Once Upon a Time (or the Secret Language of Birds)

Dates: February 3 - April 8, 2007

Location: Redmoon Central

Once Upon a Time tells a tale of friendship, villainy, dreams, and heroism that unfolds in an elaborately crafted toy theater. Set in a bleak 1920s American city, the story’s heroine is Emily, a lonely young girl who understands the language of birds. Emily quickly develops a friendship with Bruno, a neighbor who has retreated to a life of solitude after a fatal wrestling accident. When the birds of the city mysteriously disappear, the unlikely duo must save the city from the calamitous effects of a world without music. This adventure, narrated by puppeteers, uses handcrafted two-dimensional puppets, sets, and props contained in an exquisitely detailed miniature theater. The story inside the theater is filmed live to create a larger than life animated cartoon projected before the audience’s eyes.

an hour of blissful escapism that lifts you out of the workaday world by way of something akin to an adult pop-up book for the 21st century.” - Chicago Sun-Times

a magically charming story told with unbridled creativity that draws heavily on lost arts from the past combined with cutting-edge art from the present… this fusion of techniques is a production that defines unique and embodies Redmoon’s distinctively inventive form of spectacle theater” - Gay Chicago Magazine

Original composition by Kevin O’Donnell

Acknowledgments

Created and Directed by Frank Maugeri
Written by Joe Meno
Music and Sound by Kevin O’Donnell
Co-Directed by Jim Lasko
Assistant Directed & Dramaturgy by Seth Bockley
Puppet Design by Kass Copeland
Toy Theater Design by Erik Newman and Tracy Otwell
Art Direction by Angela Tillges
Video Design by Chris Andrew
Live Video Editing by Liviu Pasare
YouTube edit by Chris Andrew