August in the Underworld

An all puppet web series following the adventures of WWII pilot, August Phineas, into the Underworld, a tricky place of good, bad, and really bad.

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Here's a before and after of Sad Boy Monkey. Watch our trailer: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/august-in-the-underworld And you'll see him (attached to his body) at the very beginning!

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The Waiting Game

Oh Dear!  It turns out we have yet another month to wait before we hear from ipf...  July 1st seems to be the date and, having thought it was June 1st all this time, we're feeling a bit discombobulated.  What to do???   - when all our thoughts revolve around building puppets and sets and veggie catering and parking permits and coffee brands and (really, I could go on for a few pages here!) so on and so on...

So.  To keep myself sane, I say:  Hello Tumblr, I'm back!  Remember me?

Tumblr replies:  Uh, nope.

Well, hopefully we can be friends.  Someday!

Here's a pic to start our friendship up again:

'Snerk' Sketch from August in the Underworld (drawn by me)

'Snerk' Puppet from August in the Underworld (sculpted by Mark and painted by me)

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Sketching August in the Underworld

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August in the Underworld - In the Office

Well we're knee deep in IPF application material and it's a bit gruelling at times.  Luckily I have 5 cats to keep me motivated!  This is a pic of Elliot who, after stealing all my pens, fell off the table.  I happened to be taking his picture at the time (made certain he was alright before I giggled!).  Uh.  Yeah, I know, taking cat pictures is a form of procrastination, or so I've been told.

and here he is just after his tumble:

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The Bregenz Festival

source: Johannes Simon c/o Zimbio.com

Ah, it's a Youtube morning!  I hadn't meant to be glued to the net...  Taxes?  (Do they really need to be done on time?)  Oh, well, at least I've found something to inspire M and me for the next few days.  As usual I found a few things, some I've seen before and eager to re-watch, others that I haven't seen before though everybody else has.  This video is probably one that everyone else has seen since it is a couple of years old now but I had seen pics from previous operas and now I finally have an idea of how the shows come together on such elaborate stages.  This particular set design is for the opera Andre Chenier by Umberto Giodano at the Bregenz Festival in Austria and - it's pretty cool!  So have a peek!

Happy Thursday,

C

http://youtu.be/TjIh-OrtIeg

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Thanks to you, we got to the next level in our funding application!  Hurrah!

xoxo

Claire

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Winding up and winding down

We are nearing the end of our Youtube extravaganza for IPF - (31 days to get as many views, likes and comments as possible) - it's already the 29th, and I'd say we fared quite well with a nice steady incline throughout the month.  I figured I'd share some of the pics that inspired us throughout the month.

From the 2007 film, Dante's Inferno

Sculpture by Ron Muek

Awesome pic of Barry Flanagan with one of his bronze hares (1980).  Courtesy of  venicebiennale.britishcouncil.org

Day of the Dead Sugar scull el muerte Halloween Coasters from Meadow Tea

Two pics from the Travelettes' article about New York City's hidden subway station.

That's it for now!

To those celebrating, Happy Easter!

Cheerio,

Claire

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Introducing... Part V - Mary Krohnert

Oh hi.  I’m Mary Krohnert.  I’m an actor.  I act on stage and in film and TV and – when I’m lucky - with puppets. 

This is me.

This is also me.

This me will tell you that she doesn’t know how to ride a bike yet and gets unreasonably grumpy when her favourite TV shows go on hiatus.  She likes to write and make stuff, considers herself a vegan junk food connoisseur and can’t tell a joke to save her life.  She hoards collage materials, grows kale, loves the sunshine and is a trained art therapist.  She is addicted to Agatha Christie, has failed to develop a taste for video games, and would much rather sit down with someone for tea than talk on the telephone.  Simply put, this me is a 7th level day dreaming, heart in hand holding fan of geeks everywhere who appreciates all things weird and whimsical.  Which is why the possibility of working with Marchlight on this web-series is so exciting for her. 

Who wouldn’t want a bunch of puppets with attitude to take them on an adventure into the Underworld? 

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Thrift Store Mythos

These have been shuffling their way around the web for quite a while now but I couldn't resist.  Thank you Pete Andrews for reminding me!  

Posted by Twisted Sifter; Artist Chris McMahon

Posted by Twisted Sifter; Artist Thyrza Segal

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Insects in the Underworld?

Okay, folks, I may be in the minority here:  I like bugs, insects and arachnids.  I think they are beautiful.  Okay, sure, I really don't want a bug infestation in my home and while I admire, I am not too terribly fond of the American Cockroach - but, still I think insects/bugs/arachnids (now going to be referred to as: IBAs) are cool.  Is there anything more wondrous than a lacewing resting on your window?  Or a spider spinning a web?  So it begs the question: Are there IBAs in the Underworld???

 I'd like to think so... 

A South American Stick-insect:  Shaw and Nodder (1798)

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Introducing... Part IV - Anthony Grani

Hello,

My name is Anthony Grani and I am fortunate enough to have been asked to direct August in the Underworld.

