Stanford University Live presents Nufonia Must Fall featuring Kid Koala with the Afiara String Quartet
Bing Concert Hall
Stanford University, 327 Lasuen St, Stanford, CA
7:30 PM, Thursday, February 4, 2016

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2016 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2016 event list! ☸ On to the next event!

[Like some of my other pieces, my notes for this show were crappy to non-existent – I was simply too involved with listening and watching to keep any better track of the action. For what it's worth, the titles listed below correspond to the major sections of the work, as listed in the program guide, whereas the timing given corresponds to scene changes I noticed during the event: clearly, there's some mismatch there! Maybe someday I'll get things sorted out better, but for now, the sloppy list below is all I got!]

[7:34 PM; lights down, announcements, Kid Koala leads us in a brief game of Bing Hall bingo]

1. [7:40 PM] Winter
2. [7:43 PM] Malorie at Work
3. [7:46 PM] Elevator Next to You
4. [7:48 PM] Malorie’s Commute
5. [7:50 PM] Hexabot Theme
6. [7:52 PM] the Diner
7. [7:53 PM] the Sandwich Montage
8. [7:55 PM] Squares
9. [7:57 PM] Show Me a Sign(s)
10. [7:58 PM] Robot Love Song v. 1
11. [8:02 PM] Nightfall
12. [8:03 PM] Malorie’s Apartment
13. [8:05 PM] Clumsy Turkey
14. [8:07 PM] Corridor
15. [8:09 PM] Downward Spiral
16. [8:12 PM] Struttin’
17. [8:12 PM] Race to the Airport
18. [8:19 PM] ?
19. [8:21 PM] ?
20. [8:23 PM] ?
21. [8:25 PM] ?
22. [8:27 PM] ?
23. [8:28 PM] ?
24. [8:31 PM] ?
25. [8:32 PM] ?
26. [8:34 PM] ?
27. [8:37 PM] ?
28. [8:38 PM] ?
29. [8:41 PM] Epilogue
    [show ends 8:46 PM]

• Kid Koala: keyboards, samplers, turntables, electronics.

Afiara String Quartet

• Adrian Fung: cello;
• Timothy Kantor: violin;
• Valerie Li: violin;
• Eric Wong: viola.

• K.K. Barrett: director;
• Karina Bleau: puppeteer, puppet designer;
• Félix Boisvert: puppeteer, puppet designer;
• Maude-Emelie Bourque: model maker;
• Patricia Boushel: additional production assistance;
• Dan Buller: model maker;
• Isabelle Chrétien: assistant puppet builder;
• Vid Cousins: sound engineer, string arrangements, musical director;
• Marie-Pier Fortier: assistant set designer;
• Alexandre Gagnon: additional production assistance;
• Olivier Gaudet-Savard: technical director, stage manager;
• Benjamin Gerlis: set designer;
• Clara Gonzalez: model maker;
• Jeremy Gordoneer: assistant set designer;
• Patrick Hamou: tour manager;
• Ben Knight: video editor;
• Kid Koala: music and story;
• AJ Korkidakis: camera operator, director of photography;
• Colin Mackenzie: additional production assistance;
• Patrick Martel: puppet technical designer;
• Corinne Merrell: additional set designer;
• Clea Minaker: puppeteer, puppet designer;
• Jesse Orr: assistant puppet builder;
• Christine Plouffe: assistant puppet builder;
• Veronique Poirier: assistant puppet builder;
• Kyle Purves: model maker;
• Ryhna Thompson: producer;

The pre-show robot valentine's card-coloring activity was a neat idea for bringing kid-like wonder into the lobby, but the lack of variety in starting images (one robot, three or four different accessories), crayons in the usual assortment of hues, didn't pique my creativity enough to get me to sit and color a few of my own.

Kid Koala posted a three minute film trailer for the gig on YouTube; several longer clips about the project are also available on YouTube.

As the lights were trimmed, Kid Koala said hello and welcomed us to Stanford's great Bingo Hall <sic>, making punny about the night's initial activity, a bingo game using visual elements (robot, fog, burger, etc) pulled from the storyline instead of letters or numbers. A fun way to start the entertainment tonight, even if I didn't win.

Following that, I vaguely recall that Kid Koala spoke for a minute or two about the production, then the show began with a moody prologue from the string quartet.

While it was really interesting watching the production unfold, I admit that for the vast majority of the time my attention was fixed on the projection screen – following the story! – with only scant attention to the performers, puppeteers and production people creating the show before us. Tonight might have been a good one to spring for more expensive seats in the very front – the better to follow the action of (re)creation – but I was super happy with my 8th row center seats nonetheless.

Kid Koala deserves accolades for conceiving such an audaciously creative concept and then putting together a team capable of pulling it off so successfully. Flawless? I didn't notice any hitches, but then, I'd given myself up to the magic of the event right from the start.

Randolo says two thumbs up! Go see it if you get the chance!

Care to listen to the soundtrack? You're in luck! Kid Koala posted it at Bandcamp!

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2016 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2016 event list! ☸ On to the next event!