Spike On Tour

We recently performed Spike in two venues in New England. On April 22nd, I was joined by dancer and mime Karen Montanaro, presenting our new theatrical duo show titled "Outside The Box" first at the Hebron Academy in Hebron, Maine and then again at Bristol Community College in Fall River, Massachusetts on May 4th. Spike is the signature piece which closes our duo theater show. We recorded the performance in Fall River in high definition in a fully equipped theater. The stage version is continuing to develop with new video projection and other interesting improvements. We are now working on a promotional video to begin showcasing and touring.

"All of the sketches were fantastic and provoked sheer joy."

-Julie Poland Middleton

The Hebron Academy

Collecting Stock Footage Across South America

I was just in South America in February and March with Royal Caribbean and built a wonderful collection of high resolution background footage that I hope to use for future Spike episodes through working with green screening. Here are a couple images from a glacial lake in the Tierra del Fuego National Park near Ushuaia, Argentina. This park is all the way at the tip of South America in Patagonia. I could definitely see a couple Spikes playing next to that rock!

These next images are from my journey to Iguassu Falls along the border of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. The HD video footage is absolutely stunning.

After Iguassu, my sister and I flew north all the way to Sao Luis in Maranhao (Northeastern Brazil) to visit the sand dune lakes of a place called Parque Nacional dos Lençois. One of our tour guides told us that my sister and I were his first American guests in six years of giving tours in Maranhenses. It's one of Brazil's greatest seldom visited treasures!

After spending several days in this beautiful pristine area, we flew to Fortaleza to shoot footage of the famous colored sand cliffs along the coast to the south in Morro Branco. There are twelve distinct colors of sand deposits that evolve into different shapes through the erosion of wind and rain. After being born in ice and snow in episode #1, my current plans are to have the Spike story continue in an environment of water and sand.

February Update - Outdoor Shooting Begins

Posting here a "teaser edit" from preliminary outdoor footage acquired using a Sony 1920 x 1080 AVCHD Camcorder. The idea has been to start building up some vocabulary even though we are limited with lenses, etc., using the prosumer Sony. Final footage should come from using a good DSLR if we can put the budget together. It definitely has been helpful to get this HD footage and see what works and what doesn't. I'm not happy with the look of the grommets!! Fine for the stage work, but they stand out as "grommets." I want an organic feel like the rest of the materials. Also finding out what subzero temperatures do. Balloons don't really want to pop. Although I'm a purest that doesn't want to use a green screen, I must admit that it might be the way to go for a couple of the important scenes.

For funding, we have a proposal in to the Maine Arts Commission for an Innovative Production Grant.

January Update - Studio Work

Spike is advancing towards the next version after a couple successful runs at the Oddfellow Theater in Buckfield, Maine on New Year's Eve. Here are a couple images from one of our recent studio run-throughs. We've been working on props, techniques, costumes, choreography, sound effects, a new musical soundtrack, and all the "in-betweens" including experiments with helium and baby powder.

(Photo Right) "Baby-Spike" is being played by the graceful mime-dancer Karen Montanaro. "Momma-Spike" by Michael Menes.

We now have a basic version of an endearing scene for the two creatures. The most compelling movements we have found (surprisingly) are not "doing something great" as acrobats or dancers but maintaining extremely slow movements that require continuous strength and control. By combining these very slow movements with clear and seamless motivations there becomes a quality of "Spike-time". Human beings have a certain sense of time while animals and insects often have a completely different perspective defined by their own needs. "Critters", as we call them in Maine, don't care about our busy affairs. A spider can patiently create a delicate web over many days and then wait in stillness for it's dinner. This disconnect is a fundamental quality that separates us from them. If we can mimic this, we can bring the audience into a different world in which they suspend their belief that they are watching two actors on stage. The more we stay true to this in our movements, the better we are able to transform, going beyond "pretending" to "becoming" two creatures of fantasy. Perfecting this will take time and practice, but we suspect the results will be very striking!

On May 4th, Karen and Michael will perform Spike with other pieces at Bristol Community College in Bristol, Massachusetts.

(Photo Left) A photo of the crazy mess left behind! Yes. Birth is messy.