Steampunk’d Encore Edition: Doctor Faustus

Back by popular demand, my steampunk series returns to feature Lionface Production‘s Dr. Faustus!

The poster for this amazing show! Features Zach Navarre as Doctor Faustus and Kat Moran as Mephistopheles

That’s right, for Lionface Production’s second show of the season, Christina Hoekstra directed a steampunk version of Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus. For those unfamiliar with this work, the story revolves around Dr. Faustus, an intelligent doctor who has become bored with the every day sciences and decides to try his hand at necromancy. He is guided by a Good and Bad Angel, each pulling him one way or another. He summons Mephistopheles and Lucifer, who agree to give him 24 years on earth with Mephistopheles as his personal servant. Faustus ultimately wastes this power doing nothing worthwhile and is ultimately damned to hell. In this version, the magic and power that Faustus receives is portrayed through steampunk. Emphasis was put on the various timepieces and clockwork in the show, symbolizing Faustus’s time running out. In this production, I played one of the scholars and the part of Robin the Clown, one of the comedic relief characters in the show.

Our set was simple, yet very cool. We performed the show in a church, the same as when Lionface did Murder in the Cathedral, and the it ended up really working out in our favor. The set was designed and built by the very talented Meghan Johannes, who was able to pull it off on an incredibly small budget and still make it look super professional.

One of the coolest set pieces were these blocks that Johannes made. I wish I would have gotten a better photo of them, because they were seriously boss. You can’t tell by this photo, but behind each block is a hole lined with what looks like a cog, so that props can actually be stored inside the blocks. Each block also had handles, wooden gears painted gold and/or copper, and the copper wiring seen in this photo. One of the blocks was raffled off, but unfortunately I didn’t win one.

Another unique piece was Mephistopheles’ cane (also raffled off, also didn’t win, sad face) which featured a time piece as the hilt. Again, I wish I had a better photo, it was much cooler in person. It was tailored to be the length of the average cane and was able to be swung around without worrying about any pieces falling off (including the copper wiring you see towards the middle).

What could make a steampunk play even cooler than it already is? Throw in an awesome sword fight! To see a video of this check out my Facebook page. I wish I could say that was me doing the sword fight, but alas, it was another awesome ginger. And yes, those are in fact real swords being used, so it took a lot of stage combat choreography and practice to be able to pull it off without causing injury to one another. By the end of it, these two had the fight down so well that when one would make a mistake, the other would immediately adjust to make it safe again without having to stop the fight. Talent, plain and simple.

Myself as Robin and my cohort, Griffin Coldiron, as Dick

One of my most favorite part of the shows was working with this guy, Griffin. One of the best things that can happen in a show is to get paired up with an actor that you can really work off of and that definitely happened for me in this show. So a special shout out to Dick, thanks for rocking out the show with me! “Oh brave, an ape!”

And that’s it for my steampunk series! I may still post steampunk-esque photos now and then, especially since I’ve been getting more into jewelry making as of late, but this particular chapter of Halloween/Faustus steampunk is closed (at least until next year’s Halloween). In coming entries, I’ll be doing some updates on Stand Up Toledo 13, Already Indie, and the other happenings in my life. I hope you enjoyed reading!

“Bene disserer est fines logices. (The end of logic is to dispute well.)” – Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus

Related Articles

• Steampunk’d: The Chest Piece (okoesters.wordpress.com)
• Steampunk’d: The Accessories (okoesters.wordpress.com)
• Steampunk’d: The Eyepiece (okoesters.wordpress.com)

 

Steampunk’d: The Chest Piece

Hello again and welcome to the last installment of my steampunk Halloween costume series! In previous episodes/entries, I showed you how I made a prosthetic eye piece and several different accessories for the costume and now I will show you how I made a pretty sweet chest piece.

I started with a thick layer of liquid latex in the shape of a sloppy triangle. I left the end of it curved for when I would add the clock piece. If you plan on doing this, you want to do it on a surface that the latex can be peeled off from, so a smooth surface that won’t have any chipped paint pieces or anything like that. I ended up using an old lid to a shoebox, which worked very well, especially if you want an easy cleanup and for your project to be portable while you are making it . After this layer dried, I added another one right on top of it so that the base would be thick and not fall apart when I added pieces to it.

I added a third layer of liquid latex and began to add pieces. As you can see, some of the pieces got another layer of latex over parts of them to make it looks as though pieces of flesh were growing over them. It also gives the impression that there are more gears inside the body, behind the ones that you can see.

