale was a bear as opposed to some other large wild creature. After this novel it now feels that 'bear-ness' is integral to the story.
Soon-to-be-released Australian Cover of Tender Morsels.
Illustration by Shaun Tan, winner of 2009 World Fantasy Best Artist Award.

The new Australian cover (shown above) does a great job of capturing the general feel of the book for me - comforting but with serious teeth and claws. It's not for everyone but then I've never met a book that is. I would suggest reading some excerpts for yourself - lovely ones like the excerpts I posted above and gritty ones (you can find one of the darker passages HERE) - before making up your mind whether or not to pick up a copy.

As much as I adored the novel, I do have some issues with it. I could have done without the details of the cloth men's actions in particular and I have issues with things like the POV juggling and the odd lack of follow-up caused by not returning to various character's POV at key points. There's also the odd, abrupt ending which seemed so at odds with the rest of the book I reread the last chapter to see if I missed something yet overall it's one of those books that stays with you - in a good way. It doesn't have answers, a call to arms or great insights into rehabilitating oppressed and abused women but that's OK because instead it does the same thing fairy tales do: it tells you there's a way to survive, that there are alternatives to being eaten, no matter how tender a morsel you are. It tells you the truth.

Other reviews of "Tender Morsels" (favorable and not so favorable) you may find interesting, are linked below:
Things Mean A Lot
My Fluttering Heart
Locus Online
Fyrefly's Book Blog
The Zen Leaf

Note: There is a list of editions for this book HERE.

Snow White's Wardrobe Gets 'Steampunked'

A few more steampunk fairy tale posts this week!

I found this wonderful custom Snow-White-with-corset outfit by "DamselInThisDress" HERE and had to share. There's a definite steampunk feel to this little number. The yellow "leather" (let's just say it is, ok?) bustle is great too, and though it doesn't come with the corset you can apparently purchase it from DamselInThisDress separately.The funny thing is, this makes far more sense for an outfit to wear in the woods than the standard princess one. Add some heavy duty boots and presto: steampunk Snow White. (I can't help thinking the huntsman would approve of this one too.)

You can see an illustration of a different steampunk Snow White I posted a few months ago HERE. This Snow White apparently developed a 'taste' for hot air ballooning (you can read the artist's idea of the story by going to their deviantArt page and reading their comments there).

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Snow White Scenes in Apples

Making the rounds on Twitter yesterday was THIS slideshow here from the BBC News. I recommend clicking for a larger view so you can see just how the apples were used to create these scenes - it's quite amazing.

To celebrate the release of Snow White on Blu-ray, UK food artist Prudence Staite was commissioned by Disney to portray iconic scenes from the movie in food - specifically (and appropriately) apples. Considering all the news is coming from the UK I'm guessing this is to coincide with the UK Blu-ray release as it's already out in the US.

From Boxwish UK:

Staite and the Food Is Art team produced six iconic images from the movie, including the dwarves off to the mine, the Wicked Queen disguised as a hag tempting Snow White with the poisoned apple and the Prince kissing the sleeping heroine for the happy ending. Staite was commissioned to create the innovative art by Disney, who are drumming up interest in the animated classic in the build-up to its Blu-Ray debut and reveals that 14 different varieties of apple were employed for the art attack.

You can read the rest of the article HERE.

I can only find four of the six images mentioned and am only comfortable showing the ones I've found on other blogs, so be sure to click on this link HERE to see all four at a decent resolution. Hopefully the last two will surface soon.

I can't find any information on where or when in particular the scenes were done but I have this vision of photographers standing by and holding their breaths, waiting to start clicking as soon as the last apple slice is placed, before any browning begins. Then what? A healthy feast to celebrate? I don't think I could bring myself to take the first slice.

Or perhaps they've been preserved (via something highly toxic to humans) to stay in their perfect fresh state forever... under glass...

You can find more of Prudence's creative culinary concoctions at her website HERE and at her gallery HERE.

Once Upon A Week

Note: I apologize for posting this mid-week but I only found out about the event yesterday afternoon.

