6 Questions for Timothy White Eagle of THE INDIGO ROOM

Timothy White Eagle is a mixed race artist. His art practice rises from a decades long exploration of traditional ritual and embodiment practice. He crafts experiences and objects designed to heal both creator and audience. His preferred mediums include objects, photography, performance, and installed space. He is the lead artist of The Indigo Room, which will be performed in the Downstairs Theatre from November 11 – 21. Pay What You Can tickets can be purchased here. Follow @timothy.whiteeagle on Instagram.

1. What inspired you to write The Indigo Room? 

The feelings of being trapped and part of political, colonial, racist, toxic environments and military systems of which I did not approve and had no control over. The feeling of no escaping from current established norms. I started thinking about the old mythologies of being swallowed by a monster. I felt like I had been swallowed by a Monster.

2. What does the title mean?

The story of Indigo in America relates as metaphor. The slave labor forced to process Indigo, how the very early industrial growing and production of Indigo depleted the earth and made plantation owners rich. And how Slaves, trapped in the system used the dregs (i.e. garbage) of the Indigo process to make “haint blue” a protection paint. They made a kind of medicine while trapped from the unwanted remains of an industrial process, that story resonated with me.

3. What should audiences expect from the performance?

Every performance will be a bit different. We work generatively and enjoy performances being alive. As a story teller, I allow my stories to change and grow. We have a wide slate of material to draw from. I do have a solid template to draw within, but I do sometimes vary from what even I expect. The music created between myself and sound artist/composure Crystal Quartez will be unique each night, informed by each audience. There will be a carnival. There will be ritual space. There will be a monster and a whale. There will be things sacred and profane.

4. How would you describe your work as an artist?

All of my work is based in ritual which is reaching toward growth, evolution, and healing.

5. Who or what are your key influences?

In this project, specific intellectual influences include Joseph Campbell, Karl Jung, and Mircea Eliade. 

6. What does working at La MaMa mean to you?

I have been holding a touch for La MaMa for many years. Back in the olden days in the early '90s, On the Boards, an arts organization based in Seattle, was bring folks like Spaulding Gray and John Kelly, among others, out to Seattle from La Mama. And seeing their expanded what I thought performance could be.

La MaMa presents

The Indigo Room

By Timothy White Eagle & The Violet Triangle

November 11 – 21, 2021

The Downstairs
66 East 4th Street, basement level
New York, NY 10003

Thursdays – Saturdays at 8pm
Sundays at 1pm

Tickets:
Pay What You Can: $10 – $60

6 Questions for Charlotte Lily Gaspard of JUMP START

Charlotte Lily Gaspard is the founder and artistic director of Midnight Radio Show, a shadow puppet sci-fi fairytale theater company based in Brooklyn, NY. She designs puppets for theater and film. Her project MIA M.I.A. is an urban fairytale for adults that will be part of Jump Start: A presentation of Works in Progress. There are only 4 performances at La MaMa, so get your tickets now!

1. Do you have a favorite puppet in your performance?

My favorite puppet in my performance is a large scale shadow puppet of a fairy. She has articulated appendages, and I love the way she moves -- even though she is as big as I am. I hand cut all of my silhouette puppets, a long time passion, but it is only recently that I have dedicated more time in my artistic practices to make such large shadow puppets. 

2. What draws you to work with puppets?

I am drawn to use puppets in my work for many reasons. I fell in love with the art of shadow puppetry over ten years ago, from the moment I made my first paper cuts and shone a light on them. “Analogue magic” is a phrase and a goal I am drawn to. For me, puppetry is an intersection of craft and magic. When a puppeteer breathes life into an inanimate object, something incredible happens. The imagination of the audience is activated in a new way; this is the whole reason I became a theatre artist and storyteller in the first place. 

3. What have you learned from creating and performing new work during a pandemic?

Creating and performing during the pandemic has been challenging, and yet very rewarding. Innovation is not always a comfortable or easy journey, but I knew from the start of lockdown that I would need to keep making work. Directing a zoom show is very different from a live stage production, but I am blessed to work with adaptable, deeply talented people in my company, Midnight Radio Show. Although many were in different time zones, calling in for rehearsals and shows from Montana, California, Massachusetts and India, we still put our enchantments out into the world. 

