HEDGING THEIR WETS: AQUAMOB RETURN WITH 'WENDY, DARLING'
Left: Director Lizzy Collins from last year's production, Evil Dead 2- Drowned by Dawn. Right: Cody Keech as Jack, Rebecca Poole as Wendy, and Riley Elise as Danny. Photo by Javier Hernandez.
Aquamob and a preview of their upcoming show, 'Wendy, Darling'
Interview by Paul Oswell
Coming to a pool near you: Aquamob take to the water to adapt their shows. Recent productions have included everything from Watership Down to the The Evil Dead 2. It's one of the city's most creative theater projects, and we talked to this year's director Lizzy Collins and founder of Aquamob, Alayne Gobeille.
Out All Day: Lizzy, thanks for taking time out from show prep to talk to us. How are rehearsals going?
Lizzy Collins: Rehearsals are wet ‘n’ wild as per usual! We’re all exhausted, but definitely grateful to be getting in so much pool time during the summer here.
Wendy, Darling is based on The Shining. What made this story especially attractive in terms of wanting to adapt it?
Yup! This year’s show is an aquatic expansion/retelling of The Shining. Like every year we take some creative liberties with the original story. We’ve transported the well-known Overlook Hotel from the mountains to below-sea level and renamed it the Underglance! The singer of the band that plays for us, Dylan from the Bomb Pulse actually suggested The Shining during last year’s wrap party. So we’ve been scheming since the moment the last show ended! We’ve made some changes, like making Danny college-aged, Tony is played by a live actor (but is still imaginary!), the book and the movie have different endings and so do we, just to name a few changes. As for scenes or set pieces, we don’t want to give anything away… but we definitely made sure to include as many iconic scenes as possible! I will say we really wanted to project that famous carpet pattern onto the pool, but we settled on featuring it in other ways.
A water-based production must bring with it its own specific challenges - apart from just "being in the water", could you tell us what kind of issues present themselves, from auditions through rehearsals and into the actual production (drawing on previous productions)?
Sequins are incredibly heavy in water! Jokes aside, costuming can be a challenge as we don’t want to drown and we want to be able to do our expert underwater moves while looking fabulous.
Past productions, dating back to 2017, have included Two Legs Bad (based on George Orwell's Animal Farm), The Last Unicorn, Watership Down, Suspiria and Alien - could you offer some general thoughts on how these works are chosen? Is there an 'artistic direction' for Aquamob in general?
We often joke that we pick stories that shouldn’t work in water, and then we make them work anyway. We bill ourselves as New Orleans’ only dystopian horror community water ballet. So while everyone wants us to do a water ballet version of A League of Their Own, we generally stick close to the horror genre. What can I say, the people want fake blood!
Audience members for previous shows that I know have absolutely raved about their experiences - it seems to really scratch an artistic itch. What do you think it is about these shows beyond the novelty that gets people so excited?
Aquamob shows work because they’re messy, handmade, and joyful, but also raw and haunting. They’re visceral… people feel the splash, the music, and the fury all at once. Our shows are communal, DIY, and accessible. Audiences don’t just watch, they witness the joy and dedication poured into it, and leave soaked, laughing, and transformed by the shared experience of it all. In short, our shows are absolutely ridiculous, hilarious, and one hell of a campy spectacle.
Tell us a bit about the venue this year - how has it been to transport the show into the space? Do you rehearse in a different pool and then get in there closer to the time? What are the logistics?
Last year we got kicked out of our long-time venue, The Drifter, about two weeks before the show opened. The new owners wanted to start construction early so we had to scramble and the Midtown Hotel up the block welcomed us with open arms. This year we are so excited to be back! During the lead-up to the show we practice in either NORD pools around the city or at cast members’ home pools. Then as we get closer to the show-date we practice in the actual venue.
Are there any other water ballet ensembles in the country (or the world)? I assume there must be, but maybe not? Did another company or production inspire the creation of Aquamob or did it just come out of nowhere?
LC: Alayne, our founder, based Aquamob off of a waterballet troupe in Baltimore. They’re a group of teachers who use their summers to train and put on shows. Alayne wanted Aquamob to be a space for folks who don’t or can’t leave New Orleans in the summer to have something fun, challenging, and community-based to do.
Alayne Gobeille: The concept of community water ballet was originated by Fluid Movement, a Baltimore based collective that runs shows even larger than ours! They run shows with up to 100 folks in public pools and have been doing their thing for about 25 years. I ended up in Baltimore after law school, saw this was a thing, and they immediately let me in their group. At the time they were doing a Film Noir theme and I was in a gangster scene. It was amazing and I thought a natural fit for the circus community in New Orleans. When I moved back to town in 2016, I asked for their blessing to steal their concept and they had nothing but love, encouragement, and advice. Indeed, some years we are fortunate to welcome Fluid Movement members in our audience. I had been a part of the aerial circus community before I left town and had produced a show for the 2010 Fringe Fest, so in Aqua Mob's early years I relied heavily on friends and contacts from that scene. Philip Stalcup had been doing lighting design, and had purchased a whole coterie of lights to make the show pop. Phil is still involved and each year our lighting rig and lighting effects get bigger and more complicated! Most of the other artistic swimming groups at the amateur level are offshoots of USA Artistic Swimming and are competition focused. There is one other group I know of out of Melbourne Australia- the Clams. But, I have never worked with them.
