foolish people

Strange Factories – Trailer HD


Strange Factories – Trailer HD from FoolishPeople on Vimeo.

A writer, haunted by an idea for a new story hunts for four refugee performers of a theatre destroyed in a mysterious fire.

He locates his friends in a remote, pagan settlement founded by Stronheim; owner of a Strange Factory hidden deep in the local countryside that emits an infamous Hum.

Victor enters into a dangerous pact when a vow is made to re-build their theatre if the story is completed in time for it to be performed at the village festival, where bizarre rituals are enacted by the Villagers under the influence of a hallucinogenic effluence siphoned out of the Strange Factory.

Victor’s imagination and the fragmented memories of his friends collide in a violent fiction that not everyone can survive.

Strange Factories’ is an immersive feature film; a uniquely powerful and original project that fuses cinema with a dreamlike environment to create an experience like no other.

Principal photography on Strange Factories was completed in Prague and the UK in October 2011 and is currently in post-production with release scheduled for 2012.

http://www.foolishpeople.org
http://www.facebook.com/strangefactories
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2150487/


Milestone VI – Stronheim’s Village


“Have you ever had a dream so strange and unusual you felt that it wasn’t your own?”

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Stronheim’s Village – $500 / £310

For braving to venture to Stronheim’s village, you will choose a framed photograph by DOP Yiannis Katsaris from the story world to take home as a souvenir and an invitation to the Theatre of Manifestationworkshop. You will also receive two tickets to the live event screening the film, a collector’s edition DVD of ‘Strange Factories’ and a thank you in credits.

You are at the heart of our story and we have left a space for you to interact with our film and venture into Stronheim’s strange world. In addition to thesubscription of experiences you will receive, you can also send in details of dreams, stories and secrets to the switchboard, and enter yourself into Stronheim’s Tombola to win a weekend away to his mansion in the Czech countryside.

Stronheim's tombola
Image by Bettina Fung Wan Shan

Strange Factories on Indiegogo

Strange Factories on Indiegogo

Tune it to our second 48 hour tweetathon next Friday 15th July- Sunday 17th July to hear some of FoolishPeople’s stories and secrets as well as our audience.

Follow us: twitter.com/foolishpeople

switchboard@strangefactories.com

Start your journey


Milestone V – The Village Pub – “That’s the way to do it!”


You’ll have to make a move right now on this one, for the number of slots is limited and they’re filling up fast. No matter what form of art you create, learning about Theatre of Manifestation will add a new dimension to every creative act on which you embark.

-P. Emerson Williams

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For Milestone V of our campaign for ‘Strange Factories’, FoolishPeople will be running a professional theatre and arts workshops in London in August, with the proceeds going directly into our funding campaign for ‘Strange Factories’.

This is a rare opportunity for actors, performers and artists to introduce themselves to the core techniques and concepts of FP’s working practice, Theatre of Manifestation.

Theatre of Manifestation combines mythology, shamanism, drama therapy and open source collaboration to create immersive experiences that have the power to raise a numinous experience within the audience. It dismantles the notion of the spectator being a passive recipient of a theatrical experience; active engagement and participation is vital and absolutely necessary.

The workshop will take place on Saturday 13thAugust from 10am-6pm in central London, venue TBC. Over the course of the day, you will work withJohn Harrigan, Artistic Director and founder of FoolishPeople to explore the core techniques and skills needed within immersive theatre and how you can unlock and open the essence of your imagination and creativity.

You will be taught techniques to dismantle creative blocks, attain a truthful performance and formulate new ideas and processes for each project you undertake. This will offer participants a focused framework for their continuing artistic development.

This workshop will leave you feeling confident and empowered with new skills and techniques that you can apply to your own working practice within a variety of mediums and performance styles. 

This workshop is open to all arts professionals and those interested in exploring their creativity.

Previous workshops have been held in collaboration with organisations such as the University of Hertfordshire, the BBC and The Central School of Speech & Drama.

You can book onto this course online via our online funding campaignwww.indiegogo.com/strangefactories

You can purchase your ticket in two ways:

Spaces are limited- there are 10 places available.

You just need to scroll down and enter $60 into the total contribution amount, enter your personal details and choose payment method.

Alternatively, please contact us to arrange a bank transfer in GBP.

Once you’ve purchased your ticket, please e-mail us at switchboard@strangefactories.com.

Once the workshop date has been sold out, we will make an announcement on our update page, so be sure to check this before you book your place. Please note, invoices can be provided for the workshop for either payment method.

