Portfolio

PORTFOLIO

This page showcases the small-scale theatrical work that Arline has been exploring over the past few years. Each piece represents between 1500-2200 hours of reseach, development and creation.

The theatres illustrate a progression from simple staging, using electro-mechanical components, to highly complex computer-driven productions with lighting changes, musical interludes, dialogue, operating curtains and interacting characters.

From research it is believed that these are the smallest automated performances in the world

Theatre #1 / The Dance

Simple electro-mechanical devices operate the curtains and figures in the first of Arline's theatre works. This was a very low-tech production with music supplied by a recorded tape. It was the reaction of children to this theatrical presentation that sparked her interest in developing small-scale performances that would open the world of theatre to the younger generation reared in the two-dimensional entertainment world of television, film, video and computer.

This theatre was on display at THE MUSEUM OF MINIATURES, Los Angeles, USA

Theatre #2 / "Giselle"

The "Opera" theatre, showcasing the second act of the ballet "Giselle", is a highly complex production involving the use of specially designed computer-driven mechanics and programming.

In order to reduce the 38 minute length of the second act it was necessary to study the patterns of the choreography in relation to the music. By developing a graph of the dance movements and orchestration it was possible to successfully compress the action to a ten-minute performance without destroying the sense of the ballet. The music was edited in a sound studio and each sequence was timed to the split second so that the interaction between the dancers could be finely tuned.

Giselle, Albrecht, Myrtha, and the flying Wilis each travel on their own individual tracks. The six corps de ballet of Wilis move in tandem along an oval track that traverses the wing section of the stage, enabling the dancers to disappear when necessary to the plot.

The stage design, costumes and figures are based on the original C19th production.

This production was first shown at the ARTWORD THEATRE, Toronto, Canada

For a printed article please see the 'Media' page

Albrecht and Giselle Myrtha, Queen of the Wilis, Albrecht, and Giselle

This production was shown on the CBC programme, "THE NATIONAL"

To view a clip of the performance click on: http://www.minisinmo.com/

(Click on 'Portfolio' page, and scroll down to bandwidth selections).

Theatre #3 /Valentino

"Son of the Sheik"

The Valentino Theatre marks a departure from the premise of Arline's original intimate-scale theatrical productions. This is not a performance, but an exploration of the distortion of reality in film productions and photographic stills.

Taking a promotional film still from the silent movie "Son of the Sheik" as her starting point, Arline has attempted to recreate what is seen within the 8'x10" frame. In the actual photograph details are softened and distance is manipulated by the use of a wide-angle lens. To create the atmosphere engendered when looking at the photograph it was necessary to diffuse the patterning of the fabrics and carpets and lower the floor level at the rear of the set to force the perspective.

As the film was shot in black and white, the colours of the finished piece where a best-guess, based on the tonal qualities of the original photograph. With the exception of the wine glasses, all the items in the original photograph had to be reproduced from scratch. Paint, printing and embroidery and applique were utilized to recreate the patterning on the fabrics, drapery and carpets. Appropriate substitution was made where it would have been too fussy to reproduce the original patterning in small scale.

Rudolph Valentino and Vilma Banky

Theatre #4 / "Pyramus & Thisbe"

Theatre #4 showcases Shakespeare's "Pyramus and Thisbe" play from "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

Shakespeare is seen by many people as 'too difficult' and 'not easy to understand'. By creating a small-scale production, I was curious to see if the viewer would be more likely to approach the stage and listen to a performance. I chose the "Pyramus and Thisbe" play from "A Midsummer Night's Dream" because I felt it could be successfully interpreted as a small-scale production.

To reproduce the experience of attending a full-scale theare, the illuminated proscenium is presented in a blacked-out space, creating the illusion that the audience is seated in the balcony section of a normal theatre.

Mendelssohn's "Wedding March" announces the commencement of the performance as the footlights ramp up and the curtains slowly open to reveal all the characters in place on stage. As the play begins, a spotlight illuminates each 'actor' as he/she speaks. The ten minute performance ends with the song "Trip Away" from the Mendelssohn's "A Midsummer Night's Dream".

A video of the prototype production can be seen on:

www.canadianshakespeares.ca/multimedia/video/m_v_pyramus.cfm

Prologue Hippolyta and Theseus Philostrate

Hermia & Lysander Demetrius & Helena

Pyramus Moon Wall Thisbe

In 2007 this theatre was exhibited at the McDonald-Stewart Gallery in Guelph, Ontario.