clara meets persephone in the saloon of cider jack

The Black Forest Fancies' largest project to date has been "The Pomology of Sweetness and Light". This piece is a large-scale puppet operetta, set against a background of original music and stop-motion animation. Our narrative is an exploration of the co-development of apples and the American identity, centralizing the theme of adaptation. We follow the tale of Johnny "Appleseed" Chapman, an American folk hero whose wholesome mythos is complicated by the esoteric fact of his thwarted engagement to a ten year old girl. Legend has it Chapmen ended the engagement when he saw the girl flirt with a boy her own age.

It was Chapman's belief that every creature and action on Earth is an echo of the realm of the Spirit. Our story is told from the child bride's perspective. Her understanding of the world and Chapman's philosophy are expressed through puppet craft and acrobatics.

At one- time this piece involved an interdisciplinary collaboration with the field of aerial dance. The Fancies premiered " Pomology" in the Spring of 2009 in the Colton School auditorium, to great audience acclaim. We were an audience favorite in the Second Annual New Orleans Fringe Festival and garnered a grant from the Jim Henson Foundation for excellence in puppetry. We have since developed a more portable version of the piece where all the characters are played by puppets. This version of " Pomology" premiered in March at Manhattan's Theater For the New City.

a peek at " Pomology" can be seen here!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8XM0satMPY

In June 2010 we will take " Pomology" to The BLUE Theatre in Austin TX. To purchase tickets for the Austin run of Pomology follow this link:
http://www.smarttix.com/show.aspx?showcode=POM

This is a story of exceptional beings. Inspired by the journey of the apple on the frontier, our work is an exercise in selective adaptation. Onto the backdrop of the American Eden, we graft the figures of Dionysus and Snow White, of St. Lydwina and the Big Bad Wolf. We put these fables into conversation to tell a story of misfits seeking their place in the new world. Through a juxtaposition of scenes from our collective folklore we seek to create newly meaningful hybrids and revive a story of forgotten love.

The theme of adaptation is central to our lives as New Orleanians coping with the aftermath of an apocalypse. We find ourselves evolving alongside our new frontier, developing in tandem with the environment we struggle to tame, to preserve, to understand. The disciplines involved in "The Pomology of Sweetness and Light" are also governed by mutagenesis. Artistically, we wish to create a piece which is greater than the sum of its parts. This piece is a platform for exploring our newness and a means for infusing vitality into the rebirthing of our personal Eden. For Performance times see our Pomology performances page.

Projects