Hello my dears!
I just got home from a mystical experience as I was invited by Sir Toots Tolentino to watchWally Watthead And His Lost Glow from Finland's Amazing Magic Theater!
Be Wide-Eyed with Wonder as a Family, with Wally Watthead and his Lost Glow!
QUEZON CITY , PHILIPPINES – Light bulbs falling in love? Photo frames as leading ladies? How about simcards as dashing sidekicks? All these and more in PETA Theater Center ’s upcoming treat for the whole family!
If you want to venture into a different kind of stageplay, this show is perfect for you because I assure you it was the most magical time of my life.
At first I was very curious, and I thought this show would be a musical produciton with many cast members, but in fact, it did not have singing and not many cast members as well.
Although, I loved the background music which was techno! It was kind of like GRIMES with a mix of Bo En and Porter Robinson (I'll include them in my next monthly favorites) which I absolutely adore.
The show was very creative, definitely enjoyed it and my mouth was literally open THE WHOLE TIME!
What I loved the most was the quirky characters, (A clingy simcard sidekick and a picture frame leading lady) and the effects, the magic, basically I just really really loved everything.
After the amazing show, we, the press asked some questions as Janne (Wally Watthead) and Sasu (Director) answered them.
Janne Raudaskoski mentioned that his inspiration for Wally Watthead was from a dream wherein his head was a lightbulb which lead to the concept of everyday things such as a cellphone and a picture frame coming to life.
They have recently been touring around the world to present this marvelous presentation from New York to London to China and now to the Philippines.
They said that the best and worst feedback they have gotten was from China because right after the show the children literally ran to the stage with excitement! That's when they discovered that theatre culture in Finland was very different from China.
Raudaskoski indicated that the Philippines was very welcoming, "everybody's smiling" he said, which was quite true.
To run the show, they used three computers and one cupter to run what is going on with in the show.
I asked him what his favorite part was, and of course it was the disco bubble scene and the oh-so-cute love story; Wally & Polly are totes my #OTP!
WALLY WATTHEAD AND HIS LOST GLOW
JANNE RAUDASKOSKI
JANNE RAUDASKOSKI is one of Finland ’s most radiant professional magicians.
In addition to traditional magic, he is known for his magic theater productions that have charmed audiences both home and abroad.
As a Finnish and Nordic champion in magic, he has worked as a professional magician since 1997.
Janne has created two magic theater performances:
♥ The Outsider ( for adults and teenagers )
♥ Wally Watthead and His Lost Glow ( for family audiences )
In his first solo production, Wally Watthead and His Lost Glow, Raudaskoski is researching combining the magic, theater, clownery, mime and different kinds of special effects with video. Raudaskoski aims to create a performance which is a powerful experience for both children and adults, and that is easily translated into any language.
Recently, he has worked in several art projects combining new circus, theatre and magic. Raudaskoski has also played the protagonist in plays such as Werewolf (2009) in the City Theatre of Lappeenranta and Phantom of Theather (2007) in Åbo Svenska Teatern.
A Conjurer Par Excellence (Question & Answer)
Q: Magician Janne Raudaskoski, where can one study magic?
A: Tricks can be learned from books, magic can be learned by studying the history of magic and performing can only be learned by performing. Or if you find a good magic school you should definitely apply.
Q: Is Harry Potter your idol? If not then who is?
A: I prefer Pippi Longstocking to Harry Potter. Pippi does what she pleases, just as I do in my art. She has the right kind of attitude. I also belong to the Phantom Fan Club of Finland – my member number is 3557 if I remember it right.
Q: Why are magicians always men?
A: Is it perhaps because of Harry Potter? Well, I have also seen some very good female magicians.
Q: What do you do if one of your magic tricks fails on stage?
A: It happens very rarely because I always do my homework, but when it does happen, improvisation helps.
Q: Who pays the magician’s salary?
A: My greatest reward is captivated eyes, smiling faces, gasps and laughter – in other words the energy I get from the audience. The person who ordered the performance also pays me money.
Q: Why didn’t you become a clown if you enjoy entertaining people?
A: I did become a clown too. Both of my theatre productions, Wally Watthead and The Outsider, combine clownery, theatre and magic.
Q: What is the difference between a clown and a magician?
A: Clownery is an instrument of humor, but it can also be used to examine serious matters. It can be used to reflect on the ways of the world is a childlike way. Charles Chaplin was a clown. If a clown also knows magic, it opens up a world of new possibilities for his or her performances. Oh, but you asked about the difference? Well, the magician is usually the more boring of the two.
Q: What and where was your worst performance as a magician and why was that?
A: A professional performer must be able to finish the show no matter what the circumstances are. They have certainly been quite challenging sometimes: technical problems, the audience getting too drunk, hands freezing, things like that.
Q: Tell us something about the life of a magician that nobody knows.
A: The magician sometimes enjoys singing punk rock.
Q: Janne , do you know any magic tricks nobody else in the world knows?
A: I have conjured up two theatre productions that represent a new kind of magic. I combine magic, clownery and narrative in my performances using methods such as video, black theatre techniques and various kinds of special effects. I call it experimental theatre.
