TWILIGHT THEATRE COMPANY
FILM
Rocks In My Pockets
an animated film by
Signe Baumane
Twilight Theatre Company delved into the world of film, applying theatre techniques to the script development and subsequent voiceover recording of ROCKS IN MY POCKETS, a new feature film by Latvian-born animator Signe Baumane.
The script, a 90 minute, wall-to-wall voiceover, written and performed by Signe, is a dark comedic take on the history of depression and suicide among the female members of her family (Signe included) intertwined with a good dose of Latvian history. Her writing is both heartfelt and funny, an effective combination when one’s topics are depression and suicide.
For seven weeks we rehearsed and honed the text, treating it much like a one-woman play. We worked on putting passion into the storytelling. We discovered the music, the rhythms of the writing, the dynamics. We felt it essential that the voiceover be able to hold an audience on its own for the full 90 minutes. After much work, Signe gave a reading for a mixed group of animators, film people and theatre professionals. The response was extremely positive. We took notes, went back into rehearsal, then recorded it in two sessions at Ovasen Sound Studios in New York.
Twilight’s work is done. Signe is currently in production with the animation. The characters are being hand drawn on paper, scanned into computers and placed against photos of painted sets made out of paper mâché. Two dimensional drawings on three dimensional backgrounds. Freewheeling animation combined traditional narrative storytelling. We can’t wait to see how it all turns out...
written, directed, animated and voiceover by
voiceover director and script dramaturg
sound designer and recording engineer
Rehearsed and rewritten at Twilight Theatre Company
Recorded at Ovasen Sound Studios
Signe Baumane
Sturgis Warner
Rob Daly
April 14 - June 6, 2010
June 9 & 10, 2010
Rocks In My Pockets
Signe Baumane
Rob Daly
Signe Baumane was born and raised in Latvia. She received her degree in philosophy from Moscow State University. Although a published writer since age 14, philosophy inspired her to turn to animated story telling. In the early 1990‘s she wrote, designed and directed three films at Latvia’s Dauka Studio, a state financed institution. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, opportunities became scarce and Signe made her way to New York to start anew. After several years of working for independent animator Bill Plympton, she started making independent animated shorts on her own. Eleven films later, her work has been seen at hundreds of film festivals around the world including Sundance, Berlin, Tribeca, Venice, Ottawa, and Annecy. She has had numerous retrospectives of her work and has won many awards. Signe is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, a Fellow in Film from the New York Foundation for the Arts, a Jerome Foundation Fellow and, as of 2005, a United States citizen. She is a tireless promoter of independent animation, advising festivals, creating programs, and championing the work of others.
Rocks In My Pockets is her first feature film.
A test composition. This paper mâché forest was made and painted by Signe Baumane,
then photographed creating the 3-D effect. She then placed her 2-D drawings within.
The seed money for this project came from sales of paper mâché sculptures that Signe created in Italy, like the ones above.
Tax deductible donations to Rocks In My Pockets may be made through Twilight Theatre Company. Go to the “Donate” page of this website for more information.
Rocks In My Pockets
The first segment of animation is completed.
This excerpt comes midway through the film.
Signe and the Soviet Psychiatrist.