Plays
In February of 2009 we performed our first adaptation of a piece not written by The CastIron Carousel's in house writers and what a piece to start with! We were invited to perform a short piece at the Winningstad Theater in Portland at the behest of Tears of Joy Theater. There were to be eight or nine puppetry performances billed for an evening of "Puppet Love."
The choice to do a piece as dark as Mice and Men for Valentine's Day was actually an easy one. It fit well with the aesthetic of the Carousel of doing complex, sad and beautiful stories combined with the Depression era setting. It also gave us a great opportunity to collaborate with another puppeteer, Bruce Orr of “The Mudeye Puppet Company”.
When a new prisoner is transferred to Moorgate prison he hears uneasy tales about how often the warden uses Mathilda, the Penitentiary electric chair, to keep prisoners in line. Add a lovely covert female reporter into the mix along with an ancient book of evil secrets and a twisted minister and you get the darkest comedy puppets can bring.
Five Acts + an Epilogue. Running time: 40 minutes.
On a dark stormy night in upstate New York, a wet and bedraggled motorist knocks at the door of Hadrian Manor. He is met by a strange butler and an even odder old Doctor. When weather conditions force him to stay a night in the creepy old house the real horror begins.
Three Acts. Running time: 25 minutes.