This is what I look like in my imagination

This is generally what I look like in real life.

As a teenager I toured as a juggler and magician.  Then I went to theatre school where I quickly realized that I was a not so good actor but a somewhat competent director.  I did some theatre for a short while and then because I enjoyed being able to pay the rent and eat food, I switched to working in film in 1996 and I’ve been there ever since.  I’ve worked in pretty much every position there is behind the camera - except, ironically enough, camera – and have been producing and/or directing since 2006.

This is from the last project I directed.  That house burned down on purpose. I swear.

August in the Underworld is kind of a dream project for me because it combines all my favourite things – magic, adventure, romance, really nice people (I don’t like working with not nice people) and puppets.  Puppets!  I grew up with the Muppets.  I still watch a lot of Muppets.  I cry when I watch The Muppet Movie (and sometimes The Muppets Take Manhattan).  I still remember where I was when Jim Henson died.  Do you?  I was in Winnipeg.  As if it wasn’t bad enough that my idol had died, I was in Winnipeg.  Anyway, I’m giddy with excitement about the possibilities that working with puppets will bring and I’ll try my best not to mess it up.

I love dogs but have four lovely cats.  I’m generally happy, healthy and well adjusted.  My wife is much more popular, talented and beautiful than me. 

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Introducing... Part III - Lori Nancy Kalamanski

Hi Everyone! Claire has kindly asked me to introduce myself and show you all what I look like.

I’m Lori Nancy Kalamanski.  Yep, that’s really my name.  Here’s a picture of me that my mom really likes:

   I love things that are magical, fantastical, whimsical and fun.  I’m a Hooper and a Geocacher and I have two very amusing cats.  I’ve been a professional actor and singer for 15 years and have had the good fortune to work all over the world in theatre, TV, film, and voice.  Some gigs have been with ‘big name’ actors in fancy places, and others have been with ‘yet-to-be-known’ actors in smaller places.  No matter, I’m one grateful lady. I love art that fuses many disciplines together – like this show where I got to play a butt-kicking Phoenix in a Martial-Arts Musical-Opera:

If I had a million dollars, I would spend all of my time dreaming up twinkly, enchanting, wonder-full art with like-minded peeps. That’s why I’m elated to join Marchlight Films as a puppeteer and voice actor for ‘August in the Underworld’.  It’s a gift that has everything that tickles me: humour, mythology, adventure, and a dash of romance on the side!  I’m really excited to share our stories with you – so please tell your friends to ‘like’ our FB page, watch our YouTube clip and comment so that we can get the funding we need to bring you more!  Thanks for visiting!

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Introducing... Part II - Ben Deutsch

Claire asked me to provide a favourite picture. I don't know what this one says about me but it captures me well.  A little about me.  I hail from St. John's, the oldest and coolest city in North America, but I live in the picturesque town of Port Hope, just east of Toronto. I'm currently engulfed in Neil Gaiman's, American Gods, and I have successfully hooked my wife on Game of Thrones (I was less fortunate with Firefly).  I have a background in the military, and then archaeology; so with little else to do in the world, puppetry was the next obvious step. Some seventeen years later the world of puppetry has never ceased to capture my imagination.  And imagination is everything to me. 

When Mark and Claire introduced me to their Underworld filled with puppets I was sold on the spot. I think I may have even salivated, and since men no longer carry handkerchiefs I likely used my sleeve. I love being a puppeteer. To me there is a special relationship between the viewer and puppet that is often lacking in the CGI world. Don't get me wrong, I'm amazed at what can be done these days in digital VFX, but I think I'm not alone in my appreciation of  seeing  real, handcrafted objects brought to life on stage or screen.  So please join our adventure into the Underworld.

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Are there butterflies in the Underworld???  If there are perhaps they look like this beautiful paper art by Hina Aoyanna.  Posted by Design*Sponge last Wednesday.

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August in the Underworld on Fenton and White

We are one of the featured posts on the blog Fenton and White for their March update!  Thank you Scott and Pete!  

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And here it is!  The August in the Underworld Teaser!

Special thanks to: Anthony Grani, Mark Huisman, Yvonne Drebert, Mary Krohnert, Ben Deutsch, Lori Nancy Kalamanski, Harry Judge, Lock3 Media and Sean Wayne Doyle.

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Introducing... Part I

Today I'd like to introduce you to a very important member of our team:  me.

Ha!  Actually, I think I'll introduce you to Mark and me instead (a double whammy!) and next week I'll introduce you to Mary, Anthony, Ben, and Lori Nancy - some of the lovely people that you'll get to know as we go through our journey with August in the Underworld.

And here we are:

We look happy; and in fact we are!  It's part of our geeky nature.

We live in Toronto and we spend our time working as actors in theatre and film and TV, writing, making puppets, fabric creatures, carving, woodworking, drawing, painting, and taking pictures of everything that crosses our paths.  We have a production company called Marchlight that acts as an umbrella for all our endeavors including producing short films and plays.  Our latest adventure is August in the Underworld, a web series based on a play that we wrote in 2011.  

That's it for now,

Claire