Printer's Devil Theater Presents Scot Augustson's THE BALLAD OF KARLA FOX

Printer's Devil Theater, in association with Theatre Off Jackson, presents the world premiere of The Ballad of Karla Fox, a Sgt. Rigsby & His Amazing Silhouettes shadow puppet noir. Performed with radio show-style voices supplied by live actors, original live music, and a menagerie of two-dimensional puppets, the story follows the adventures of orphan Karla Fox, inspired by classic thrillers such as Gaslight and Rebecca. Playing November 5-21 at Theatre Off Jackson.

TICKETS: $15 in advance, $18 at the door. Pay What You Can Preview on Thursday November 4. http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2298746

For more information contact: printersdeviltheater@gmail.com

The Ballad of Karla Fox is a super intense and really dark psychological thriller/shadow puppet show by Scot "Sgt. Rigsby" Augustson.

After her parents die in a suspicious accident (involving a drunken bulldog driving a moving van full of pianos), Karla Fox goes to live with her strange, stern Aunt Sadie. But soon Aunt Sadie's particular brand of crazy gets too real and Karla is forced to flee in the night for her very life. The young fox soon learns that trouble is everywhere in this wicked world and everybody has a terrible secret.

Porcupines in doomed love affairs. Mysterious glowing waters. A child abandoned by his wild out-of-control mother. A curious friendship between a lumberjack and a widower.

Karla thinks she has put all that madness behind her when she falls in love with a handsome bearcat. But she could not be more wrong.

(NOT FOR CHILDREN)

The Ballad of Karla Fox is directed by Tom Milewski and features actors Shannon Kipp, Stacey Plum, Shawnmarie Stanton, and Roy Stanton. Live original music is created by Shawnmarie Stanton. And nimble puppetry is provided by Scot Augustson and Ben Laurance.

Tom Milewski says: This Sgt. Rigsby installment explores madness in its various guises: from the flush of new love to bona fide mental illness. Scot's work has a wonderful bittersweet quality--and the Rigsbys in particular, a spectacular lunacy. I love how he can turn a moment on a dime and keep you laughing along the way."

Scot Augustson explains the history of Sgt. Rigsby & His Amazing Silhouettes: "Shadow puppetry was never something I set out to do. My friends and I have always slipped into funny voices and characters. You know, like a 19th Century London flower girl who lives in fear of the ripper (who turns out to be Mary Todd Lincoln.) I wanted to put these onstage but you don't want to build a set and make Victorian costumes and flood the stage with fog for a piece that really wants to be three minutes long. So, I made some shadow puppets.

"We first did them at a Printer's Devil Theater benefit at Re-bar in the summer of 1998, then once-a-month for five years at Annex Theatre's late night cabaret Spin The Bottle. People went crazy for our decidedly-not-for-children puppets. Eventually the Rigsby alter ego emerged and Sgt. Rigsby & His Amazing Silhouettes began creating full-length features."

This production of The Ballad of Karla Fox is supported in part by 4Culture and the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture.

To post a comment, you must register and login.