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INFANT FOCUS GROUP FOR BLUB, BLUB!

2/17/2015

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Last week I got to know a lot about babies! Let me back up -- as part of the development process for Blub, Blub, a new show/installation for children 0-24 months at the Alliance Theatre, we spent the week working with a variety of tiny infant focus groups. We basically invited them into a room, brought out a bunch of semi-theatrical elements (lights, textures, noise makers, etc.) and let them play! 
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There was a lot of cuteness, drool, snot bubbles, tummy crawling, beard pulling, laughing (some crying), lots of banging on things, a few little bumps, and luckily a lot of smiles as well!


The rest of our time was spent envisioning and brainstorming  about how we will transform the room into a safe "underwater" interactive play space for parents and children to enjoy together. We put a lot of tape on the floor and even made a tiny model!
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By the end of our time together, we had a plan of action and lots of ideas about how the other performance elements (lights, sounds, puppets, and animations) will factor into a 15-20 min performance. 

Before I know it I'll be swimming back to Atlanta in May for the full installation and rehearsal period!

Blub, Blub! 

-PC
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Baby THEATER! 

1/28/2015

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Yup. That's right it's "baby theater" time! My next project is part of Theatre for the Very Young, a program of The  Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, GA. Over the past couple of years they have created 5 or 6 performances for children ages 0-5. Check out this video  to learn more and you'll see why they are considered leaders in the field!
This specific project is titled, Blub, Blub. It is new territory for me and for them, in that I will be responsible for leading a team of artists to create an "underwater" installation space with performance elements. Instead of taking place inside a contained blackbox space, I was hired to envision a room that can be interacted with by parents and children who stop in for a "swim", as well direct a 20 minute solo performance for the same environment.

There are endless factors to consider-- What materials are safe? How is the experience different for an infant vs. a toddler vs. an adult? How dark can the space be? What about shoes? Will an infant get inside a soft foam shell a la a  hermit crab? What about a liquid floor? This list goes on and on. . . 

Stay tuned for more updates as we start to test what works (and what doesn't) with various infant "focus groups" next month. In the mean time, here are some of the concept sketches by project designer, Jeffrey Zwartjes!

-PC
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AUDITIONS FOR AESOP'S FABLES!

8/15/2014

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Park Cofield & Co. seeks actors for a production of Aesop’s Fables, written by British playwright, Mike Kenny. The play is intended for all ages and features clowning, live music, and found object/food puppetry. The production will rehearse in Los Angeles and will premiere in Mammoth Lakes, CA at The Mammoth Lakes Repertory Theatre for students and family audiences.  Two showings in Los Angeles are planned following the run in Mammoth Lakes.

Auditions will be held on Wednesday, August 20th  from 7:30pm – 10:00pm, with callbacks on­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ Saturday, August 23rd  from 10:00am - 1:00pm at J.E.T. Studios in North Hollywood. Please send headshots and resumes to park@parkcofield.com to schedule a time. Appointments are required. 

Character Breakdown:

WOLFIE – Male 25-35. Classical actor type, in charge and slightly pompous. Bass.
HARRIET – Female 20-30. Sassy, quick witted, competitive. Alto.
SYD – Female 20-30.  Mousy and gullible, with a quirky laugh. Soprano.
BARRY – Male 20-30. Thoughtful, sweet, unperturbed, and full of awe. Tenor.

*Ability to sing required. Experience with clowning, puppetry, and/or masks preferred.  Familiarity or knowledge of musical instruments a plus!

This is a non-union/non-equity production. $800 stipend, transportation, and housing will be provided for the Mammoth engagement, with an additional honorarium for the LA performances. Future engagements and tours are possible.

Rehearsal and Production Dates:

Table Read: Sunday, September 7th

Rehearsals in LA: September 14th – October 3rd (Approximately 20 hours per week.  Evening and weekend rehearsals are likely. Days/times to be determined based on actor availability.)

Production Week in Mammoth: Sunday, October 5th – Sunday, October 12th

LA Showing:  Tentatively scheduled for Oct 16th – 19th

ALSO HIRING:

Composer/Musical Director:  Responsible for composing 3-5 original songs based on poetic text. Open to all styles of music, but prefer pieces to be composed for acoustic instruments. Some recorded pieces may also be needed.  This is a paid, non-equity/non-union gig. Composer will participate in approximately 40 hours of rehearsals in Los Angeles and will not travel to Mammoth Lakes.  To be considered, please send resume and a music sample to: park@parkcofield.com

Production Manager: Responsible for overseeing LA rehearsals, production logistics, and management of actors during production week in Mammoth Lakes and Los Angeles. Producing, stage management, or puppetry experience preferred.  Stipend, travel, and housing will be provided.  To be considered, please send resume and a short cover letter to: park@parkcofield.com


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DESIGNING AN OPERATIC FAIRY TALE

1/30/2014

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I go into rehearsals for Knightly News next week with The Atlanta Opera. The opera is composed by Jonathan Stinson and will be performed by a cast of four singers who will travel to schools all over Georgia starting on February 13th. 
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For the past few months I have been working with an incredible team of designers to bring this mixed up operatic fairy tale world to life. As the stage director, I am responsible for helping to shape the look of the opera and to direct the action of the singers on stage. Below are a few storyboards, sketches, and renderings to give you a taste of the process. The costume designer is the dynamic Joanna Schmink, and the scenic designer is the incredible Kat Conley! 

