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Blood Ensemble is a local Seattle theatrical production company. Founded in 2010 by Megan Jackson, Dayo Anderson, T'ai Hartley and Emily Harvey. Their latest theatrical production is ‘Blood / Sailing‘ it is an Experiment where heavy metal meets experimental theatre. Here what Courtney Meaker wrote in his review about the of Blood/Sailing, under the title of 'Wonderfully Terrifying' Experiment.
'Blood/Sailing relies entirely on movement to the tell its story. (There’s no way the band could keep playing if they had to lower the volume so you could hear dialogue.) And while this method could spell disaster for a novice company, Blood Ensemble excelled at propelling the story through these compelling and sometimes creepy movements. Part-theatre, part-dance, part-metal show, Blood/Sailing blends these elements together seamlessly. Particular moment of note is a long, sweet touch from ankle to knee executed by The Boy (Ricky Coates) on his love interest The Girl (Megan Jackson). Wonderful too, the overlooked, but clearly lovelorn Samantha Cooper as an Innocent who longs for The Boy and ribbon he gives The Girl.
Blood Ensemble also manages to pull off a chase scene on the side of a volcano (it gave me chills), and a literal cliff-hanging moment where two persons battle to reclaim their purchase. Regardless of your feelings toward metal or experimental theatre, there’s a lot to enjoy about Blood/Sailing including an incredibly talented ensemble (the list being too long to name in entirety) who all have their own small arcs and redefine naivety. Melin’s Clementine is the quintessential evil machination with some of the most terrifying movements in the piece. And Schutz’s henchman is at once frightening and captivating.
The play succeeds at turning horror into good storytelling, a feat unto itself. More than that, it elevates the genre to be more than cheap gimmick and gore.'
be.bloodensemble@gmail.com
http://bloodensemble.blogspot.com.au
Here are few videos reflect some of their work.