Interestingly enough, as the liquid latex dried, the colors from the gears actually caused the latex to change colors. So, naturally, I added another layer over it and some more gears to see if that would cover it up. The liquid latex continued to react to the gears even as I added more latex, so I ended up leaving it the way it was. In the long run, it actually worked in my as it looked as though the gears were having a reaction to my body and therefore leaking pus. Disgusting, yet very effective in what I was going for.

Paint time! Using the same red and black acrylic paint that I used on the eye piece, I painted the latex around the gears and added some red on the gears to make them look as though they are covered in blood. After the paint dried, I used a knife to cut away some of the latex so that you could see more of the gears and I cleaned up the paint on the gears so that they would still reflect off the light. Then, I used paint again to clean up the latex pieces that I had cut away from the prosthetic.

This is actually the piece once I took it after wearing it. I attached the piece to my chest with spirit gum and then added the watch piece separately. It was actually a watch piece that I had gotten from Wal-Mart and added copper paint to it in order to keep with my gold and copper color scheme. I also repainted over some of the gears to make them stand out, as the ones from Hobby Lobby were a bit darker and less shiny then the ones I had purchased at Costume Holiday House. Once I had the pieces applied, I made strips of latex about an inch wide and about 3-4 inches long on the shoebox lid. Once I had two layers dried, I peeled them off and added them to the top and bottom of my piece to give the effect that the skin was cut apart and hanging over. It also helped to make the wound look deeper and more three-dimensional. I made a few more inch by inch pieces of latex to fill in the spots that weren’t covered on the far side of the watch piece. After all of that, I used makeup to color the latex to my skin color and to make it look a bit more bloody and natural. I topped it off with some liquid fake blood, which gave it a glossy look and made the clock look as though blood was dripped on to it as well.

Here’s what the piece looked like when it was applied. This also shows why I added the extra layers last, so that I could attach them to the skin as well as the wound and make everything look seamless. I had no trouble keeping the pieces on once the spirit gum had dried and actually had this piece on for most of the day. Now, I’d also like to point out that the watch piece is a working one and actually lit up with a blue light when you pressed a button (which was located near the number 2 and could be pressed despite the latex). Initially, I had considered using a bigger watch piece and trying to make it seem as though my heart was a clock, but I felt that this looked more realistic than that would have, so I adjusted accordingly. All in all, I was very happy about the way that this piece turned out and it will actually be featured again very soon in Lionface Production’s Dr. Faustus on the character of Mephistopheles. Pictures to come!

Photo courtesy of Laura Fairman Photography

Now we have come to the end of my series and now you know the story behind the creation of my steampunk costume. I may be doing an encore post as well in regards to Dr. Faustus, given that it is being done in a steampunk fashion, so stay tuned for that. In other news, I was voted one of the top five comedians from last years Stand Up Toledo, which means that I will be in it again this year! More information on that as it gets closer as well as some updates on Already Indie and life as an actress. Thanks for reading!

“We can control the future, my boy, just as we wind up the mechanism in a clock. Say to yourself: I will win that race–I will come first–and you wind up the future like clockwork. The world has no choice but to obey! Can the hands of that old clock in the corner decide to stop? Can the spring in your watch decide to wind itself up and run backward? No! They have no choice. And nor has the future, once you have wound it up.” – Philip Pullman, Clockwork

Related articles

• Steampunk’d: The Accessories (okoesters.wordpress.com)
• Steampunk’d: The Eyepiece (okoesters.wordpress.com)

 

Waiting…

At the point in my life, I find myself in a nearly constant state of waiting. I’m not a particularly impatient person, but I do find myself wishing that I could take a more active role in my life. Unfortunately, many things that I could be doing require me to have money that I simply do not have.

For example, it was recently pointed out to me that in order to promote my book more I need to have more copies to sell, hand out, use for book signings, etc. Unfortunately, the way my publisher works is that I have to pay for copies of my book to have them to sell/use for my own devices. Additionally, if I am going to get any sort of author discount I have to order a minimum amount of 25 books (which would be roughly $250, with my discount). All in all, this is a great deal, but when you factor in rent and living expenses, it’s a difficult number for a young actress who also has to worry about health and paying back school loans.

A peek inside my book, “Silly Billy’s Guide to the Theatre”

However, this fellow author whom I was speaking with brought up some very good points. I would be able to make the money back simply by selling the books, therefore not really losing anything. The difficult part is simply getting the money to start with. He suggested possibly taking out a loan or setting up something through Kickstarter. Since I had never heard of this program, I needed an explanation: Basically, Kickstarter is an online fundraising program designed to help artists, such as myself, begin projects. People can donate money on the site towards these projects, and are given rewards based upon how much they spend on your project. The best part? If you don’t reach your monetary goal by the date that you set, no one is charged anything. So someone could donate money towards the cause, but not have to pay if the project is scrapped for some reason. Cool, right? It’s definitely worth looking into, although I worry whether or not there would be anyone willing to donate money towards my cause, but you never know if you don’t try. Plus, I’ve already been asked to do a few book signings, so it wouldn’t necessarily be an exercise in futility.