Fairy tale books are getting recommended and reviewed by blogs participating in a special cross-blog event called "Once Upon A Week". There are other fairy tale related activities happening too.

The event is being hosted by NotNessie at "Today's Adventure" and her blog has all the links you need to get you started in finding all the recommended reading, reviews, blogger interviews, give-aways, memes and more that are happening this week.

Here are the review links so far. Please contact NotNessie directly if you wish to post and participate:
1.A Curse Dark As Gold2.Ice by Sarah Beth Durst
3.Princess of the Midnight Ball4.Ash
5.The Baldwin Project, A Website Review6.Forest Born
7.Beastly8.Tender Morsels, by Margo Lanagan
9.Book of a Thousand Days, by Shannon Hale10.The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye, by A.S. Byatt
11.Princess Academy, by Shannon Hale12.Ash Review and Author Interview
13.Politically Correct Bedtime Stories14.Ice, by Sarah Beth Durst

For Thursday she even has a contest to win one of her recommended fairy tale retellings. To qualify people have to rewrite a fairy tale with themselves as one of the characters (which is chosen for you). Details are posted HERE so anyone interested can get writing.

You can find all the information, fun and participants at the Once upon A Week posts for "Today's Adventure" HERE. It's a great way to find fairy tale loving writers and readers and some great new blogs to boot.

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Fairy Tales Bollywood Style

Poster for "Cinderella - A Bollywood Ballet"

Since we're looking at Bollywood today, as little bonus for you I found an interview from 2008 with choreographer, Prashanthi Chitre, about her Bollywood version of Cinderella.

From the summary:

The musical numbers you see in Indian film, or Bollywood film, are telling a story. They do that with a mishmash of traditional Hindi, Latin American, and MTV dancing. But for many Westerners, that kind of storytelling is still tough to understand. Local choreographer Prashanthi Chitre grew up in India, and she loved Bollywood style dancing. Her lifelong dream has been to translate the joy and excitement she found in that dancing for everyone, especially non–Indians. But it wasn't until she saw her first Western ballet here in Seattle that she realized how she could do it. She tells Jeannie Yandel the story.

Indian beauty Deepika Padukone as Cinderella
(inspired by Annie Leibovitz's photo of Scarlett Johansson as Cinderella. Found HERE)

You can listen to the audio HERE - the interview starts 14 minutes into the recorded radio program. She talks a lot about why Cinderella works well for Indian audiences, interpreting the Indian joy of fantasy for Western audiences and - of course - dancing.

You can read more about the production of "Cinderella - A Bollywood Ballet" HERE.

Bollywood Turns Attention to Family Fairy Tales

I saw mention of another Bollywood film about to be released that's being marketed as a fairy tale. That's two in one week so I figured it was time to post an entry on the subject.

The first was "Ala-din", a modern day version of the classic Aladdin story with a ex-genie-ringmaster character with designs on the fabled lamp and a whole lot of Bollywood musical entertainment in between (you can find a lot of information about it in a post from SurLaLune HERE). It's being advertised as a family film despite the distribution company's name "Eros Entertainment" which might lead you to think otherwise. There's a good overview of the film HERE and here's the trailer:

Trailer for Aladin at Listal


The second is a film called "Aao Wish Karein", which, as far as I can tell is an Indian version of the "be careful what you wish for" story along the lines of "Big" (from 1988 with Tom Hanks). It's due for release sometime during November 2009. Here's one of the trailers (which has an odd mix of English and Hindi but is still understandable):


You can find more information about the film HERE in this differently angled article focusing on the music done for the movie (which is getting a lot of attention).

It would seem Bollywood is beginning to pay attention to the younger set and expanding into family films. Some would say it's overdue. Others would say it was inevitable as Bollywood follows the Hollywood model more and more. What it doesn't tell us is whether or not these films will be any good (I've seen both terrific and terrible Bollywood films). I'm curious to see how popular Bollywood "fairy tale films" will be. Whether or not we see more fairy tales (especially Indian fairy tales) tackled via the Bollywood system will likely depend on box office results. Given the fantastical sense commonly digressed into in the musicals I'm guessing the response will be favorable. I do hope so. I'd love to see some of the Indian tales a la Bollywood!