The Village Pub

Milestone V: The barman gives you a strange-coloured spirit on the house, which you down in one. “That’s the way to do it!” As you start to hallucinate, you will meet Punch, who adds your name to the list of attendees for the Theatre of Manifestation Workshop by Director John Harrigan that he tells you explores FoolishPeople’s working practice. As you stumble out, you’ll also find a pair of tickets to the live event screening the film & a DVD copy of ‘Strange Factories’ in your bag.

Photography by Yiannis Katsaris, Director of Photography for ‘Strange Factories’

Start your journey



We have some great news, due to all of the generous contributions we’ve received, we’ve now past our $3,000 milestone. The ‘Strange Factories’ campaign now stands at $3,361.

Today we’re releasing a new ‘Strange Factories’ video featuring FoolishPeople core member Lucy Harrigan, who plays Rose in the film.

Please remember to share our campaign with all your friends and family.

Strange Factories

Strange Factories

“Have you ever had a dream so strange and unusual that it felt like it wasn’t your own” – Rose

This short video introduces you to Rose an actress who has lost herself to the characters she portrays, sacrificing her life to her art, played by FoolishPeople core member Lucy Harrigan.

Strange Factories is FoolishPeople’s first feature film, which explores the power of stories and myths and how they are ultimately given life by those who engage with them.

We would like you to become part of our story. You’re a crucial element of how this project is produced, created and experienced.

 


Strange Factories offers up ‘subscription of experiences’ to fan-funders (Wired UK)


Wired UK talks to my amazing brother in art John Harrigan about Strange Factories. Click through and you’ll learn more and see the gallery of the incredible and haunting images by Yiannis Katsaris, Director of Photography for Strange Factories.

A theatre troupe has blended the mystery of performance with crowdsourcing and gaming principles to create a new form of storytelling. Strange Factories, the brainchild of creative types Foolish People, allows the audience to get involved every step of the way — from funding the film to altering its narrative.

Strange Factories offers up ‘subscription of experiences’ to fan-funders (Wired UK).


Please Stand By – Strange Factories


Please Stand By. Those who have contributed to the manufacturing process of ‘Strange Factories’ will soon receive Radiogram 1, containing pertinent data to aid your Field Study. If you also require delivery of Radiogram 1 then sign up forthwith for Milestone I

Radiogram 1

Emma – Strange Factories from FoolishPeople on Vimeo.

“I know why I existed. There’s so many that don’t, some are even born half imagined.” – Emma

This short video introduces you to the mysterious and alluring Emma, a character of Strange Factories, played by FoolishPeople core member Rachael Blyth.

Strange Factories is FoolishPeople’s first feature film, which explores the power of stories and myths and how they are ultimately given life by those who engage with them.

We would like you to become part of our story. You’re a crucial element of how this project is produced, created and experienced.

Join our IndieGoGo campaign and become a part of the ‘Strange Factories’ story.

http://indiegogo.com/​strange-factories

http://www.strangefactories.com

http://www.info.strangefactories.com

http://www.foolishpeople.org


Strange Factories – Punch Thanks You


Strange Factories - Step InsideHave you ever had a dream so strange you were sure it wasn’t your own?

Punch would like to personally thank everyone who has helped take us over $2,500. We’re now well on our way to our goal, but still have far to go, so please help us spread the word!

Look out for the video of Sam that we are releasing very soon, so you can meet the face behind the mask.

‘Strange Factories’;  an immersive feature film that tells the story of a world haunted by a phantasmagoric fiction. A unique and powerful project that fuses cinema and theatre within a dreamlike environment to create an experience like no other.”

Punch

"How wonderful, I’ve never seen a riot before. Look at their faces, they seem really angry at us" - Sam


Storyteller: On the writing of ‘Strange Factories’ by John Harrigan (via awakeningartsnetwork)


John Harrigan lets us in on the writing of Strange Factories and his thoughts on the vital role of stories in being human. It is my distinct privilege to be involved in the art of John Harrigan and FoolishPeople. Any encounter with John’s creations is an active participation, and that is one of the many unique and profound aspects that makes this living art such an amazing transformative experience.

Read on and look into the heart of creativity.

Storyteller: On the writing of 'Strange Factories' by John Harrigan Storyteller. · ‘Strange Factories’ is an independent feature film that tells the story of a writer trying to unfold the mystery of a fable in a world haunted by a phantasmagoric fiction. My work as writer and director on ‘Strange Factories’ has afforded me the time to reflect on what it is to be a storyteller. In turn I’ve felt a deep connection grow within to the history of storytelling and the storytellers who left us long ago, but perhaps stil … Read More

via awakeningartsnetwork


Phantasmagoric Environments


As the immersive art of FoolishPeople extends into the realms of cinema, the immersive art that is the essence of our work is brought into another realm. Those of you who have experienced the living narrative of FoolishPeople know that what is to be created with Strange Factories will transcend what we think of as cinematic form.