4. What should audiences expect from the performance?

Our offering for the La MaMa Puppet Festival is the first 25 minutes of a new shadow puppet musical for adults, titled Mia M.I.A written and directed by myself. The show has original songs and music by our long-time collaborators Jessie Davis, Malik Work and Doc Frost. A combination of shadow puppets and live action/movement theater, the story is a modern science fiction fairytale that will whisk audiences away into our enchanted galaxy. 

5. Who and what has inspired you?

I am inspired by magical realism on stage (and everywhere), unexpected interactions, and the transformative power of new perspectives. This is partly why I love shadow puppets, and puppets in general. I have a background in costumes, and have always been drawn to visual storytelling. When a papercut is illuminated and projected onto a screen it becomes something new, a character or place, evoking ideas or feeling. 

6. What does working at La MaMa mean to you?

Working at La MaMa is a dream come true! To have the support and feedback of Denise Greber and the whole La Mama team could not have come with better timing. During the pandemic, I was determined to continue making and sharing work, even though I am a theater artist who suddenly found herself  doing zoom shows and making videos. What a learning curve! It was such an isolating time for all of us citizens of Earth, but being in residence at La MaMa gave me a new artistic community. I am very grateful, and constantly inspired. 

La MaMa Presents

Jump Start: A Presentation of Works in Progress

Rebekah Crisanta de Ybarra, Charlotte Lily Gaspard, Tom Lee, Leah Ogawa, Tarish "Jeghetto" Pipkins

October 21 – 24, 2021

The Downstairs
66 East 4th Street, basement level
New York, NY 10003

Oct 21, Thursday at 7pm
Oct 22, Friday at 7pm
Oct 23, Saturday at 7pm
Oct 24, Sunday at 2pm

Ticket Prices
Adults: $25
Students/Seniors: $20

6 Questions for Leah Ogawa of JUMP START

Leah Ogawa is a mixed-race artist, puppeteer, dramatist, self-detective, and model based in New York City. Raised in Yamanashi, Japan, Leah has worked with puppeteers, artists, and companies including The Metropolitan Opera, Phantom Limb, Dan Hurlin, Tom Lee, Nami Yamamoto, Loco 7, and others. Leah is a recipient of the Jim Henson Foundation’s workshop grant for her original piece, Growing Not Dying, which will be as part of Jump Start: A Presentation of Works in Progress. There are only 4 performances at La MaMa, so get your tickets now!

1. Do you have a favorite puppet in your performance?

I love the feet/legs that I've created for this piece! Some might say they are not exactly a "puppet," but the way I can animate and move them is special to me. I love seeing them move gracefully. Please come see the performance live!

2. What draws you to work with puppets?

Puppets and objects can tell stories that no human actor can do. The puppet can convey a different feeling or meaning depending on how a puppeteer animates them. I see so many possibilities, qualities, and surprises in working with puppets; therefore, my work naturally draws puppetry elements to it.    

3. What have you learned from creating and performing new work during a pandemic?

It made me stronger by helping me to realize that I can create my own work. Before the pandemic, I was part of other people's shows as a collaborator and puppeteer.  The pandemic naturally forced me to become more introspective and inspired me to want to share my own story even more. It gave me the space to go for it and really own my craft. 

4. What should audiences expect from the performance?

(No expectations!) I would like the audience to come in with their own story and interpret the visuals as they so desire. I hope the audiences will be surprised by my performance. 

5. Who and what has inspired you?

Everything and everyone is a source of inspiration--nature, people, objects, emotions, etc.. For this piece, and all the shows I create, I am always searching where the vulnerability lies in the story. That emotion, both personal and intimate, inspires me to go deeper into what I truly want to create. 

6. What does working at La MaMa mean to you?
 
La MaMa is the first place I performed as a professional puppeteer. It was for Tom Lee's show, Shank's Mare (It was also for the puppet festival!). La MaMa has always supported me in my career, especially during the pandemic, providing me the space to continue developing my work. I am forever grateful for the love I receive from this community of artists. It's a special place where I can take risks, challenge myself, and keep growing as an artist. It is truly a magical place, and I am appreciative of this opportunity. Thank you Denise and Federico! 

