Projects

HOLD

HOLD is a minimalist tabletop puppet theater piece for two performers and one live musician. Drawing deep inspiration from the physical poetry of Pina Bausch and the meditative, metaphysical tone of Andrei Tarkovsky, this work explores the terrain of memory and loss. At the center of the performance is a solitary figure navigating a silent landscape disturbed only by the arrival of something unseen.

Concept and Direction: Fred C Riley III

Set and Puppet Design and Build: Lisa Zagone

Music and Composition: Ian Erickson

The Ground

This is an excerpt from our sold out 2024 run of The Ground in Oakland California. Made with support from The Jim Henson Foundation, Bay Area CASH grant and Shadowlight Productions.

In January 2024 Odd Savvy received a Production Grant from The Henson Foundation to complete work on ‘The Ground”. The photos below are from our first explorations of the next phase of this work. We are introducing new elements of puppetry, mask and design. Everything was built in cardboard this time to be able to more quickly work out ideas. It also makes changes easier to incorporate. Marie-Claire Erdynast is back on tabletop puppetry. She is also assistant directing and dramaturgy. Her Gena Chastain, I Made Moja, Jessica Nguyen and Tracy Nguyen all helped with shadow design of this latest incarnation.

These pictures were taken at Paul Dresher Studio in Oakland California. The space was originally made available by the generosity and continued support of Paul Dresher for this project.

Our figure  awakens from slumber into a dream. We watch her take her first steps. As she learns to move her body, so do needs and emotions feel flexed. Can she come to balance in this world. Can her striving to make a better world through innovation stay in accord with the natural world? Will the creatures that befriend her fall victim to her improvements, or reap the rewards of her caring? Will this dream of a better life, this struggle forevermore, be a life well lived? We will explore this hour how we strive to overcome the natural world while often losing sight that we are part of it.

These shots were taken during the 2024 performances in Dresher Studio

A peek inside The Ground