All Hallows Eve – Process

All Hallows Eve is a cautionary tale of redemption, which turns a wary eye on a number of things: Horror movie clichés, musical theater, puppetry itself, the corporate mindset and “true believers”. Evil as an entity doesn’t exist for me. Instead, it is belief in an idea to the exclusion of all fact, logic and reason that causes such chaos in the world. These are the themes we worked on during the residency. I have cast humans for humanity (and in the Witch’s case where an ageless entity is aping humanity), all else in this crossover world are husk vehicles tossed together with available parts and inhabited by lost souls. The two main puppet characters, PumpkinMan and Clowny evolve in the journey of the show from engaging, diminutive entities into frightening behemoths in the Witch’s dungeons; one on a path to salvation…the other ultimately broken and mad.

The February O’Neill residency proved to us that the show works. The audiences and cast had a terrific time. Paul Rudolph’s eclectic music ranged from raucous blues to punk, power ballads to his signature Glank percussion, complicated counterpoint harmonies, and a sweet bossa-nova that delivered some very disturbing lyrics. Everyone involved is looking forward to a run. We want to find a venue for this unusual project in the near future…someplace large, flexible and creepy. I am thinking of using theatrical venues in their entirety: lobbies, hallways, balconies, staircases, perhaps even the theater itself… In the case of a large open theater space: I imagine the audience in the center and rotating 360 degrees as the action proceeds.

Though the show’s themes are dark, there is comedy throughout. I was surprised and pleased that it plays to adults and pre-teens as well, opening the show to an unexpected audience range.

All Hallows Eve
Synopsis
Biographies

clowny in a pumpkin

Clowny in a pumpkin

Haley and Pumpkin crew

Pumpkin and Haley

Paul plugging away

Paul McGinnis adjusts little Evan

Kaitee, Jen, and Spencer

Jen and Haley get serious

Haley Jenkins and Sam Gold

Haley Jenkins and Jen Barnhart

Haley and Pumpkin crew

Clowny rigged

Clown crew

“Marionette” stage

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