BareBones Productions, in collaboration with Campfire USA, recently completed a two-week visual and performing arts residency at the Calibre Ridge apartments of the Twin Cities Housing Development Corporation (TCHDC). The residency was held from June 14th – 25th, 2010. This was the 10th year that BareBones was contracted for this residency.

Drop-in participants from ages 5 – 14 created Vietnamese water puppets and learned to stilt for a stilting parade and water puppet show that was held on-site on Friday, June 25th, before an audience of family and neighbors.

BareBones teachers at Calibre Ridge this year included Mark Safford, Xena Huff, Brent Harring, and Shelley Chinander.

A Typical Stilting Practice at Calibre Ridge

2009 Halloween Co-Directors Lelis Brito and Christopher Allen

Job description

Halloween Artistic Co-Directors (two) have responsibility for the overall visual and dramatic development the annual Halloween Extravaganza within the bounds of a tradition that draws heavily on community theater, pageantry, and spectacle.

The Halloween Extravaganza is typically storyboard-driven. Therefore, there is less emphasis on creating or interpreting a script. Co-Directors are responsible for facilitating a Storyboard Process through a series of workshops with the BareBones Halloween Community, including the annual Kickoff meeting.

The Co-Directors work closely with all of the various volunteer and contractor production elements including the Halloween Committee (i.e. Producer), the Storyboard Committee, the Production Team, Artists, Builders, and Players, etc. to create a performance which connects with the audience. They therefore need to be able to coordinate effectively across a wide range of disciplines, with artistic vision.

Co-Directors are independent contractors employed on a freelance or fixed-term contract basis.

Desired Experience:

Applicants must have experience building, supporting, performing, or directing in at least one previous BareBones Halloween Extravaganza.

Experience with collective structure and process is considered very important to this role, and will be weighted heavily in the hiring process.

Experience with one or more of the following performance disciplines is strongly desired:

• Theater
• Musical theater
• Dance
• Circus or Pageantry
• Puppetry

Organizational Structure:

The show is produced and managed by a Halloween Committee comprised of Board members, artists, and supporters of the artistic community.  A Site Coordinator is responsible for interacting with the necessary public bodies, obtaining the necessary permits required for the production, and managing overall site logistics including permit requirements, site access, power access, security, and safety.

The Halloween Committee and the Board develop and approve income and expense budgets for the production. Co-Directors must adhere to the production budgets and seek permission to make any proposed changes.

BareBones Productions has no Artistic Director to select the show or story to be produced each Fall. Instead, the Co-Directors function in many ways as would a typical theater Artistic Director during their terms of contract.

One Co-Director will be hired first by the Halloween Committee. That Co-Director will then work with the Halloween Committee to hire the second Co-Director. The Co-Directors will then divide the work and share their responsibilities as they see fit. They decide such things as who rehearses what scenes away from the main rehearsal, who provides what feedback and coaching to whom, etc.

Job Activities:

The Co-Directors are expected to fulfill the following responsibilities:

• facilitate the Storyboard Process by working with creators through workshops or story development schemes
• maintain production budgets as approved by the Board of Directors
• collaborate closely with Music, Lighting, and Sound Directors to create these primary production elements
• finalize a Storyboard
• work with the Halloween Committee to hire remaining production contractors including other Directors, Section Designers, etc.
• manage time and organize people and space
• schedule and facilitate Production Meetings of the Production Team which includes the Site Coordinator, other Directors, and Section Designers
• conduct Rehearsals
• Prepare detailed notes for the Production Team, Cast, and Crew
• meet regularly with core artists by attending some Build Workshops and describing the Storyboard

Contact:

Please submit a resume and a statement of vision for BareBones Halloween to puppets@barebonespuppets.org

Timeline:

Applications are due by July 10th and a decision will be made by July 24th.

The time frame for the contract is August 1st – November 15th, 2010.

Thanks to all of you who attended, and to all of the volunteers, performers, musicians and staff who created Devoured, the sixteenth annual BareBones Halloween Extravaganza!

Photos from the BareBones 2009 Halloween Extravaganza, Devoured. Taken October 31, 2009 by Jayme Halbritter.

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Pre- Show Preparations, October 31, 2009.

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Photos from Jayme Halbritter, documenting the preparation for the 2009 BareBones Halloween Extravaganza.

9/17: Halloween 2009 Kickoff Meeting

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10/10: Build

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10/11: Rehearsal

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10/15: Build

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10/18:Rehearsal

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10/19: Rehearsal

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10/31 Pre-Performance

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• Read the feature story in vita.mn about Devoured
• Read a review of Devoured from the Twin Cities Daily Planet

Contact Info: please send us a message from our contact page.

For more info contact call 651-592-7867 - emily@bedlamtheatre.org

Comment from Megan M. about Devoured:

“My heartfelt congratulations to all involved in this show! It’s an amazing event and I’m so impressed at how you pull all the elements together year after year. This year on opening night I scored a killer seat on a hay bale close to the front next to the orchestra and enjoyed watching the musicians as much as the performers. Maren’s Julia Child was great, and the chickens were perfectly creepy. I loved the musicians moving in the woods as we walked to the hay bales and the performers’ faces are always captivating. I think one of the reasons this show is so successful is that we as an audience get to walk through the performance space making it both magical and accessible. The wolves were amazing and the backwards-moving vultures (genius!) made their movement appropriately unsettling. The tree-moths were beautiful and I lost track of time while watching them unfold. The fire work was impressive (hope that guy’s hand is ok) and I enjoyed walking through the glow of the flames. The large bluish face-creature took my breath away, and the projections down at the river were amazing! It’s really a treat to be outside during this time of year and smell the leaves and be part of the audience and see the woods lit up. Thank you for all of your work.”

This activity is made possible, in part, by funds provided by the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council from an appropriation by the Minnesota Legislature.

Co-Director, Halloween 2009

Christopher Allen is a Twin Cities born actor, community arts teacher, printmaker, and set builder. As a child, he began performing in his parent’s basement creating site-specific pieces centering on youth and parental angst. In more recent times Christopher has performed in and built for Barebones Annual Halloween Show since 2006.

He has been working as a performer and company member of Bedlam Theatre since 2007. His most recent work includes set design for Million Dollar Museum at Bedlam Theatre, performing in the 2009 Fringe show Comedy Of Errors, and playing an angst-filled teenager in Joseph Evan’s Turducken.

As well as performing on stage at various Twin Cities Theaters, Christopher enjoys building shadow puppets, paper cuts, and woodcuts. When not working on a show, he is Youth Coordinator at Bedlam, helping Cedar Riverside youth express themselves and each other through community and the performing arts. Most recently in collaboration with Brian Coyle Center youth he organized and created a neighborhood “Urban Safari” parade, teaching nearly 20 kids to stilt.

This fall he is ecstatic to be co-director of Barebones Halloween madness, and delighted to bring a little pure evil into the show.

Visiting Artist, Halloween 2009