Not your Typical Zoom Play
We cannot wait to share this batsh*t crazy play with you all. Before "opening night," join us for a behind-the-scenes look at the creation process of IS EDWARD SNOWDEN SINGLE? from the perspective of the artists that made it all possible.
Storyboard provided by director Christina Baldwin
From assistant director Joy Dolo:
I am the Assistant Director for IESS. Although we have some new challenges through the pandemic, the ingredients for storytelling remain the same. This beautiful journey of a friendship is told by the impressive Becca Hart, Isabella LeBlanc, and Eric Sharp. Although the actors are in a space similar to mine and maybe even a bit smaller, their humor passion and commitment helped form this piece into what you will see. The artistry from the cast and crew has been humbling and I cannot wait to share this with you.
From actor Isabella Star LaBlanc:
IS EDWARD SNOWDEN SINGLE? brought to you from a tiny corner of my bedroom. The Jungle team is no joke and neither is this at-home studio they’ve assembled. See you all on the green screen!
From actor Becca Hart:
It was a really fascinating experience to be drawing for and performing in a show. Often, when I draw a character, I have to make up a lot about them: their personality, their range of expressions, their hairstyle, etc. For "Is Edward Snowden Single?" I was incredibly well-versed in the characters I had to draw! I knew just how to render Mimi and April, not only because I knew what Isabella Star LaBlanc and I would be wearing and doing, but because I knew the deep emotional backgrounds of the characters. That insight made it all the more satisfying to finish a drawing, knowing it would fit seamlessly into a specific scene or a specific moment.
It's always been a dream of mine to draw cartoons that would be in live-action settings! Growing up, I loved the part of Mary Poppins when they dive into the park painting. I was completely enraptured by the real-world / toon collision of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Lizzy McGuire with her cartoon-self as a narrator? Genius. Don't even get me started on Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny playing basketball together. I'm so grateful to The Jungle for hosting this project, to director Christina for thinking of me as an actor and an illustrator, and to Sara Richardson who is bringing my drawings to life!! It's truly a dream come true.
From animator Sara Richardson:
"I get the fun job of animating actor / illustrator Becca Hart's drawings! This project is exciting for me as it combines theatre work with my new career of graphic design (you may have seen me onstage at the Jungle in The Night Alive in 2015). It's very different from both a typical theatre show and a typical design / motion graphics project and it has been really fun to work with the team so far. Some of the things I animate will be little doodles, text or drawings that will be layered in on top of video footage, and some things will be animated to appear to talk and interact with the actors. I don't want to give too much away but some of those animated things might speak with a voice that sounds uncannily like Eric Sharp. Luck you, audience! It's a very collaborative thing with every department. The only thing I worry about is my internet's ability to upload large files within a reasonable amount of time. I'm excited for you to see what we make!"
From Christina Baldwin’s interview with Star Tribune, “‘It’s super-exciting. In this time of not being able to do what we normally do the way we normally do it, I’m not looking to find something that supplants that, that replaces it. I’m looking to find what we have now,’ said Baldwin…“It’s been a huge learning experience, learning what is possible, what isn’t possible with this format. But that’s also exactly where we are in this world. I think it’s right and authentic to all of our experiences of saying, ‘OK, what can we do? Let’s work within those parameters…’”
IS EDWARD SNOWDEN SINGLE? premieres this Saturday and runs through December 20th. Get your tickets today by clicking here.