A List

This is a list of elements, ideas, moments, actions, emotions during the story that I find interesting and want to investigate.

topics:

performance skills

exercises and training in perception and projection - concepts of active versus passive action when translating movement into animation

using actors as set: mountains, alters, boats, aircraft, other technology, water, wind

projection, cutouts, action tracking? 

shadow play surfaces: tent,  costume 

puppet prototypes 

costumes for puppets and performers

challenges:

always... gravity, focus and breath

sky - stars, clouds, air traffic 

temple interactions - cerimonial actions vs. literal communications

antigravity - aircraft, magic or what?

"godliness"
tropes/tropic evasion

characters

Enkidu - animal movement/style vs. man movement, shadow? interactions w/ hunters vs. Shamhat vs. 

Gilgamesh - brooding/selfish/closed/indifferent then bright-eyed/adventurous/driven/in love then sullen/stricken/morose then compelled/agonized/blind then drugged and seduced then rageful rampage then wild/demanding/challenging death then exhausted/collapsing/weak then lost/hopeless/desperate then hopeful

Huwawa - scale, scope, sound, projection, combat

bull of heaven - scale, scope, sound, projection, combat, tail, hoof legs, Centaur?  Minotaur? Flying?

Urshanabi’s boat - crossing the deep lake of death, boat, puppet, poles black light? arms on poles, timing

Mashu - the passage through darkness from dusk til dawn, the space between the hemispheres of the brain

Siduri’s ale house - fabric, costume?, body parts, building structures?, furniture? dream state/seduction/drunkenness relationship dynamics, physicality of emotional dynamics and power dynamics


Ut-Napishtim - like a healthy middle aged man, but 900+ years wise.  speaks with Anunnaki, talks and guides Gilgamesh. Is he serious or also humorous?

Anunnaki-ism - anatomy/physiology/kinesiology, powers, strengths/weaknesses, technology/magic, presence & communications at altars via presence/projection/possession/surrogate? i.e. conversation between Mami (Aruru in Akkadian), the Anunnaki (goddess) of Creation, and her priestess Ninsun. Or between Gilgamesh and Shamash, Anunakki (god) of the Sun. What is the reality of the "gods" and how does it interact with ours? or not?

At Janie's suggestion I am selecting images, snapshots, moments of the story that I want to focus on, moments of the story that have emotional significance. Text will follow at a later time. In the stead, I'll post dialogue or story descriptions, should none exist. This is a logical next step to me since it requires me to communicate in images, both from research and sketches I'll make,  what I see in my head. I'll post research images below, or above, as is the case with blogger, in different posts separated by topic/story moment. We can then each post images and comments and view it all in the lab on my ipad or with a projector.
I'll always be able to record images and actions in workshop so I can post those daily too for everyone's convenience.

Obviously the list of ideas and images grows quickly so I'll prioritize a short list and we can focus on them in order moving ahead as we progress and adapting as we make discoveries.
I've dropped the class I had after lab so I can immediately respond on here to what we do in lab.

I am more interested in process than product as I am learning for myself new approaches to generating material. I have a huge bag of thea-tricks. The real trick is not using them. For me that means learning to, essentially, feel my way through the process this year. For me the workshop/production weeks will be a time to test the theories we come up with. Until then it's time to play.



Gilgamesh climbs his way to the top of mount Mashu - deliriously cursing his way up the mountain to the gate protected by scorpion guards. Scale, surface to climb, earth moving below

Mashu - literally a razor thin passage the sun takes through darkness from dusk til dawn, figuratively a psychological passage through the space between the hemispheres of the brain... don't lean to either side or you'll lose your balance. What and how much of his psychological state does the audience get to explore during this passage?

Urshanabi's boat - crossing the deep lake of death in a boat mad of bundled poles pushed across a lake full of death and the dead. Speed, hands, boat,  poles. I am totally fascinated with the physicality of this passage. It will be a puzzle but should fun to figure out.

Gilgamesh meets Enkidu - they fight then fall in love, puppet combat, stylized fighting a la bunraku, anime, etc. How do they maintain gravity? later, what does this overlap with? Ninsun asking Aruru for help? Is Gilgamesh speaking to Utnapishtim about what he does while he does it with Enkidu? juxtapositions Fighting without looking silly unintentionally. Intentional control, happy accidents. I would prefer no slap dancing but I'll go there if we're stumped.

Gilgamesh and Enkidu fight the mighty Humbaba - what is Humbaba? He is seven shields, seven layers of protection. He is a Chimera made of seven animals protected by seven "spirit" shields. Yes, think Anime. Thats the closest understanding I have of him. His misery is what gives him power. And he's miserable because he is an immortal creation who can not find joy because none of his parts serve any purpose other than defense. Never love. And so he is eternally miserable. His voice is a bellow so great when it rolls through the forest it kills those within a day's journey, a wind that sucks all hope from you (Harry Potter, can you name a few more?), specifically the moment when Gilgamesh has been struck hopeless and Enkidu saves his life, killing Humbaba.

Gilgamesh carries Enkidu's dead body around for weeks in varying stages of decay.

Gilgamesh swims to the bottom of the river and pulls a flower from the rocks - swimming, water, beach, breath

Gilgamesh and Enkidu fight the Bull of Heaven - what is the bull? scale, ability, figure, proportion, figurative or literal? It splits the earth several times so deeply people fall into the crevices. The heros fight it, kill it, quarter it and throw the tail at Inanna. How does the bull break the earth? How does it fly down from heave? How do Inanna and her father fly?