Another route I’ve looked into is selling some of my artwork. Well, technically I have already been doing that (thank you, Redbubble!), but I’m speaking specifically about selling some of my oil paintings through Etsy.

One of my oil paintings, currently making my kitchen wall a bit more classy

Instagram made the coloring a bit brighter than it actually is, but you get the picture (lol, lame unintentional pun). For those of you that don’t know, Etsy is essentially a site designed to help artists sell their art online without having to worry about not getting the product or not getting paid for your art. Shipping would still be my responsibility, of course, but this not only gets my art out there, I don’t have to worry about giving it away to someone who will neither pay for nor appreciate it.

Another route I’d like to look into is doing comedy on a bigger scale. This is something I may not have to wait for, I just need to be more aggressive on finding work. However, I am making the choice to do this after…

The finished product! It took a lot of work, but I finally have the poster where I want it. It’s definitely one of the better posters I’ve created.

Murder in the Cathedral! We are drawing closer to tech week and the inevitable opening of the show. I am truly fortunate to be in yet another show with so many of my friends. I am also fortunate that the director has been very patient with me, I have unfortunately been fighting a cold for several weeks now. I’m hoping that this will have passed by opening night, though the doctors are, frankly, a little stumped at this cold’s insistence on staying in my system. Never the less, as the old saying goes, “the show must go on” (and it’s often forgotten counterpart, “or else we’ll have to give them their money back”). Speaking of the show, I have to get some things ready before rehearsal tonight, so I will end this entry here.

“All things come to him who waits – provided he knows what he is waiting for.”  – Woodrow T. Wilson

Boom! Headshot!

Hello again!

I finally have a chance to sit down and update this blog on the happenings in my life as of late. Firstly, for those of you that read my earlier post, I went to see The Hunger Games this past Thursday and it was honestly better than I expected and my expectations were fairly high. I was incredibly pleased that they kept to the book, omitting things that were unnecessary for a film version and including the things that were necessary without adding too much. I particularly enjoyed how the Hunger Games promo in the film (a short added scene that basically portrayed the Capital putting a positive spin on the games) seemed to be an homage of the Nazi propaganda films back in WWII. While all of the actors gave a phenomenal performance, I was particularly fond of characters Haymitch and Cinna, played by Woody Harrelson and Lenny Kravitz, respectively. Though both characters were somewhat underplayed in the film, the short bits with them brought a smile to my face every time. It is a complete and utter shame that others have not taken too kindly to the casting of Cinna due to racial preferences. I recently read an article that claimed that many people were upset with Cinna being played by a black actor. Though everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I think it is idiotic to judge an actor, or anyone for that matter, by the color of their skin. Kravitz gave a phenomenal performance and if people cannot see that, then they are clearly not looking hard enough or have warped views on what makes a good actor (which, being an actor myself, I can say has little to nothing to do with the color of one’s skin).

On a happier note, my headshots came in! Huzzah!

My favorite of the bunch! For a couple of my other favorites, check out the actress tab and there’s a link to them or find my page on Facebook to see the rest.

My hair is so red in this and I love it! Personally, don’t think that I photograph well, but Cole Simon (see previous post) is a genius and made it so that I don’t look terrifying and/or freakishly pale. With these, I can finally start being submitted for work! My casting manager informed me that I should hopefully start hearing back about shoots/auditions/etc. in a couple of weeks and I can’t wait to get started.

Other than that, Murder in the Cathedral is going very well and my job waitressing has as well. I don’t get to perform as much stand-up as I would like and there seems to be some silly rumors flying about because of it, but for me that doesn’t seem to be out of the ordinary. If people can’t find a story that suits them, they will make one up. As long as the people who matter to me aren’t affected by it, I don’t see any reason to get upset. Regardless, I am working on a poster design for a fellow comedian (clearly he has not heard the rumors! Le gasp!) and I hope to have it done within the week. I also need to update the Murder in the Cathedral poster since we have a space for the show that is much nicer than we anticipated (not to mention in a different location then to that which I have on the poster currently.)

It’s about 12:30 a.m. so I best be signing off for the night. The temperature has dropped considerably and as my health has been questionable lately I’d rather not get sick from a lack of sleep as well. Until next time!

“If you haven’t got anything nice to say about anybody, come sit next to me.”  – Alice Roosevelt Longworth

Lionface, AH! Lemonface, Ooh!

Happy Hunger games!

