Cast

Rima Fand

Co-composer and Ella Bella’s voice

Rima loves what happens when puppetry and music come together. She has enjoyed creating music for various puppet theater pieces in NYC, including Savage Nursery, directed by Erin Orr and performed at the HERE Arts Center (2004) and How I Fixed My Engine With Rose Water, directed by Lake Simons and performed in the Voice4Vision Puppet Festival at Theater For The New City (2006). She is currently collaborating with Erin Orr to create the musical puppet play Don Cristóbal, Billy-Club Man, inspired by the puppet plays of Federico García Lorca, which will be performed at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural Center in the first half of April, 2011.

Rima also composes and plays in the raucous string band Luminescent Orchestrii, which tours internationally. www.lumii.org

Personal Impression:

It has been an amazing and inspiring experience being on this journey with Wolfy and Leat, and all the wonderful collaborators. Because of you all, there is more magic in the world. And more heart.

 

 

Erin Orr

Puppeteering and Voice for Aitch, script advisor

Erin is a storyteller and puppeteer who began creating puppet shows in 1998 as an experiment in how shadow puppetry, marionettes, Toy Theater and animation could be combined and used to tell stories visually. After creating three short pieces and showing them at Labapolooza, Phat Tuesdays, Sxip’s Hour of Charm, the Spaghetti Dinner, the Puppet Parlour and the Henson Carriage House she began making her first full length piece Savage Nursery as part of the Dream Music Puppetry Program and HARP. Savage Nursery received two grants from the Jim Henson Foundation and was able to tour through an expeditions grant from New England Foundation for the Art. She is currently continuing her collaboration with composer Rima Fand on Don Cristóbal, Billy-Club Man, a musical puppet play that explors Lorca’s interest in the Spanish Punch.

 

 

 

 

Lake Simons

Puppeteering Wolfy, Voice for Alone

Lake has co-created a handful of collaborative theatre works utilizing puppetry, movement and live music both in New York and Texas.  Lake has worked as both a puppet and mask designer making creations for New York Shakespeare Festival, Signature Theatre Company, My Brightest Diamond, Division 13, Kristin Marting, Doug Elkins, Cori Orlinghouse, and various universities. As a puppeteer she has performed in creations by Basil Twist, Dan Hurlin, Matthew Acheson, Tom Lee, Erin Orr,Christopher Williams, Chris Green, and Leat Klingman.

 

 

 

 

 

Lisa van Wambeck

Puppeteering- Alone, Master Gugu Nunu, Ella Bella

Lisa van Wambeck has been slowly shifting her home base east, from California to New Orleans, and now, for the past two years, to New York. Here she has had the great pleasure of puppeting for Erin Orr and Rima Fand’s Don Cristóbal, Billy-Club Man. In addition, her general preoccupations with time and strange creatures, explored through living statue performances, puppetry and stop motion animation, have feasted on their new urban influences to create, most recently, seasonal fairy statue performances in Central Park and an interactive puppet-inhabited installation with Neil Coletta called Der Wundertisch.

Personal Impression:

It was lovely to, from time to time, turn my attention from the puppet stage to the shadows we and the puppets were casting upon the walls in the bright lights used for shooting and realize a whole other mysterious and beautiful version of the story- of Wolfy’s story as well as the story of filming Wolfy’s story- was being cast upon the wall in the shadow realm…

 

 

Abigail Wright

Puppeteering and Voice for Cheri#2

Abigail Wright is singer and actor with recent roles including Nellie in South Pacific, Meg in Little Women, Mary in Anne of the Thousand Days, Zerlina in Don Giovanni, Dorabella in Così fan tutte, and the Mezzo Soprano in Transformations. With a richly diverse career, Abigail Wright is currently featured in Sarah Small’s Tableau Vivant as both a singer and model and makes her voice-over and puppeteering debut in Leat Klingman’s film Wolfy’s Journey. She returns to puppeteering this spring, performing and singing in the opera Don Cristóbal with composer Rima Fand. Currently, Ms. Wright lives in New York, where she writes regularly, works as an actor and soloist, and performs with the chorus of the Metropolitan Opera.

Personal Impression:

Aside from learning first hand about the intensity and hard work involved in creating a film with puppets, Leat and Wolfy’s Journey have taught me  about the difference faith and devotion can make in the lives of others. No director ever had a more talented and committed group of artists working together as did Leat. Her artistry and vision connected us all in a way that can only result in a moving film that I hope touches its audience even a fraction as much as it touched us all.

 

 

Logan Hegg

Voice for Cheri #1 and Roaming Tree

A psychology background does wonders for working with people and puppets. And robots too!

Personal Impression:

Who knew being a puppet’s voice was so difficult? Luckily, working with Leat and the crew she assembled made the whole experience a treat. She tells, directs, and orchestrates a good story, that Klingman.

 

 

 

 

Brendan McMahon

Voice for Master Gugu Nunu

Brendan McMahon’s New York acting and puppetry credits include work at PS 122, Mabou Mines, Theatre For a New City, Ensemble Studio Theatre, St. Ann’s Warehouse, One Arm Red, and HERE Center for the Performing Arts. His most recent film acting work is “Three Nights in Nysiros”, and in October he had the wonderful opportunity to perform in Chis Green’s “The Firebird” at Avery Fisher Hall with the Little Orchestra Society. Brendan is a graduate of Ecole Lassaad in Brussels, Belgium.

Personal Impression:

Brendan is so excited to be part of this beautiful and highly imaginative project, and very much hopes that he can continue to work with Team Leat in the future!!!

 

 

 

Kim Berman

Puppeteering Cheri#1, Bird Guard of Master Gugu Nunu and studio assistance

Kim is an avid lover of the arts. Her time is spent between teaching, seeing live music and puppet performances, and helping her artist friends bring their vision to life.

 

 

Nitzan Mager

Puppeteering for Berry Bush and Flowers

Nitzan Mager is an award winning filmmaker, writer, and actor. Born in Israel, she now lives in New York where she is currently completing her MFA in Acting. She works in various aspects of the performing arts, continuously collaborating on a wide range of projects. Her most recent film, “Period Portraits” was given the prize for Best Emerging Filmmaker from New York Women in Film, and Best Student Film from the National Board of Review. Her first film, “I Am God”, premiered at the Rhode Island International Film Festival.

 

 

 

 

 

Shiri Herbet

Puppeteering for Tree, Assistance in studio, Website master

Shiri has been living in NY for 6 years. Her favorite activities revolve around attending film festivals and live performances, which is how she met Leat. Shiri’s creativity, passion for art and big heart brought her to accept many roles in this production- puppeteering two trees, assisting in the studio, and building this website!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jim O’Grady

Voice for Bird Guard of Master Gugu Nunu

Jim O’Grady is a reporter for WNYC Radio in New York. He tells stories at The Moth and on This American Life.