Q: Does a magician have any colleagues?
A: Sure. In theatre productions they are the director, the sound designer, the costume designer, the lighting designer, the set designer, the special effects technician, the dressmaker, the producer, the theatre manager, the technicians and the stage hands. Basically everyone I work with.
Q: What do you do most of the day on an average day in the office?
A: When I work on a new production I make plans, write, build things, rehearse, shoot rehearsals on video and make more plans. If I am performing on that day then I sit in a car or an airplane, build the show, perform, pack the show and sit in a car or an airplane. If I am not doing either them I’m usually sitting in meetings, planning new things, and answering questions like this.
Q: What was the magician supposed to become when he grew up?
A: A pilot, a magician or an actor. Now I spend my time flying on theatre stages combining magic and theatre, so I guess I got all of my dream jobs.
Q: Are magic tricks useful in everyday life?
A: When I was young I used to cheat at supermarket checkout by conjuring the money from behind the cashier’s ear. Luckily I have rid myself of that habit.
This November 14-16 and 21-23 every 10 am and 3pm, the PETA Theater Center stages Finland’s Amazing Magic Theater’s Wally Watthead and his Lost Glow.
Join Wally Watthead, his best friend Simon the Simcard and leading lady Polly the Picture, as they try to find out: where did Wally’s light go?
In this children’s show devised by magician Janne Raudaskoski, lead character Wally Watthead levitates, shrinks and grows right before your very eyes! Raudaskoski not only does magic tricks, but also acts onstage with multi-media characters such as screen-projected Polly Picture, played by Tuija Nuojua Raudaskoski, and an interactive robot-like mascot of Simon the Simcard, voiced by Jonathan Hutchings.
Wally Watthead and his Lost Glow combines magic, clowning, mime, black light theatre, video, various special effects, and plenty of laughs for kids, parents -- and even grandparents -- to enjoy!
Once again, the PETA Theater Center flips the cliché “all the world’s a stage” through its latest offerings, and becomes ‘a stage to all the world’ by hosting unique international performances such as Finland’s Wally Watthead and His Lost Glow.
Think back on the first time you ever saw a magic trick. Eyes rapt in attention, breath held, neck craned forward – a mixture of doubt and curiosity bubbles within you as the magician performs.
He presents his props, fumbles a bit – and just as you’re about to surrender to skepticism – voila! He grabs you away from your disbelief, and pulls you into a realm of pure wonder -- your giggles burst forth like a fizzing soda. Your hands clap by themselves, and the world around you is lush with fascinating delight.
It’s exactly this kind of excitement that Finnish magician JanneRaudaskoski gives to his audiences in Amazing Magic Theater’s Wally Watthead and his Lost Glow.
“My greatest rewards are captivated eyes, smiling faces, gasps and laughter ”, says Janne.
Performed in over three continents, this ‘experiential magic theater performance’, as he calls it, will have it’s Manila premiere at the PETA Theater Center on November 14-16 and 21-23.
In Wally Watthead and his Lost Glow, Janne plays a lightbulb named Wally Watthead, whose sidekick, a smart-phone named Simon the Simcard, helps him searching for his lost glow. Things get even more magical when Polly Picture, Wally’s crush, comes to life!
A Nordic champion of magic, Janne makes Wally Watthead grow, shrink and even levitate on stage. Inspired by Charlie Chaplin, Janne also uses clownery and the visual language of silent films.
“Clownery is an instrument of humour, says Janne, and can be used to reflect on the ways of the world in a childlike way”.
Janne however, is a true modern magician in every sense of the word.He not only relies on illusion and sleight-of-hand, but on audio-visual technology as well. Onstage, he acts the robot-like mascot of Simon the Simcard and a video installation portraying Polly Picture.
Surely Wally Watthead and his Lost Glow lights the smiles on children’s faces. But, more than that, it also rekindles the glow of wonder within adults who have long forgotten their sense of awe.
The Guardian, a British daily, says this of the London run of Wally Watthead and his Lost Glow: “It is absolutely mind-blowing what Janne can create… guaranteed to amaze even the sternest of cynics...”
In this season of giving, let Wally Watthead and his Lost Glowrekindle the giggling child within you. Reward yourself with your loved one’s laughter, captivated eyes and smiling faces. Unlike presents wrapped in paper, which can be lost or forgotten, the shared memory of delight and wonder is a timeless gift that keeps on giving.
This show is definitely one of the best performances I have seen, it is not only for children but for people of all ages!
I love it and I bet all of you will love it as well!
+ THERE'S A PROMO! On November 16th, Sunday, 3PM, Bond with your Lolo and get special family discounts for your two tickets! Details below.
Tickets are Php800 for VIP and Php 600 for regular audiences.
For tickets contact Ticket World at 891-999 or Ticketworld.com or contact the PETA Theater Center at 725 – 6244loc 21-23, 0915-4933728or email
peta.theatercenter@gmail.com
Listen, YOU HAVE TO WATCH THIS SHOW!!!!