Monday, November 2, 2009

"Riese: The Series" - New Steampunk Red Riding Hood Web Series Begins Today

There's a new Red Riding Hood coming to town... and she's more than a little bit steampunk!

A new web series (a show that airs/is released via the internet) starts airing today called "Riese". It's about a girl on the run with her wolf and promises action, drama, intrigue and an interweaving of traditional fables and fairy tales with a little Norse mythology thrown in for good measure.Interestingly, this is one of the first steampunk influenced series/shows to air since steampunk has become so popular in terms of genre, sub-culture and design these past few years (especially this year). That it takes inspiration from fairy tales (one in particular) is awesome and confirms my belief that steampunk and fairy tales are a good match... But back to the series.

From an interview with Co-creator Ryan Copple:

The story first originated as an idea for a short film, actually. The original concept detailed a young girl, who was traveling with a wolf, visiting a strange and anachronistic town with morally questionable customs. We wanted to parallel the idea of innocence that was captured in the Little Red Riding hood stories, while also paralleling it to the conflicts and moral dilemmas and ambiguities in our own, something we still hold true to in the series as it is now.

As for the production, once we decided to convert it into a series, the real fun began with fleshing out the world that this character was inhabiting. That’s when we borrowed from a variety of historical patterns and genres for inspiration. Aesthetically, we’ve been heavily influenced by the steampunk genre as well as dark, textured works such as “City of Lost Children”. For story inspiration, we drew from both traditional fables, like Little Red Riding Hood, as well as Norse mythology.

You can read the rest of the interview HERE at The League of Extraordinary Genres website.

Here's the trailer to give you a taste.

The first episode of "Riese" is due to be uploaded in the early hours of Monday morning and should be available to view by the time you read this. The first episode is called "Hunt" and you can tune in to their WEBSITE, subscribe to their YOUTUBE channel (which is one of the main places they'll be airing the epiosdes) and get updates via FACEBOOK and TWITTER. And there's already a lot of extra content to see on their YouTube channel about the development and making of the show (I believe it was filmed in August this year).

There's a whole lot more information available on other websites too but I suggest starting at these places to see if it's something you might be interested in keeping an eye on.

Wikipedia has a great overview entry HERE, giving you an idea of the look and feel of the series. If you like "Sanctuary"* (a show on the SyFy Channel that started life as a web series as well), there's an excellent chance you'll like this too.

I, for one, will be tuning in. Steampunk + fairy tale + "Sanctuary" alumni = excellent ingredients for an intriguing idea. I hope this one has teeth...

* "Sanctuary" is a science fiction TV show that has the premise of all the beings in mythology and urban legend as being real (called 'abnormals' in the series). The sanctuary of the title is supposed to be a place of safe harbor where abnormals - from mermaids to bigfoot to scary creatures we hope we only imagined - can receive assistance or find a home to live out their lives in peace. Of course, not everyone is of the same opinion... The show is now in it's second season and getting excellent reviews from fans and critics alike for the writing, concepts and acting, as well as for the excellent use of limited effects. It has been nominated for multiple awards and won at least four. You can find more information about "Sanctuary" HERE in Wikipedia and HERE at the official website.

'Dark Woods' Fairy Tale Papercuts Postcards by mrYen

Friend of Once Upon A Blog, mrYen (a.k.a. Jonathan Chapman), is a graphic artist/typography artist who is now creating his own wonderful pieces and papercuts, including a lovely set of fairy tale themed postcards. If you like seeing papercuts online, you'll love seeing them in person.You can see and purchase this fairy tale 'Dark Woods' set HERE at his Etsy shop. Be sure to check out his other pieces too. I believe there's a Red Riding Hood lampshade in the works too...If these appeal to you be sure to let him know so he'll create more!

Check out his blog HERE for news and work-in-progress glimpses like the one above.

You can also follow him on Twitter for the latest updates and links to other beautiful things HERE.