The Gallery
From initial writing meetings to final production stills- this is the journey of Unaccountably, We Remain through my camera.
The Moodboard
This moodboard was a constant reference source when I hit a bit of writers block. I knew that I was aiming for something that felt like decay being unmade. This amalgamation of images and quotes helped me capture that energy in a bottle I could shake for inspiration when I needed it.
I had initially intended to keep a video diary of sorts throughout my writing process, but ended up doing lots of verbal processing with my fellow cohort members and other trusted artists instead. This video is a bit of a ramble from a check-in right after I rewrote the entire monologue going from draft
Costume Inspiration
In the novels, Blue is known for her eclectic, homemade wardrobe which she takes a lot of pride in. She can take any piece of fabric, any colors and transform them into something sufficiently cool in her eyes. For Juana’s look I was inspired by the self-taught sewist Carly B who runs the small business fromcarlyb where she creates patchwork pieces out of thrifted material with a feminine flair. I decided to make a skirt with a color scheme that didn’t align with the t-shirt I had designed (exhibited to the right).
The t-shirt was designed on Canva using lyrics from the chorus of Taylor Swift’s Florida. The color scheme was chosen to match the University of Miami’s colors. While Juana herself is not from Miami, this writer is and I would never send Juana out in colors repping any other Florida school.
The hair is dedicated to Ronan Lynch. I felt Juana’s embrace of femininity was done with a bit of a rebellious streak. She dresses femininely but against the grain of fashion. However, her biggest rebellion was shaving off all of her hair, a big no-no in the beauty standards of Latin America.
Movement Rehearsals ft. Laura Game
This piece wouldn’t be all that it became without the eye and guidance of Laura Game. I met Laura through East15’s production of The Welkin in which she served as our movement facilitator. I enjoyed her process and so I hired her services for a session to see what we could find within the piece. We worked on developing a physical differentiation for Juana and Adam, but where I think we truly found magic was in developing the movement language of possession.
On the right, you’ll be able to see a part of our session in which we explored what Adam possessing Juana’s body like for the first time would have felt like. We played with the idea of what it meant for him to be in a body that had hips and a spine that he had no idea how to actually maneuver in a way that was human.
Production Shots
Credit: Andrew H. Williams
The Nightwash
The nightwash (or the black goo as it was lovingly referred to whenever it came up in production talks) was a guiding image throughout this process as shown above in the moodboard. In the novel, if Ronan goes too long without Dreaming (having a dream he can manifest something out of) the nightwash begins to fill his chest and eventually pours out of his eyes, nose, and ears. I wanted my own version of nightwash for Juana as a way to create a visual language for what Adam leaves behind when he’s with her. Eventually, the full-on possession at the end of the piece would lead to the nightwash pouring out of Juana’s mouth as an indicator of her not being fully human anymore.
We cut it. It was devastating and I admit, I grieved it. But my advisor, Nicole Palomba, believed the physical storytelling in the possession was strong enough to hold its own without the black goo and that I would be able to go the full mile of surrendering to it without worrying about popping blood packs in my mouth. As an actor, I was humbled to hear my work had paid off. As someone who loved the disgusting implications and symbolism behind the nightwash, I was saddened. But, I believe the end was stronger for it and left room for the impact of the snow to land solidly.
Another vital exploration we had was the physical sensation of Adam possessing Juana. In the novel, when Adam Parrish is possessed by Cabeswater and it tries to communicate with him, Adam begins to hear out of his deaf ear and see things that aren’t there. I needed a way to convey possession theatrically that also felt truthful and grounded in the relationship between Juana and Adam.
To the left, you can watch a video of what we found. We played with the idea that his first instinct is to form her body into that of an alligator’s (as it is his preferred form to take and the animal Juana takes the most pleasure from seeing) and then, as he accustoms to her human body, he rolls down each vertebrae of her spine until he’s situated. I wanted it to convey both the discomfort and pain of being possessed, but also have an element where it was evident that this is part of their sexual relationship as well.
