“Like so much of String and Shadow’s work, this works on multiple levels, depending on your age,” Lord said. “Our goal is for people to laugh, have a good time, maybe cry a little bit and then laugh again.”
“Everything exists in a cartoon world where it’s safe to grapple with these issues,” said Palardy, a veteran puppeteer and technical wizard who usually performs only behind a mask. “In this show, we’re using mime to make light things appear heavy, to convey that we’re on a huge ship or to give the impression that we’re traveling down a long industrial hallway when we’re really just zigzagging in the field at Calliope Farm.”Īs they journey, the fools face change and loss, but serious themes don’t overwhelm the silliness. “Mime is about using movement to communicate imaginary states, whether physical or emotional,” she said. “Ship’s” clowns use mime to help create a dreamlike world. “Puppetry is such a great way to transport an audience into a playful and surreal state of mind,” said Gaxiola, a graduate of San Francisco Clown Conservatory who knows plenty about creating playful and surreal states on stage. There are some hermit crabs that I’m really excited about they are crab-human hybrids, and they have shells that are made out of all these pieces of houses.” “There’s a whale,” McHugh said, “That’s probably the largest puppet in the show. The show follows the fools - clowns played by storyteller/actor Elizabeth Lord, clown/musician Luz Gaxiola and String and Shadow stalwart Palardy - as they set sail from the Port of Styx, inspired by the mythological river that connects the world of the living to the underworld.Īlong the way, the clowns encounter mysteries and mystical creatures - including the giant puppets for which the troupe has become known.
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