The Phantasmagoria of Strange Factories from FoolishPeople on Vimeo.

This film explores the ideas and background to FoolishPeople’s first feature film ‘Strange Factories’.

Stories and myths are given life by those who engage with them and we would like you to become part of our story. You’re a crucial element of how this project is produced, created and experienced.

Join our IndieGoGo campaign and become a part of ‘Strange Factories’.

http://www.indiegogo.com/​strange-factories

http://www.strangefactories.com

http://www.info.strangefactories.com


The Eye of Mr.Slin


Download The.Eye.of.Mr.Slin

CIRXUS

Tension and disappearing. Sailors drown, crew die, people are replaced. Might I take the liberty to enquire that you have found your replacements? To fill in for you and keep the memory of who you are alive and well, as it were. Of course you have! Good. Very sensible indeed! Now listen, can you hear that wonderful noise? Two villages are fusing as a bridge of molten uranium connects two landscapes into one geographic location. Dear táttipáni, welcome to the Windscale Works Atomic Factory.

CIRXUS

25th May – 13th June 2009

Starting time:
8.30pm & 9.15pm
STUDIO K

Written and directed by John Harrigan

1957- Seascale, the North of England. Cirxus is an old English circus lost in the shadows of the smoke stacks of Calder Hall, the world’s first commercial nuclear power station. FoolishPeople will use mythology, shamanism, music and dance to bring the darkness of an atomic circus to life. The performance will allow audience members to step into the world of an old English circus lost in the 1950s, explore its sideshows and meet extraordinary characters from the past and future.

Athalia the ballerina waits in the ring for Loudon the Clown to return with directions to the Black Pool, the mythic site of the Home Sweet Home, the final show of the season. Join her as she begins a bizarre and wondrous search for Loudon through the irradiated secrets of Cirxus, where she must face the macabre atomic menagerie, haunted by circus animals and navigate her way through the maze of strange, hallucinogenic sideshows on the other side of time. Immerse yourself in the world of Cirxus, where theatric arcana and Atomic fallout irradiate the sawdust arenas of our inner worlds.

Presented by FoolishPeople
Written and Directed by John Harrigan

Creative Team
John Harrigan
Lucy Allin
Victoria Karlsson
P. Emerson Williams
Claire Tregellas
Tereza Kamenicka

This is a promenade performance in Arcola’s new industrial space, Studio K. Cirxus is based on fact: the German Bremen University confirmed that radioactive contamination by Americium-241 found in some soil samples taken by Greenpeace 11.5 km south of Sellafield, were 400 times higher than those taken 11 km from Chernobyl. 51 years on, the villagers of Seascale still live with the ramifications of the accident at Pile 1 of the Windscale Works Atomic Energy Factory.

Cirxus will be FoolishPeople’s first London performance run since the critically acclaimed Dead Language at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in 2007.

TICKET INFORMATION:
• Ticket Prices £14/£10
• Tuesdays ‘PAY WHAT YOU CAN’ (subject to availability)
• Free tickets are available for under 26s under the Night Less Ordinary Free Ticket Scheme Monday-Thursday evenings for the first 2 weeks (please ring box office more information) PLEASE NOTE:
• No concessions on Fridays and Saturdays
• Proof will be required for concessions
• All tickets are NON-REFUNDABLE

Cirxus Image by P. Emerson Willliams


The GSpot: User’s Manual for the Human Experience- CIRXUS


The GSpot: User’s Manual for the Human Experience- CIRXUS

Joseph Matheny talks to Michael Dean about his newest book, A USER’S MANUAL FOR THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE. Also in this show: Sleepchamber and and excerpt from the Foolishpeople production of CIRXUS.

Show dedicated to my dearly departed friend: Dave Szulborski

Information: In the SLEEPCHAMBER bit, John Zewizz and co. gives updates on the band, shares tracks from the forthcoming album “Stolen Sleep”, and thanks the fans and collaborators who have supported the return of SLEEPCHAMBER.

Exerpt from Cirxus, a FoolishPeople production written and directed by John Harrigan. This psycho-audio sequence is produced and performed by P. Emerson Williams and directed by John Harrigan. A promenade performance will run from 25th May – 13th June 2009 in Arcola Theatre’s new industrial space, Studio K in London.

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The GSpot: User’s Manual for the Human Experience- CIRXUS [89:54m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download


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