The beautiful Vasilisa frolics in the woods with the forest animals and trees....
Koschei Bessmertnii confronts her and reminds her that he wants to marry her... 
She refuses and the dove (that my dove's Oscar winning performance!) flies around him and infuriates him so he turns her (Vasilisa) into a frog....
(Vasilisa relaxes back stage with her girlfriends...)
The Tzar's three sons shoot their arrows into the sky. They follow the arrows to find their brides.... 
The two older sons... 
The oldest son's bride (cute despite the painted on uni-brow and really really tall)... 
The court is astonished....
The youngest son - Ivan Tzarevich - brings back a frog (his arrow landed in a swamp)...
The Tzar says - let's test these brides: bake me a bread and sew me a shirt... 
The skomorokhi/jokers (mine is the stripy one) relax back stage before making fun of the Tzar and his sons... 
Don't despair Ivan Tzarevich, I'm not really a frog, I'm a princess, I'll make the best shirt and bake the best bread... 
The older son's wives make an awful bread and horrible shirts... 
and their dance to impress just makes them into fools....
Vasilisa/Frog makes the most beautiful shirt and tastiest and most wonderful bread that her girlfriends bring to the court..... 
Everyone is amazed.... 
Her girlfriends are cheering... 
The Tzar is stunned... 
Ivan is in awe when she shows up in her true form.... He makes a huge mistake after-wards though.... He burns her frog skin and she vanishes in Koschei's clutches... 
Ivan prepares for battle to win back his bride...
He consults (back stage in this case) with the old man of the woods about what to do... 
First he fights the tree monsters.. 
The forest animals help him out... 
Baba Yaga waits for him...(backstage)... 
She tries to eat him first and then decides to help as Koschei is her mortal enemy too... 
She tell Ivan how to kill Koschei.... 
...and now please indulge me in a few extra pictures of my favorite creation - Baba Yaga's house on chicken legs.... 
...ain't it cute? 
First Ivan must battle Koschei's sidekick Zmei Gorynich... 
Then a match of wits with Koschei himself. 
Can Ivan guess which princess is his bride? 
a battle takes place with the help from eager Baba Yaga.... 
the birds bring Ivan the egg that contains... 
the needle that is Koschei's lifeline. He breaks the needle and Koschei dies groveling at his feet... 
Vasilisa returns in her true form.... 
The Tzar blesses their marriage... 
Let's have a feast! 
Dove, bird and skoromokh mug for the camera... 
Zmei relaxes in the green room with the girlfriends....What a production it was....can't begin to count the costumes... the scenery was magical.... and I had most amazing helpers! We had fun despite lack of time and sleep....the creative energy kept us going and going and going.....
16 comments:
Oh, Natalya...this is absolutely magical and amazing! I think I will go back and look at it all again right now!
fabulous. love the closeups of the kids in costumes. Baba Yaga is a favorite and you realized her perfectly. the animals are adorable. Just a magical show. I am sure it would bring tears to my eyes to watch the performance. Thank You!
What an astonishing achievement! I hope they appreciate the treasure they have in you! The house on chicken legs is my favorite too. :)
What a visual feast. You are a costuming star!
This is a superb accomplishment! I love the Russian tale translated into the play, carried out by children, and the most wonderful costumes you created. Fantastic achievement for all concerned! I would love to see more children around the world involved in artistic and cultural activities like this, with the help of artists, of course.
Amazing! I love Baba Yaga's clothing. The house with chicken legs is wonderful! I'd love to have one like it as a studio. The children are all so beautiful. Amazing costumes and scenery and the amount of work involved is astonishing. Put your feet up and relax!
Gorgeous, gorgeous - Baba Yaga's house on chicken legs is my favourite, but it was a close-run contest...
Absolutely amazing and stunning! Congratulations!!!
Bravo! The real Russian tale :)
Очень классно!!!!! Молодцы!
Amazing work Natalya! You seem to outdo yourself each year. I too, am in love with Baba Yaga's house. I also like her "an enemy of my enemy is my friend" attitude.
Natalya,
What a wonderful experience for all those children. You made their imaginations come to life with your costuming. The house with chicken feet is amazing. Bravo!
Hello, Natalya! A very well told story about a wonderful performance! So many personages (i.e.children) in a whole - it's a challenge for directing and a huge task for all the creators!! Good for all of you! The children are smiling and happy and that's the most important thing after all!! I like very much the photos from the backstage... And Baba Yaga's house, too! And the frog...And... And... everything! Who put it on stage? Teachers or a professional director? I know how nice, but hard to work with children is! That's why I am so much impressed! You can read about a similar project with a group of children that I directed HERE - http://rossichka.blogspot.com/2010/08/in-museum-of-fairy-tales-and-giveaway.html! Best wishes!
This is amazing, Natalya! That school is so lucky to have you.
Thanks for the photos Natalya. What a lot of work but so worth it from just seeing the pictures. To have been there would have been even better. Great Job. Congratulations
Cher in BC
THANK YOU everyone so much for all your kind words!!!
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