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Event
The Golem
Taffety Punk Presents the World Premiere of The Golem
from Gustav Meyrink's novel
Adpated and performed by company member Daniel Flint
Directed by company member Joel David Santner
Choreographed by Emma Jaster
Music and Lyrics composed and performed by Jupiter Rex
Where: Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, 545 7th Street SE, Washington, DC 20003
When: Opening Night: Wednesday, May 1 at 8:00 PM; runs Wednesdays through Saturdays until May 18 at 8:00 PM; matinees on Saturdays at 2:00 PM
"I like to think that we are all the characters we dream aboutthat they are facets or shadows of ourselves, our fears, our longings," Daniel Flint says, reflecting on Gustav Meyrink's legendary 1915 novel, The Golem. "This is a story of a man who falls asleep and dreams another man's story."
Taffety Punk is thrilled to present a full production of Flint's one-man adaptation of The Golem and thrilled to ask the audience to plunge into the dreamlike world, conjured by a single actor and amplified with live music by cyberpunk-electronica artist Jupiter Rex (Josh Taylor, who scored Taffety Punk's Burn Your Bookes and Measure for Measure).
The story follows Athanasius Pernath, a jeweler in Prague's Jewish ghetto in the late 19th century who is afflicted with a curious amnesia. When a strange man enters Pernath's life with a mysterious book, the jeweler begins his descent into a labyrinth of murder, madness, and plots of revenge and unrequited love that eventually bring him face to face with his own dark past and mortality.
The parallels between Gustav's writing of The Golem and Daniel Flint's writing of its adaptation are striking. Meyrink spent years writing the novel, enlisting the help of a friend to sort out the many characters and tangled story lines. He drew inspiration from the Kaballah and the tarot system. Flint, who is interested in Kaballah and tarot, spent years adapting the novel, eventually working through the Taffety Punk Generator to cut a 22-character, three-hour play into a 70- minute performance with music and choreography.
The Golem is the first production to emerge from the Taffety Punk Generator. The Generator provides workshop opportunities for company members to explore their artistic visionsthrough plays, dance pieces, music compositions, or any combination of mediums. The project is spearheaded by company member Joel David Santner, whose task is to move the works of Taffety Punk company members from concept to manifestation.
Flint and Santner first workshopped The Golem in April of 2012, using the process to trim thirty pages from the original script and shape the narrative. Taffety Punk then presented The Golem at Round House Theater's Over the Line Festival in July.
"The gestation time has been beneficial, as we have a very clear idea about what worked, what didn't, and what direction we want to go in. Daniel has really taken advantage of the time he's had to work on his script, and Josh on his music," Santner says. "The Generator was established to give the artists a chance to take their work to the next level of development. The process works best when the artist takes ownership of their work while staying open to feedback. My job is to suggest. I've learned when to push and when to back off."
"People ask why I chose the book, but the real answer is, it chose me," says Flint. "The Golem is the story of a person who receives a book that plants a seedand the seed becomes a journey of spiritual transformation. During the years I have worked on this, I have gone through an immense spiritual transformation of my own. The story is ultimately the story of all who look deep inside the self, the psyche, the soul...and return transformed."
The Golem plays at Capitol Hill Arts Workshop. The production opens on Wednesday, May 1 and runs through May 18 on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Shows are at 8:00 PM, with 2:00 PM matinees on Saturdays.
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LocationTaffety Punk Theatre Co at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop
545 7th Street SE
Washington, DC 20003
United States
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