| EVENT REPORT 03.17.09 10:46 AM |
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| Full Moon |
| From appetizers served out of suitcases to pregnant women housing puppet shows in their bellies, Redmoon Theater's Spectacle Lunatique benefit showcased a host of unexpected touches. |
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"That snorkeler's constantly on the phone, bitching to someone," said a guest at Friday night's Spectacle Lunatique, a fund-raiser for the Redmoon Theater. Indeed, at the entrance to the dinner area—which occupied the center of Redmoon Central, the company's sprawling, warehouse-like venue—a performer dressed in banana yellow snorkeling gear sat in a boat strung with garlands of grapes, holding a prop telephone to her ear and wearing an irate expression. And the displeased snorkeler was one of the evening's less unusual visuals.
"Spectacle-making is one of the things that we do exceptionally well," said Frank Maugeri, the theater's artistic director. "Throwing great parties is another." The mission of the benefit, Maugeri said, was to showcase Redmoon's flair for both of those things, while simultaneously raising funds for the company. |
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PHOTO GALLERY |
 | At Finesse Cuisine's buffet, guests plucked napkins off a sculpture that resembled a rose.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen for BizBash |
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 | Moss, roses, and glass vessels filled with milky blue liquid decorated surfaces throughout the venue.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen for BizBash |
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 | Redmoon performers played unusual instruments throughout the cocktail reception.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen for BizBash |
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 | Shoes decorated pedestals at each dinner table, where signage called out various sponsors.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen for BizBash |
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 | In the lounge area, jars filled with green liquid sat in clusters on low tables.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen for BizBash |
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 | Performers dressed as pregnant women opened papier-mâché bellies to reveal tiny puppet shows.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen for BizBash |
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 | The event took place at Redmoon Central, a West Side venue that's available for rentals.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen for BizBash |
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 | A performer dressed in yellow snorkel gear sat in a grape-strewn boat and mimed chatting on the phone.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen for BizBash |
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 | Guests pulled appetizers from a suitcase and napkins from a performer's dress.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen for BizBash |
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 | A Redmoon actor poured drinks from his perch atop the theater's wine bike—a machine with an umbrella of rotating glasses.
Photo: Barry Brecheisen for BizBash |
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Maugeri worked with associate artistic director Vanessa Stalling to spearhead the benefit, which he said took about "eight weeks of thinking and six weeks of action." The thinking part of the process began when a team of artists associated with the theater assembled a series of images for the planning team. To build a cohesive vision for the event's look, Stalling pored over the visuals, then set out to "heighten the ideas that seemed to be right for the evening and cut things that felt unnecessary," Maugeri said. "She listened to the group and her impulses."
Next, in order to bring the evening's loose "Past, Present, and Future" theme to life, the planning committee pulled costumes, props, and art objects from the theater's warehouse, so that on Friday night, actors dressed as characters from past productions roamed the space, and the 500 guests also got a peek at visuals that will appear in future productions.
Throughout the evening, performers trotted out in a series of processions. At one point, actors holding ornate fish puppets swarmed toward partygoers, slowly shook the puppets to make them appear to float, then backed away quickly. A posse of mask-wearing actors wore pregnant bellies made of papier-mâché; when they approached guests, they flipped a switch that made the fake bellies open up to reveal miniature puppet shows. In yet another procession, a line of performers wearing illuminated white peacock headdresses filed out into the crowd; a few minutes later, fake clouds and airplanes whooshed by on sticks, while the actors holding them made blowing-wind sounds with their mouths.
In an attempt to explain the nearly description-defying event, Maugeri offered, "It's a funny, beautiful party, and a very active evening. Every 10 minutes, people see something new. It's ridiculous and bombastic, and delightful and strange."
—Jenny Berg
RELATED TOPICS
Redmoon Theater
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