La MaMa Presents

Jump Start: A Presentation of Works in Progress

Rebekah Crisanta de Ybarra, Charlotte Lily Gaspard, Tom Lee, Leah Ogawa, Tarish "Jeghetto" Pipkins

October 21 – 24, 2021

The Downstairs
66 East 4th Street, basement level
New York, NY 10003

Oct 21, Thursday at 7pm
Oct 22, Friday at 7pm
Oct 23, Saturday at 7pm
Oct 24, Sunday at 2pm

Ticket Prices
Adults: $25
Students/Seniors: $20
Multi-Show Puppet Packages Available

6 Questions for Torry Bend of DREAMING

Torry Bend is a set designer, puppet artist, and Associate Professor at Duke University. Dreaming, Torry Bend's most recent collaboration with playwright Howard Craft and director JaMeeka Holloway, will premiere in the Ellen Stewart Theatre on October 14 as part of La MaMa Puppet Series 2021. There are only 4 performances at La MaMa, so get your tickets now!

1. Do you have a favorite puppet in your performance?

I love JOE LEE, he is a table top puppet that has just been transformed from a 2D racist cartoon into his original body. A body that has been unseen for the many years he has been trapped as a cartoon. There is a joy in seeing a body in all of it's human-ness (a round belly, a glint in an eye, a subtle smile) arrive on stage after we have only ever seen the character as a 2D image. 

2. How did you come to collaborate with Howard Craft and JaMeeka Holloway on Dreaming?

I had wanted to do a piece on Little Nemo in Slumberland for many years. When I sat down to do it, I quickly realized that I had to make a choice—confront the racism present in McCay's drawings, or ignore it. To ignore and continue with the project felt like a perpetuation of systemic racism, to walk away from the project all together felt like a missed opportunity, so I leaned into the challenge and made sure I had a team that could tell a story that hadn't been told and was desperately needed. Howard Craft's previous collaborations with graphic novelists and his experience with superheroes made him the perfect writer. I passed the comics on to him and was thrilled with what he brought back. JaMeeka joined the team a little later, offering a directorial ear to the dialogue that could balance my visual storytelling experience. 

3. What inspired you to create a world where comic book characters live side-by-side with real people?

This is Howard's genius! The brilliance of this concept is that it allows us to illustrate the extreme stereotyping and racism that is present in comics (both historical and contemporary) while also reveling in what puppetry does best—play with form, scale, and graphic quality. This is one of my favorite parts about this show. McCay's brilliance as a comic and cartoon artist was his graphic skill and what better way to bring that to a live stage than with puppetry, toy theater and overhead specifically. They are graphic forms that allow us to both celebrate and challenge McCay's work.

4. What do you hope audiences will learn from this performance?

I'm less interested in this being a learning opportunity, and more interested in the audience reflecting on the visual world they have been consuming. Where does it come from? Who's ideas are being upheld as "visionary" and who's are being ignored?

5. What do you hope for the future of puppetry, as well as the future of comics and animation?

I want to see a broadening of "popular" American puppetry to diverse voices and perspectives. It's such a flexible form, imagine how deep the well of inspiration could be if the perspectives on puppetry were as wide as the diversity of this country. 

6. What does working at La MaMa mean to you?

To have my work presented in a space where I have been inspired, challenged, and influenced again and again and again is overwhelmingly humbling. 

La MaMa presents

Dreaming

Story by Howard Craft

Script by JaMeeka Holloway and Torry Bend
Directed and Designed by Torry Bend 
Associate Director: JaMeeka Holloway

October 14 – 17, 2021

Ellen Stewart Theatre
66 East 4th Street, 2nd floor
New York, NY 10003

Oct 14, Thursday at 7pm
Oct 15, Friday at 7pm
Oct 16, Saturday at 7pm
Oct 17, Sunday at 2pm

Ticket Prices
Adults: $25
Students/Seniors: $20
Multi-Show Puppet Packages Available