Kayfabe
by Josh Rice
Created, Directed & Designed by Josh Rice
Performed by Madeleine Dauer, Rowan Magee, Josh Rice, Takemi Kitamura & Emma Wiseman
Devised by Chris Carcione, Madeleine Dauer, Emily Grierson, Takemi Kitamura, Rowan Magee, Andy Manjuck, Rachael Shane, Ash Winkfield, Emma Wiseman & Josh Rice
Original Music by Chad Bradford
Stage Managed by Emily Grierson
Projection Design by Chris Carcione
Live-Feed Camera Operator by Fletcher Pierson
Lighting Design by Rob Lariviere
Pizza Pizzes Animation by Jaime Sunwoo
Meatstick Commercial Directed by Damian Wiseman
Puppet Pod Themes by Seth Faergolzia
Additional Puppet Design by Tom Lee, Zachary Sun, Averly Sheltraw, Jacky Kelsey (inspired by Hachiōji Kuruma Ningyō, a hybrid Kuruma-ningyō-style/otome Bunraku-style puppet)
Additional Set/Prop Design by Vinny Mraz & Doug Hollinger
Additional Costume Design by Kathryn Hollinger & Nikki Gray
Graphic Art by Tim Livingston & Kat Kuo
Wrestling Video Performers: Vince Valor, Robby Vegas, Tommy K, Darren Crowe, Groff, Breanynn the First. Jack Issac, Daniel Gomez Macchio, and Allan Kindred of the Buffalo Wrestling Academy
KAYFABE was presented and premiered at Dixon Place in New York City, May 30-31 & June 6-7, 2024, with support from the Jim Henson Foundation, the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs with the City Council and New York State Council on the Arts with support from the Governor’s office and the NY State Legislature.
Special Thanks
Cheryl Henson and the Jim Henson Foundation, Z Briggs, Augustus Badger, The Rice Family, El Covan, Eileen & Carter Wiseman, Vince Valor and the Buffalo Wrestling Academy, Beth Huisking, Chris Held & Realitee Designs, Dan Butler, Josh Marcks, the Board of Shake on the Lake & the NYS Puppet Festival, and Pilar McKay.
Acknowledgements
Inspiration for Kayfabe comes from the characters, songs, and storylines from World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE); The Squared Circle: Life, Death, and Professional Wrestling by David Shoemaker; The Masked Man Show by David Shoemaker and Kazeem Famuyide; the works Act Without Words and Not I by Samuel Beckett. Audio excerpts from the La Mancha Screwjob episode of Radiolab. Training in pro wrestling from Vince Valor and Buffalo Wrestling Academy.
Support for this project comes from the Jim Henson Foundation, Shake on the Lake & the NYS Puppet Festival, the New York State Council on the Arts, the Arts Council for Wyoming County. Developmental residency support comes from Theatre@37, The Westport Country Playhouse & the Studio Space Program at Target Margin Theatre.
Glossary of Wrestling Terms (courtesy of David Shoemaker)
Babyface (“Face” for short): The good guy. This is similar to the hero or protagonist of a novel or play. He is the person that the fans cheer for, unless we’re talking about John Cena.
Bump: The act of a wrestler hitting the ground or mat. A suplex and a fall off a ladder are both considered bumps.
Calling the Match: a wrestling match is mostly improvised or “called” in the moment by the wrestlers, sometimes with a structured set of moves/choreography called “spots,” and based on crowd reaction. This blend of scripted moves and unscripted calls moves toward a pre-determined end with one wrestler “going over” or winning the match.
Finisher: A wrestler’s signature maneuver, typically one that is meant to “finish off” his opponent.
Go or going over: When a wrestler beats another wrestler. It’s a fancy way of saying “winning.”
Heat: When a wrestler is booed by the crowd or generally generates similar reactions. This can also refer to the scenario in which a wrestler has issues with his fellow wrestlers and/or other people within the company for an incident that may or may not have occurred in the ring.
Heel: The bad guy. This would be the antagonist or villain in a novel or movie.
In-ring psychology: Structuring a match so that it makes sense, is worked properly, tells a story and does not consist of random moves with no fluidity.
Kayfabe: Keeping up the illusion that pro wrestling is not scripted. This is a complicated concept, but the basis of kayfabe is wrestlers making sure that the fans believe that what they are seeing is 100 percent real and not scripted or “fake” in any fashion.
Mark: In short, a fan of the wrestling business. But it is more often used to describe a fan who treats wrestling as if it unscripted or is completely unaware that it is.
Over: Refers to a wrestler (and/or his character) generating a reaction from the fans. A heel is considered to be “over” when generating boos and “You Suck!” chants, while a face is considered to be “over” when generating cheers. “Putting someone over” refers to the act of a wrestler losing to another wrestler.
Pop: The crowd reaction that a wrestler generates. “Pop” often refers to a positive reaction, while “heat” often refers to a negative one.
Promo: a monologue by a wrestler
Sell: How a wrestler reacts to an opponent’s moves. A crucial aspect to making scripted moves look unscripted.
Shoot: Going off-script and making something real. A shoot can be a promo in which a wrestler says something unscripted (generally something negative directed toward another wrestler) or does a legitimate move that may be used in actual fighting.
Spot: A scripted move or series of moves. These are generally pre-planned and have a huge effect on the structure of match as well as the crowd’s reaction to it.