For more information on booking a show for your school, or to see the dates of the community performances, please visit The Atlanta Opera  website.


PUPPET DESIGN

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One of my first steps in conveying my ideas to the design team was to draw up storyboards for each sequence in the opera. The panel above outlines an aria sung by Alexsandra Pygowski, a feisty construction worker pig, who relates a story about her missing brothers. Since she is referring to events that occurred the previous day, I decided that it would be fun to see what happened via a "puppet flashback". These storyboards were given to scenic designer, who drew a plan that specifies the dimensions of each puppet element. A crew will be responsible for cutting the puppets out from wood and attaching rods and joints as needed. 
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Kat Conley © 2014

COSTUME DESIGNS 

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Little Red
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Pyg
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Prince Charming
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The Wolf
Joanna Schmink © 2014
I talked with the costume designer, Joanna Schmink, early in the process about the overall look for the opera and the attitudes of each character. Her costume sketches and fabric choices reflect a modern world but still offer a subtle nod to traditional fairy tales. Instead of adding animal ears and features for the pig and wolf, we have decided to focus on color palettes and interesting props that allude to animal characteristics (i.e. pink hat, boots, and pig snout coffee cup for the pig, and a sleek dinner jacket for the hungry wolf). 
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SCENIC DESIGN

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Kat Conley © 2014
The main action of the opera takes place at the "Big Bad Bean", a coffee establishment owned by a family of wolves. These are building plans from the scenic designer, Kat Conley, who envisioned a Starbucks-esque coffee shop in the woods. The drawing above is called a "ground plan" and shows the set from a birds eye view. The drawing below is a "front elevation" and shows the dimensions of various curtains that will be used on the set. These drawings will help the crew build the set to the correct specifications. 
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Kat Conley © 2014
Check back for photos from the rehearsal room after next weekend!

-PC
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2013 Cofield Mini-Museum

12/14/2013

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Welcome to the 2013 Cofield Mini-Museum!
Dear Friends and Family,

You are invited to learn about our year by taking a look at this exhibition! Please click to view the galleries on this page. As you may be able to tell from the photos, this year was largely about friends and family. 

Park is hard at work on a new project about his Finnish ancestry. Our visit to Finland was a 
highlight of the year and provided him with all sorts of new stories. By day he works for Network of Ensemble Theaters and by night he is working on a variety of other artistic projects including a children's book and shows with puppetry for family audiences. 

Katie’s year has been about making leaps and bounds in her acting career. She is excelling at comedy improv at iO West and signed with a great agent here in LA. Also, Al Pacino tried to get into her car - ask her for the full story!

We are so grateful for all of the friendship, love, kindness, and opportunities in our lives. A special thanks to each of you for the roles that you have played in our travels, art making and general happiness this year.

Wishing you a wonderful and cheerful holiday season and a happy new year! 

Love, Park & Katie 

EXHIBITION GUIDE

1. Katie models expensive winter wear at the
Sundance Film Festival!
2. Park visits Fairport Harbor and meets lots of Finns at the Finnish Heritage Museum!
3. Park directs the US premiere of the smash hit family show, ZAGAZOO, in Mammoth Lakes, CA at the Edison Theatre.
4. Katie and Park celebrate 5 years of wedded bliss with a trip to wine country and a visit to Saarloos + sons winery.
5. Suomi! Park & Katie share their travel stories with family on 'Finn Day'! 
6. Park puppeteers in Luis Tentindo's Kori & Alo! 
7. Katie (and her ukulele) signs with Sovereign Talent Group, a commercial agent in Los Angeles!
8. Park leads a puppet workshop to hundreds of families at the new Wallis Annenberg Center.
9. Katie babysits once a week for the whole year for two adorable, smiley boys named Gabriel & Charlie.
10. Katie lucks out-- her two best friends now live in Los Angeles, too!
11. Park performs in Janie Geiser's Clouded Sulphur at Automata!
12. MoBeau sticks his tongue out for the 748th time!
13. Katie & Park journey to Finland to explore Park's ancestry and to see Antti Ojala’s paintings of Finnish pauper statues. To read more about our Finland adventures, please click here.
Click each photo for a larger view!
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ZAGAZOO - CREATING A MONSTER

10/5/2013

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I started building the hairy creature that appears at the end of ZAGAZOO this week. He starts out around 8ft and grows to 10ft. The other puppets in the show are made mostly of paper, so I'm using a technique inspired by the paper sculptures of Irving Harper, a noted 20th century industrial designer. The photo in the center is an example of one of his many incredible creatures and animals . The gallery below documents the first steps of the process. There's still a lot to do, so please check back for more photos and updates of the completed puppet.
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I've also been inspired by pagan ritual costumes like the one from below photographed by Charles Fréger. Check out more at:  http://www.boredpanda.org/wilder-mann-charles-freger/
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ZAGAZOO - ORAGAMI AND SKETCH UP!

