MALINDA -
“Between Us and Them”
Written by MALINDA, Hannah Tobias, and Johnny Deltoro
Directors- MALINDA and Patrick W. Lord
Animators- Patrick W. Lord, Kate Ducey, Ryan Belock, Lacey Erb
Character Art- Matthew J. Keenan
Music Production- Johnny Deltoro
What This Music Video Meant to Me:
Working with Malinda was such a pleasure because her beautiful music tells such powerful and clear stories. It was an honor to work on a piece that was so personal to her as an artist. This project also came right at the start of the pandemic, an animation instead of her usual live music videos because, sadly, we could not gather and be together. Yet this project still brought people together, and this was the project that directly led to the founding of Remarkable Squirrel Productions.
Beyond that, this was another chance to explore something new. I created the storyboards and rough designs for most every shot, and my talented team brought each to life and added more depth and talent every step of the way. For a small group of only 4 people to create a fully original, custom, hand drawn animated short like this was a huge undertaking, but one done with love and we each came out better artists and animators because of it. Since I myself was a kid, I always dreamed I would get to create something like this.
Written by Megan Thrift + Patrick W. Lord
Directed by Patrick W. Lord
Original Music Composed by Emily Erickson
with Production by navi
Produced by Arts on the Horizon
Cast:
Emily Erickson (Middlest)
Graciela Rey (Youngest)
Pablo Guillen (Oldest)
Understudies: Covenant Babatunde, Rebecca Ballinger, Joshua Lucas
Creative Team:
Costume Designer: Jeannette Christensen
Lighting Designer: Dean Leong
Props Artist: Amber Smithers
Puppet Designer: Matthew Pauli
Dramaturg: Natalie Cutcher
Stage Managed by Kaitlyn Shifflet
Show Synopis:
Three siblings find themselves in a room full of possibilities and one not so simple task- to put things in their proper place. However, they soon discover that throwing this and that into a box is not the same as finding where it fits in.
Through clowning, movement, and original music, three performers will transform everyday objects into something extraordinary. Is a blanket a blanket? Or is it the sail of a boat setting off on an epic voyage? Together, we can find the magic buried in the bottom of every box, and hidden inside the world around us!
What This Show Meant to Me:
I never intended to get into directing, but I do love creating new work. This show was incredible because it let me stretch myself as an artist and learn so much about how we all collaborate and create. It was also a joy to push myself with a show with no projections or video element, a lot of puppetry work, and choreography to original music. As an artist, I love TYA and TVY (Theatre for the Young, Theatre for the Very Young), and this show let me bring that passion to the stage and I am so grateful for the opportunity. Below, you can even find a link to an article where I gush about the process, and a review.
The Girl with the Lantern Heart
by Patrick W. Lord
Directed by Stan Kang and Patrick W. Lord
Cast:
Eunice Bae- Narrator/Queen of Monsters
Wes Johnson- Earth/Mountain Monster
Katrina Nelson- Girl
Jacob Yeh- Wind/Forest Monster
Andrew Quilpa- Water/River Monster
Crew:
Cinematography by Chil Kong
Sound and Music by Matthew M. Nielson
Editing and Animation by Patrick W. Lord
What This Short Meant to Me:
From the first words written to the final edit being rendered, this entire process was about a month. We had one day of filming with an incredible cast. I had about a week to edit and animate. It was a work of love and excitement. Personally, this was another chance for me to just push myself as a storyteller, but also to tell a story that honored my Japanese heritage and childhood growing up in Tokyo. The message of hope in the face of darkness was also very real, as this was a project developed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic that shut down the theatre industry, and saw a rise of anti-AAPI hate. I learned so much from everyone involved in this, and grew as an artist, animator, and storyteller thanks to these wonderful humans.