Juana: Concept and Design
pt. 3 of 3

[Part One and Part Two.]

EXECUTION

We did a full run of the show last night, with puppets. The puppets are not quite finished (as you can see.)

To the left is (from left to right) a merchant, Fernando, Juana, and Beatriz. This is the first scene of the show, which takes place during the Spanish Inquisition.

Fernando is quite imposing! He's being held a bit higher than he should be, but you get a sense of the imposing nature of this character, and how he towers over our poor princess.

Beatriz (fantastic profile!) and the Merchant haven't been given their arms yet. But you can see how the actors will be performing these characters.

The audience will see the actors' faces. Last night an actor took me aside and asked me "should I watch my puppet, or try to make eye contact with Juana?" It got me to thinking. I told him that the decision to not use the puppet as a proxy, and instead address her as a person (sort of ignoring the puppet for a moment) would be a strong performance choice. Almost as if the facade (the puppet) could easily be eliminated, and the character could show Juana his true face.

There is a lot of symbolic power inherent in puppetry. I feel that we're tapping into that.

Also missing are the stained glass windows. Our vertical space is pretty empty at present, but as soon as that scenic element comes in, the show is going to sprout wings.

The concept of "religious pageant" is beginning to materialize before me, and I have to say I'm excited.

(Please excuse the crappy cell phone pictures. I'll bring my "real" camera to the next rehearsal!)