Frankenstein: Mortal Toys

Presented as part of HERE’s Dream Music Puppetry Program:
A Project of Automata
Directed and Designed by Janie Geiser and Susan Simpson
Written by Eric Ehn
Based on the novel by Mary Shelley

Frankenstein (Mortal Toys) follows the haunted alpine journey of Victor Frankenstein, as he confronts the loneliness and rage of his alienated monster. The story is told within a miniature proscenium, with puppets based on 18th Century portrait paintings, lush sets inspired by Romantic era landscape painting, and an evocative musical score by Severin Behnen.

Formed in 2004 by artists Susan Simpson and Janie Geiser, Automata is a Los Angeles based organization committed to the creation, presentation, and preservation of puppet and object theater, experimental film, pre-cinematic attractions, and other lost and neglected forms.