9/15/2013

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I know I said I was going to work on the elephant or the warthog this weekend, but instead I took a slight detour and ended up in the world of origami and Sketch Up. Both require lots of patience and time, but with a little focus can produce incredible results!

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With the help of a video from a YouTube Channel called, Jeremy Shaffer Origami, I learned how to make a flapping bat. The bat we need for Zagazoo has to be large, so I used a piece of paper 35" x 35" (more than three times the size of the paper used in the video below). I was a little skeptical about how it would work with roofing paper instead of traditional origami papperr, but I'm pretty pleased with the results. The extra weight gives the wings a graceful flapping motion that is going to look great on stage. Now I just have to paint it. Thanks,  Jeremy! Shafer!
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SKETCH UP
Sketch Up is a 3D drawing program. I tired it a a few years ago and gave up out of frustration, but thanks to a few online video tutorials, I was able to use it to start visualizing the set for the show. Here are two renderings I did to get a better sense of how much space we'll have on and off stage.
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ZAGAZOO - Character Sketches

9/10/2013

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Here are a couple of watercolor character sketches I made inspired by the original illustrations. From here I'll break each character into shapes/moving parts and determine the best way to construct each creature. I'm going to work on the elephant or the warthog this weekend. Check back soon for more photos!  -Park
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ZAGAZOO - DESIGN PROCESS BEGINS

8/19/2013

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This November, I am directing  ZAGAZOO for Mammoth Lakes Repertory Theatre, as part of their programming for family audiences.

The stage adaptation by Mike Kenny of the classic children's book by Quentin Blake (known for illustrating Matilda and The BFG  and other works by Roald Dahl). In addition to directing, I am design and building puppets based on the original watercolor illustrations. I couldn't be more excited to jump in to the design process!

This week, I started working on a mock up of a dragon character who appears and causes havoc with his fiery breath.  
Below are some snap shots I took between steps. During this part of the process, I'll decide how large the puppets need to be, what they need to do in each scene, and what materials to use. I'll continue to post more photos as I move forward in the process, so please check back soon!

-Park
Reference materials and ping pong balls
Joints and layers
Teeth!
Side view - head and torso
Side view- tail and wings
Notice the red fabric in the nostrils for a fire breathing effect
Skeleton for the wings
Zagazoo is produced by special arrangement with Plays for Young Audiences.
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ZAGAZOO - Audition Notice

8/17/2013

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About the Show

ZAGAZOO
By Quentin Blake, adapted for the stage by Mike Kenny


Park Cofield seeks actors for a production of Zagazoo, written by the prominent British author and illustrator, Quentin Blake. The play is intended for all ages and features original live music, acrobatics, and paper puppetry techniques. The production will be rehearsed in Los Angeles and performed in Mammoth Lakes California at the Edison Theater for student and family audiences. 

Auditions will be held on Wednesday, August 21st from 7:30 – 9:30pm. Please send headshots and resumes to park@parkcofield.com to request an appointment.

Character Breakdown:

George: Male. Late 20’s – Early 30s. Puppetry, dance, and juggling skills a plus. Tall, slender, nerdy.
Bella: Female. Late 20’s – Early 30’s.  Puppetry, dance, and juggling skills a plus. Cute, motherly, quirky.
Zagazoo: Male. Early 20’s, must look young.  Minimal spoken text, but will provide sound effects for multiple animal characters. Strong puppetry skills required.

This is a non-union/non-equity production. Production stipend, transportation, and housing will be provided. Future engagements and tours are possible.

Rehearsal and Production Dates:

Rehearsals: October 19th – November 2nd

15-20 hours both weeks. Days/times to be determined based on actor availability. 

Production Week in Mammoth: November 4th – November 10th

Monday, Nov 4th – Travel to Mammoth (5 hour drive), Load in, Cue to Cue in space
Tuesday, Nov 5th – Tech in Space - AM; 2 full runs - PM
Wednesday, Nov 6th – School Performance – AM
Thursday, Nov 7th – School Performance – AM
Friday, Nov 8th – School Performance – AM
Saturday, Nov 9th – Family Performance – Noon
Sunday, Nov 10th – Ski Day?
Monday, Nov 11th – Travel to LA (5 hour drive)

ALSO HIRING:

Production Assistant:
Responsible for overseeing LA rehearsals, production logistics, and management of actors during production week in Mammoth Lakes. The person will also appear on stage in a non-speaking role of a young girl character. A stipend, travel, and housing will be provided.  

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