That’s right, I’m going to come right out and admit my intense nerdy love for The Hunger Games, but more on that later.

First, I’d like to talk a bit more on this fantastic organization that I am apart of: Lionface Productions! We are a non-profit theatre organization in Bowling Green, OH and are currently coming to the end of our second official season!

Plus we have sweet, sweet t-shirts!

That being said, our final show, Murder in the Cathedral by T.S. Eliot is now in rehearsals and thus far it has been incredibly fun! As opposed to setting the show back in the early, early days of the Catholic church, our director has decided to place it some time in the era of WWI, which was actually the time in wish Eliot wrote the show. I’m interested to see how this will affect the acting, especially when we get into rehearsals. Plus, this gives the women of Canterbury (of which I am one) a lot more strength and say in what is going on as opposed to the early days where women were seen and not heard. If you are interested in learning more about Lionface Productions, please check out their website: Lionface Productions

We are currently trying to raise money to put this show on, so if anyone has a few dollars that they would like to donate to this fantastic organization, please click her: Lionface Productions Fundraising

A little bit more of my painting is complete! Naturally, there’s still a lot to go, but I’m having fun with it.

Back to my nerdy excitement about The Hunger Games. I have to admit, I am a little disappointed that they are coming out with a movie only in that it means that I won’t get to play Katniss Everdeen, which is a phenomenal role. I am going to the midnight première with a few friends and I truly hope that the film lives up to the phenomenal book series. I am sure I will write more on this after I see it, but I wanted to share my excitement.

As for the headshots, I am still excitedly awaiting them as they are being touched up! However, I feel that I can reveal the group responsible for them: Glass City Stills!

Glass City Stills is run by the multi-talented actor/photographer, Cole Simon, who I had the absolute pleasure of working with. Though the company is out of Chicago, we were able to meet in the Columbus area, which was a great deal more convenient for me. A mutual friend ended up setting up this first contact and the rest is, well, that’s what’s going to be seen soon. I had a lot of fun working with him and I cannot wait to see how the photos turned out!

Keeping this post fairly short, I’m still not exactly a “blogger” by any means, so I’m trying to keep things simple. Feedback is always a plus as well! So until next time, may the odds be ever in your favor!

“You never forget the face of the person who was your last hope.” – Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games

My Life as it Stands

Hello everyone!

Here’s what’s going on in my life at the moment.

I’m in the process of getting new headshots so that my manager can start submitting me for work! For the time being, I am not going to release the name of the company I am associated with (for privacy reasons, of course), but the type of work I will be submitted for includes film, commercial, theatre, etc. As for the headshots, I have a couple of different leads and will hopefully schedule an appointment tomorrow.

As for what I am working on currently, I was cast as Chorus I in Lionface Production’s Murder in the Cathedral. As many already know, I also do the poster designs and some general public relation things for Lionface and I am very excited to be acting for them again. Additionally, I have already completed the poster for the show (though it is subject to some changes).

Not going to lie, I’m pretty proud of this one.

I can’t wait to get started!

In other news, I’ve started a new oil painting. This one is inspired by my nerdy adoration of Suzanne Collins The Hunger Games and excitement for the upcoming movie.

A rough sketch on canvas

If you can’t tell from the sketch, it’s the Mockingjay pin. I’m actually doing the film version of it, which has it on fire. I did this yesterday, and earlier on today I applied the base.

Base coat on the mockingjay, check out the tail

The only part that is even close to being done is the tail. The rest is just a base to get me started on, so I can work around it without leaving white spots on the canvas (which is pretty annoying when you have it on the end product). Naturally, I hold no hopes of this being a “perfect painting,” but I love the challenge of it.

That’s really about all I have at the moment. I’m not a huge blogger by any means, but I hope to start keeping up with it fairly regularly. We’ll just have to see how it goes.

“I am not afraid, I was born to do this.” – Joan of Arc

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Meghan O. Koesters was born and raised in a small town in Ohio. She was first introduced to theatre in 2004 and has performed ever since. Her most notable appearances on the stage include Lavinia in Titus Andronicus, Harriet in Boy Gets Girl, and Avril in Bird and Fish. At age 22, Koesters published her first children’s picture book on technical and backstage theatre. Around this time, she also began to do stand up comedy and modeling. Most recently, Koesters graduated from Bowling Green State University with Bachelor’s Degree in Arts and Communication with a specialization in Theatre: Acting/Directing and English. Currently, she resides in Northwest Ohio working with Lionface Productions.

For booking inquiries, please contact Meghan O. Koesters at meghankoesters@gmail.com

NOTE: This site is still under construction and may be updated at any time. Regardless, the information will remain more or less the same. Thank you for visiting!