It's opening day for Malphas + Langwidere! Yesterday's tech rehearsal went very well. Sound and lights went smoothly and allowed for us to have a couple times to go fully through the show. Makeup and costumes brought an added sense of excitement to the stage. With all of the components of a great theatrical production together we are ready for tonight and excited to put on a great world premiere of this fantastic show.
Devastated by the abduction of her beloved by Langwidere, The Mortal calls upon Malphas to aid her in recovering what was stolen. THE MORTAL is a strong-willed woman and a leader of the Mortal World. She gives a sacrifice to Malphas so he’ll aid her after her Beloved is stolen away. MALPHAS is the second in command of the underworld who takes the form of a raven among mortals. He welcomes sacrifices and promises rewards, but his promises are a deception.
Thursday, July 2, 2015
Monday, June 8, 2015
Rehearsal: Day... ?
A Script, A New Character, and Masks
Time flies... always. The last few weeks have been full of new developments and exciting progress. The first draft of our complete script was finished thanks to Kacey and some serious overtime work. Once we had that first draft in our hands we all felt the room expand slightly making for a bit of extra breathing room. The full cast was able to meet and our first read through was a success. Suggestions were made, creative input was given, and a new character was born.
Kacey felt an empty space in the script and decided it would best be filled by a character he's titled The Troubadour. The character takes the role of a story teller and gives life to the atmosphere of an Appalachian setting. We are excited to see how the Troubadour's role may or may not engage with the other character's in the story - mainly The Mortal, Malphas, and Langwidere.
Speaking of character's, we've secured the masks for the different "Heads" that are part of Langwidere and her personalities. They are neutral masks with slight differences in shape and minimal expression. Below is a photo. It has been exciting to see the way these masked characters involve themselves with Langwidere and others. The masks certainly add an eerie or supernatural dimension to the space which also take us deep into the forest swamps of the Appalachians.
Friday, May 15, 2015
Rehearsal: Day 6
Yesterday's rehearsal was a display of the actual power Malphas has over the elements as well as over all the fowls. While working through some improvisation The Mortal was trying to get information from Malphas regarding the missing Beloved. The dialogue went like this:
The Mortal:
Tell me what you know.
Malphas:
I don't think I want to.
The Mortal:
You must.
Malphas:
Oh, that's where you're wrong!
(ACTUAL THUNDER)
I don't have to do anything.
The thunder introduced a storm that continued for almost an hour. About a half our following the thunder that was called Malphas was arguing with Langwidere... politics. We were all surprised when a pigeon flew straight into the window. We all jumped out of our seats. Malphas was apparently calling out for back up. The pigeon was too willing to help to notice the window between it and Malphas.
The improvisation has helped quite a bit with character development, certain plot points, and character voice/dialogue. A script is currently under way and we are excited to see the first draft and have time to give it some luster.
The Mortal:
Tell me what you know.
Malphas:
I don't think I want to.
The Mortal:
You must.
Malphas:
Oh, that's where you're wrong!
(ACTUAL THUNDER)
I don't have to do anything.
The thunder introduced a storm that continued for almost an hour. About a half our following the thunder that was called Malphas was arguing with Langwidere... politics. We were all surprised when a pigeon flew straight into the window. We all jumped out of our seats. Malphas was apparently calling out for back up. The pigeon was too willing to help to notice the window between it and Malphas.
The improvisation has helped quite a bit with character development, certain plot points, and character voice/dialogue. A script is currently under way and we are excited to see the first draft and have time to give it some luster.
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Rehearsal: Day 4
We really dove into the characters today through improvisation and discussion. Some plot points were added while scenes one and two were expatiated. Here are some images of the director and various performers:
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Rehearsals: Day One
We met today for our first rehearsal and discussed in depth the characters of Malphas, Langwidere, and The Mortal. The discussion led us to discover a lot about the three main characters and their motivations. Discoveries were also made about the relationships between each of them, their histories, and where they might each end up.
We also worked on the story line specific to these characters and the music at which we had been looking. A lot of unanswered questions regarding the inciting incident, climactic moment, and rising action found answers.
