Be prepared for ME and the FLEA

The performance
'Me and the Flea'

You are going to see a performance made by 4 people; two artists, an actor and a musician. Together they are Lichtbende.

The performance takes place in a dark room. On a screen you see shadows and light images, which are called projections.

The projections in this performance are made with very old devices. They are called magic lanterns. They come from days when the television, the cinema and film did not exist.

During the performance you can see the magic lanterns. They stand in front of the screen, on which the projections can be seen.

The musician is next to the screen. She makes live music that matches the images.

The magic lantern

This video shows what the magic lantern looks like and how it works.

In the video you see a puppet sliding into the magic lantern. When the light of the lantern is turned on, the projection of the puppet become visible on the screen. Lenses in the magic lantern reverse the projection.

The magic lantern is a very old device. But there are still devices that function like a magic lantern. With which modern device would you  compare the lantern?

Animation

The story "Me and the Flea" is told without words. Figures are made alive by moving the magic lantern projections across the screen.  That is called animation. In the next video you can see how that is done.

Images and Music

In the performance 'Me and the Flea' the music fits exactly with the images that can be seen on the screen. Together they make the story.

Watch how that is done in the video.

EXERCISE 1.

Read the following sentences.
Which images and pieces of music match?
 

EXERCISE 2.

Which words and which sounds correspond to the following pictures?
 

cycling - falling - vacuuming - washing - fighting - marching

What needs to be done to play in a theater: building screens, connecting projectors, adjusting the light and sound. Building and breaking down the set lasts about four times longer than the performance itself.