Disgraceland

Part of the Café-causerie : Budding Creations! event
Cultural mediation activity, 10 years +

 

Part of the Café-causerie: Budding creations! event in person and live online.

Four theatre companies present their works-in-progress and answer questions from the public eager to learn more about the various stages involved in the development of a puppet show.

 

Disgraceland

Graceland is the name of Elvis Presley’s home, where he lived, and where he died. Disgraceland is an imagined perspective on this famous place; an incursion into the intimate world of an icon; a puppet fantasy loosely based on the life of the King, masterminded by four housemaids and a teddy bear.

Few words, in French

Target audience: adults and teens
Techniques: human-sized puppets (direct grip), hand puppets, object theatre, and sound manipulation using a turntable

 

Photos

Photo: Patrice Tremblay

Company

 

The Les Tables Tournantes collective came together when creating the short-form Graceland. Members, all graduates of UQAM’s DESS in contemporary puppet theatre, figured they would try their hand at exploring the glorious 1970s. But not from just any point of view. They dressed up as housemaids, built a human-size puppet, crafted a beautiful stage set, rewound the worn-out grooves from a vinyl record, and found themselves with Elvis Presley in their care. They performed Graceland as part of the Cabaret DADA de lala Pire Espèce, at Festival de Casteliers and at the Sages Fous’ Fabrique de théâtre insolite. They are still working on this production, recently renamed Disgraceland.

 

Credits

Story : Joanie Fortin, Mylène Guay and Iris Richert
Stage direction, scenography and puppets: Marie-Pascale Bélanger, Joanie Fortin, Mylène Guay et Iris Richert
Collaboration on sound design: Martin Tétreault 
Performers: Céline Chevrier, Joanie Fortin, Mylène Guay and Iris Richert

Les Tables Tournantes would like to thank the Canada Council for the Arts, Festival de Casteliers, the Maison internationale des arts de la marionnette (MIAM), the Schatz, the Maison de la culture Rivière des Prairies, Les Sages Fous and their Fabrique de Théâtre Insolite, and Samuel Carrier.