Smart: Having intimate knowledge of the backstage world of wrestling
Work: Anything that is scripted to happen. The exact opposite of a shoot.
ARTIST BIOS
Josh Rice (he/him) is a multidisciplinary theatre artist specializing in puppetry & improvisation. He is the Founder & Producing Artistic Director of the NYS Puppet Festival. Original puppetry work includes The Marooned at NYS Puppet Festival, The VaudeVillains and Composite Portrait at La MaMa Puppet Slam; The Tempest, directed at Shake on the Lake and Sarah Lawrence College. Puppetry Performance Credits: Chimpanzee by Nick Lehane, Akutugawa and Shank’s Mare by Tom Lee & Koryu Nishikawa V, Dan Hurlin’s Demolishing Everything with Amazing Speed. He is the founder and host of The Puppet Pod!, an interview- based podcast with puppetry artists. Josh is Faculty at the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University, MFA, Sarah Lawrence College. joshriceprojects.com
Takemi Kitamura (dancer/puppeteer/choreographer): A native of Osaka, Japan.Her puppetry credits include Blood Moon by Beth Morrison Projects, The Oldest Boy at Lincoln Center Theater, Demolishing Everything with Amazing Speed by Dan Hurling, Shank’s Mare by Tom Lee and Koryu Nishikawa V, Falling Out by Phantom Limbs Company, and Small Acts of Daring Invention by Mason Holdings.
Chris Carcione (he/him) is a multi-disciplinary theater artist who loves to combine live performance and digital technology. Past collaborations include the world premiere opera Monkey: A Kung Fu Parable with White Snake Productions; Demolishing Everything with Amazing Speed, created by Dan Hurlin; and Shank’s Mare and Akutagawa, developed with and featuring 5th Generation puppet master Koryu Nishikawa V and Tom Lee. Chris is an Assistant Professor of Theatre Arts at Towson University. www.christopherjcarcione.com
Emma Wiseman (she/her) is an artist interested in puppets and objects. Emma’s original performance work looks at relationships between humans and our spaces and objects, especially those that are considered boring or mundane. She documents examples of particularly depressing plants in the built environment through the instagram account @sad._.plants. Emmawiseman.me for more!
Rowan Magee is a puppeteer, designer, and director living in Flatbush, Brooklyn. He co-founded the Object Movement Puppetry Festival, which will seek new submissions for puppet projects in July. He’s currently developing Peony Lantern with Emma Wiseman and Sachiyo Takahashi which will be at Japan Society in November. rowanmagee.com
Emily Grierson (they/them) is a Seattle-based stage manager from Perry, NY. Since receiving their Bachelor’s from Cornish College of the Arts in 2022, they have had the opportunity to work in the theater, dance, and puppetry spheres. Recent credits: DIALOGUE (Spectrum Dance Theater), The Bed Trick (Seattle Shakespeare Company), The Snow Queen (Seattle Children’s Theatre), Fun Home (Cornish College of the Arts).
Madeleine Dauer (she/her) is a puppeteer, theatre artist, and voice actor. Her work has been seen at The National Puppetry Conference, and she has performed regionally and in NYC at Target Margin Theatre, The BRICK, Seattle Children’s Theatre, NYSPF, and WET. Madeleine has narrated over 75 audiobooks with Audible and Tantor Media.
Jaime Sunwoo is a Korean American multidisciplinary artist from New York City. She has shared her work at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Food and Drink, Yale University, and NYU. Her film Handwritten premiered at Lincoln Center for New York Asian Film Festival and is available on Amazon Prime Video in “Fantastic New Worlds: A Handmade Puppet Dreams Collection”. More at jaimesunwoo.com
Chad Bradford is a composer, actor and director, and is the Associate Director of Children’s Theatre and Performing Arts at the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, as well as the Associate Artistic Director for Shake on the Lake Theatre Company. Chad’s list of acting credits includes leading roles Off-Broadway, five different National Tours, movies, and regional theatres across the country. Chad’s most recent project was a recurring role on the PBS series “The Mystery League.” More at chad-bradford.com
Damian Wiseman is Chicago-based audio engineer and filmmaker. Also Emma’s brother. And therefore Josh Rice’s brother-in-law. He was very excited to make a commercial for Kayfabe full of explosions and eyeballs.
Tom Lee is a director, designer and puppet artist. Mr. Lee began his career at La MaMa, and later, the St. Ann’s Warehouse Puppet Lab. His work often explores the synthesis of manipulated figures and objects using film techniques and animation. Tom Lee creates original puppet theater pieces, performs as a professional puppeteer, designs and fabricates puppets through Chicago Puppet Studio and serves to elevate puppetry through his teaching and mentorship.
Fletcher Pierson is a theater and visual artist based in Chicago. His recent work includes Rough House’s House of the Exquisite Corpse IV, performances with Rabbitfoot Puppetry, Squonk’s Brouhaha!, KT Shivak’s Rhynoceron, and Tom Lee’s Sounding the Resonant Path. Fletcher is the resident builder and puppeteer for Chicago band The Trenchies. He is also the founder and artistic director of Auricle, a new free theater company.
Rob Lariviere has been the Production Manager and Lighting Designer at Dixon Place in NYC since 2009, working on a diverse range of thousands of dance, theater, and puppetry projects. Rob is thrilled and honored to light Kayfabe and to experience the Chicago International Puppet Festival for the first time.