Over all, it was a very productive meeting. My favorite moment was the connection we made with the Greek tale of the Origin of Love, The Mortal and her Beloved, and the song "The Origin of Love" from Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Tales of soul-mates and the human emotions that binds them adds a perspective to the story that wasn't as clear before today. It gives an unexpected power to The Mortal that will hopefully propel her as a clear and defined protagonist.
Saturday, March 7, 2015
I recently made a trip to the Utah Valley University Library in order to borrow the books I'd mentioned in a previous post. What I discovered is that there are a great deal of books which contain countless pages of Folkloric tales and others with analyses of Folktales and their cultures of origin. Following, I have created a list of the books I borrowed and the tales or chapters I intend to centralize in my research at this stage:
·
One Thousand and
One Nights. ISBN 9780307958860
o
The
Demon’s Wife
o
The
Woman and Her Five Lovers
o
The
Mistress of the House’s Tale
·
Chinese
Folktales. ISBN 0844259276
o
Red
String
o
A
Sad Love Story
o
Shepherd
Girl
o
Can
Dreams Save Lives?
o
The
Magic Kettle
o
White
Snake and Xuxian
o
Moon’s
Shadow on the Water
o
Madame
Qin
o
Sun
and Moon
o
The
Bird with Two Heads
o
A
Lucky Girl
o
People
Die of Gold, Whereas Birds, of Food
o
The
Young Man and the Ice
·
Folktales of the
World, Greece. ISBN 0226517853
o
Owl
and Partridge
o
Chance
and the Poor Man
o
The
Ill-fated Princess
o
Truth
and Falsehood
o
All
of section VI “Legends” (pgs. 195-203)
·
Folktales of the
Jews. ISBN 9780827608290
o
Chapters
28, 32, 34, 35, 41, 42, 46, 60, 66, 71
·
Appalachian
Folkways. ISBN 0801878799
o
Chapters
8-9
·
Fair is Fair,
World Folktales of Justice. ISBN0874834007
o
Pg.
53 “The Quality of Mercy”
o
Pg.
98 “A Bargain is a Bargain”
o
Pg.
178 “The Stoning”
·
Indonesian
Folktales. ISBN 1563089092
o
Pgs.
26-50
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Characters and Their Moods Through Music
To give you a bit of a taste of the sounds Kacey's been finding here are links to music we hope to use to inspire each character:
MALPHAS:
Brown Bird performs on WRNI
LANGWIDERE:
Karen Elson - Stolen Roses
THE MORTAL:
Nothing But The Water (I) - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
MALPHAS:
Brown Bird performs on WRNI
LANGWIDERE:
Karen Elson - Stolen Roses
THE MORTAL:
Nothing But The Water (I) - Grace Potter & The Nocturnals
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Folktales We Ought to Talk About
After a number of quick discussions about the characters we want to explore, the music Kacey is discovering to help define them, and the general feel we want to evoke through this piece of theater we've decided that among other things our research should begin with folk tales. The purpose is to find figures that can spark concepts of attributes, both abstract and physical, that will bring to life the personalities of the characters.
In order to begin this process I've been looking for books and other forms of media that can help with this process. Here is a list of a few of those resources I will be exploring in the weeks to come:
Folktales of the Jews / edited and with commentary by Dan Ben-Amos

Wednesday, January 28, 2015
The Beginning of Something Great
As part of the Utah Valley University (UVU) Theater Summer
2015 Study Abroad program, Malphas + Langwidere will be a devised theater
performance shown at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. We will be documenting the
experience we have as we create this exciting piece of theater.
The UVU Theater Department recently received its second
Outstanding Production award from the Kennedy Center American College Theater
Festival in Washington DC; the first time any school has ever won this
prestigious award two years consecutively!
To learn more about the Utah Valley University Theater
Department and its involvement in the community visit:
http://www.uvu.edu/theatre/
We are excited for you to follow us through this amazing
experience and hope you can gain a stronger appreciation for the world of
theater.
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