Silent Sirens Theatre™ is a unique blend of the Curio, Avant-Garde Theatre, and Belly Dance. It has a story and pulls inspiration from the Grand Guignol & the Silent Film Era; it is dark, but beautiful… Silent Sirens Theatre stays true to the silver screen and vintage style which time-warps spectators into a surreal experience. It is replete with professional vamps well established in personal style and talent.
Echoes from the Past…
Silent Sirens Theatre was an idea I had circa 2006. The concept is of a traveling dance theatre show; nothing that hasn’t been done before, however, not like this… I have the honor and pleasure of working with my very close friends and great talents; Ariellah & Christina (BLC). Our priority and focus is the show, workshops are sponsored depending on our hosts and our first of many more shows to come is a rendition of the 1922 silent film Nosferatu.- Frédérique (Lady Fred)
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About the Show
This hour-long performance with one intermission is an avant-garde belly dance inspired rendition of the 1922 silent film, Nosferatu, an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula.’ Frédérique, the director and creator of this rendition, has fancied the 1800′s – 1920′s from afar since she was 19-years-old, collecting ‘jazz age’ records, clothes, furniture, trinkets, and nick knacks from this period over the years. The Nosferatu film was an old favorite of hers and was the impetus for her exploration and research of the silent film era for this project (combined with her love of horror films starting at the ripe age of 8-years-old). She gathered the major qualities and attributes of the ‘silver screen’ era and stayed true to the essence of those films in three essential ways:
Lighting: With the lack of natural color processing available, films of the silent era were frequently dipped in dyestuffs and dyed various shades and hues to signal a mood or represent a time of day. For example: blue represented night scenes, yellow or amber meant day, red represented fire, and green represented a mysterious mood. Silent Sirens Theatre is using simple lighting to reflect this concept onstage.
Sound: From the beginning, music was recognized as essential, contributing to the atmosphere and giving the audience vital emotional cues. Because silent films had no synchronized sound for dialogue, onscreen titles were used to narrate story points, present key dialogue, and at times, comment on the action for the cinema audience. In this rendition you will experience that same mood through pre-recorded narration, careful mixing/editing of sound effects, and music selection by Frédérique who is known for her eclectic use of music genres and sound editing stylization for her own performances; this will be her greatest feat yet.
Acting: Over-dramatic, pantomime acting was the style of the silent film era. Actors emphasized body language and facial expressions so that the audience could better understand what he/she was feeling and portraying onscreen. Much silent film acting is apt to strike modern-day audiences as untrained, simplistic, or campy. In some cases, the melodramatic acting style stemmed from habit – many actors had former stage experience. Our cast has worked hard to portray this over-dramatic style through each “vamps” unique personal style.
Synopsis
Thomas Hutter works for an estate agent, Knock, who receives a commission from Count Orlok for the purchase of a house. Thomas is given the task of traveling to complete the transaction, leaving behind his wife, Ellen. The closer Thomas gets to Orlok’s castle, the more aware he is of the fear associated with the name: “Orlok” and is given a book that he doesn’t know will save his life in the near future. Thomas makes it to the castle, completes the sale, but also discovers more than he would have liked to about Count Orlok. The Count travels by sea to Germany to take up residence in his new home, whilst Thomas desperately tries to return home via land to save his beloved Ellen from the clutches of Count Orlok. Ellen finds the book Hutter brought back with him that he was hiding and reads it. In doing this she realizes that she must sacrifice herself to save her town and more importantly, her beloved.
Silent Sirens Theatre’s Version:
Exactly the same, with one modern-day role-reversal: Ellen has taken the place of her husband, Thomas Hutter. She is the traveling working-woman (and Count Orlock is also a woman!).
Starring:
Ariellah as………………………………….Nosferatu
Frédérique as………………………………….Ellen Hutter
Christina as………………………………….Thomas Hutter
- With Special Guests Starring in Every Town we Visit -
Costuming & Set Design by: Christina
Music Editing & Arrangement by: Frédérique
Created, Adapted & Directed by: Frédérique
Graphic Design by: Frédérique
Booking & Keeper: Ariellah
Watch the Movie
Familiarize yourself with the movie to understand the show… If you’re not a fan of horror films and / or don’t have the patience for silent films, this may be difficult for you… I do recommend giving this classic film it a try!
For more information visit: www.SilentSirensTheatre.com
