Theater Preview: 'Shadows of the Bakemono'

 

The assignment given to the local Playwrights' Laboratory was to write a Japanese ghost story in one act. Oh, and it would be performed by puppets. Or at the very least, actors in masks.

 

Half a year later, the five pieces selected by instructor Tobin Atkinson are being presented onstage.

 

The 90-minute production will be performed without an intermission, and the plays are arranged chronologically by time frame.

 

"The Tigers of Akanuma," by Debora Threedy, is set in the 1600s. Then comes "Tek Tek" by Deborah De Vos; "Hibakusha" by Megan Crivello; "Train at Jomo Kogen" by Atkinson; and finally, "Empty" by Elaine Jarvik, which is set in modern day.

 

The titular "bakemono" means shape-shifter, a common element in the tales.

 

Six performers will manipulate traditional bunraku puppets and rod puppets to tell tales of suspense and revenge. (One play, "Train at Jomo Kogen," is presented by actors in masks.)

 

At any given time, a puppet may be controlled by up to three people, who appear in full view of the audience but will be dressed in black and wear black masks.

 

Performer Josh Thoemke was associated with Theatre Banshee in Burbank before relocating from Los Angeles to Ogden to be closer to his wife's family. "Shadows" marks two debuts for him: his first stage appearance in Utah, and his first time performing as a puppeteer.

 

"I'm surprised that, studying theater and taking acting classes, I hadn't encountered puppetry before, because it's just a wonderful exercise in listening and reacting," he said in a telephone interview, "only I feel like you have to be so much more in tune with what's going on."

 

Thoemke provides the voice of a ghost girl in "Tek Tek" and the voice of a dog named Captain Foster in "Hibakusha." While he's previously done voiceovers, he said that this is more like providing a voice for a cartoon character. "It's really got to be big and [almost] melodramatic, because you don't have your own eyes and face and body to communicate with, it's just this doll that you're moving," he said. And yet, he added, it's exponentially harder than providing the voice for a cartoon character would be, because he has to match his voice to movements that are being performed in real time by up to three people.

 

To coordinate their movements, the performers began the rehearsal process by performing in front of mirrors. "When you're in the middle of a scene and two puppets are talking to each other, you're not looking at that other doll or looking at the actors; you're looking at your doll and making sure that all the movements are correct and accurate and specific," Thoemke said.

 

One of his favorite moments is in the last play, "Empty," when two of the puppets have a sword fight. He handles the head and body of a puppet while performer Sarah McLoney works the arms and moves the sword. It's a bit different than the fencing he's done before, he said. "That's hard enough, getting all that choreography down, and then when you throw a puppet into the mix, it's a whole new ball game," he said. "Running around sword fighting with a puppet has been a lot of fun and a lot of work."

 

Thoemke said he'd definitely work with puppets again. "I love doing new things, new plays, new stories, new experiences for me when I'm acting, and this has been a whole new world," he said.

 

The other four performers besides Thoemke and McLoney are Michael Gardner, Nathaniel Hinckley, Ruth Ann Jones and Ryon Sharette.

 

While one of the plays, "Hibakusha," uses puppets that Thoemke describes as being like muppets, "Shadows of the Bakemono" deals with adult themes like murder, and is recommended for mature audiences ages 17 and up.

You Should Go: Shadows of the Bakemono

When » Dec. 4 - 20. Thu. - Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.

Where » The Studio Theatre at The Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, 138 W. 300 South

(Photo by Tobin Atkinson) Puppets in the short play "Empty," by Elaine Jarvik.

(Photo by Sean Spence) Josh Thoemke is one of the puppeteers in 'Shadows of the Bakemono.'

(Photo by Tobin Atkinson) Josh Thoemke works the head and torso of a female puppet in the short play "The Tigers of Akanuma" by Debora Threedy.