OK, say I'm a local actor with some experience and I want to audition for whatever next year's show will be? What specific skills do I need to start working on in the next few months?
No synchronized swimming experience, no problem! Comfort in the water matters more than perfect technique, and you have to learn to project when you’re half-drowned! We have info nights in late spring and anyone who wants to contribute in any way is welcome to come (watch our instagram for info!). If you’re game to learn something new, don’t mind getting wet (be that water or fake blood), and you love the ethos of community DIY aquatic theatre then we’d love to have you!
We're excited for the first night of Wendy Darling - should we bring anything with us? Ponchos? Or just an open mind? Thanks so much for talking to us, we really appreciate your time and all our best wishes for the show!
Ponchos are optional, an open-mind is required. We’re so excited to show everyone what we’ve been working all summer on! RED RUM! RED RUUUUM!
Wendy, Darling runs from Sept 25th -Oct Oct 11th at The Midtown Hotel. Click here for information and ticketing.
Interview by Paul Oswell
Coming to a pool near you: Aquamob take to the water to adapt their shows. Recent productions have included everything from Watership Down to the The Evil Dead 2. It's one of the city's most creative theater projects, and we talked to this year's director Lizzy Collins and founder of Aquamob, Alayne Gobeille.
Out All Day: Lizzy, thanks for taking time out from show prep to talk to us. How are rehearsals going?
Lizzy Collins: Rehearsals are wet ‘n’ wild as per usual! We’re all exhausted, but definitely grateful to be getting in so much pool time during the summer here.
Wendy, Darling is based on The Shining. What made this story especially attractive in terms of wanting to adapt it?
Yup! This year’s show is an aquatic expansion/retelling of The Shining. Like every year we take some creative liberties with the original story. We’ve transported the well-known Overlook Hotel from the mountains to below-sea level and renamed it the Underglance! The singer of the band that plays for us, Dylan from the Bomb Pulse actually suggested The Shining during last year’s wrap party. So we’ve been scheming since the moment the last show ended! We’ve made some changes, like making Danny college-aged, Tony is played by a live actor (but is still imaginary!), the book and the movie have different endings and so do we, just to name a few changes. As for scenes or set pieces, we don’t want to give anything away… but we definitely made sure to include as many iconic scenes as possible! I will say we really wanted to project that famous carpet pattern onto the pool, but we settled on featuring it in other ways.
A water-based production must bring with it its own specific challenges - apart from just "being in the water", could you tell us what kind of issues present themselves, from auditions through rehearsals and into the actual production (drawing on previous productions)?
Sequins are incredibly heavy in water! Jokes aside, costuming can be a challenge as we don’t want to drown and we want to be able to do our expert underwater moves while looking fabulous.
Past productions, dating back to 2017, have included Two Legs Bad (based on George Orwell's Animal Farm), The Last Unicorn, Watership Down, Suspiria and Alien - could you offer some general thoughts on how these works are chosen? Is there an 'artistic direction' for Aquamob in general?
We often joke that we pick stories that shouldn’t work in water, and then we make them work anyway. We bill ourselves as New Orleans’ only dystopian horror community water ballet. So while everyone wants us to do a water ballet version of A League of Their Own, we generally stick close to the horror genre. What can I say, the people want fake blood!
Audience members for previous shows that I know have absolutely raved about their experiences - it seems to really scratch an artistic itch. What do you think it is about these shows beyond the novelty that gets people so excited?
Aquamob shows work because they’re messy, handmade, and joyful, but also raw and haunting. They’re visceral… people feel the splash, the music, and the fury all at once. Our shows are communal, DIY, and accessible. Audiences don’t just watch, they witness the joy and dedication poured into it, and leave soaked, laughing, and transformed by the shared experience of it all. In short, our shows are absolutely ridiculous, hilarious, and one hell of a campy spectacle.
Tell us a bit about the venue this year - how has it been to transport the show into the space? Do you rehearse in a different pool and then get in there closer to the time? What are the logistics?
Last year we got kicked out of our long-time venue, The Drifter, about two weeks before the show opened. The new owners wanted to start construction early so we had to scramble and the Midtown Hotel up the block welcomed us with open arms. This year we are so excited to be back! During the lead-up to the show we practice in either NORD pools around the city or at cast members’ home pools. Then as we get closer to the show-date we practice in the actual venue.
Are there any other water ballet ensembles in the country (or the world)? I assume there must be, but maybe not? Did another company or production inspire the creation of Aquamob or did it just come out of nowhere?
LC: Alayne, our founder, based Aquamob off of a waterballet troupe in Baltimore. They’re a group of teachers who use their summers to train and put on shows. Alayne wanted Aquamob to be a space for folks who don’t or can’t leave New Orleans in the summer to have something fun, challenging, and community-based to do.
Alayne Gobeille: The concept of community water ballet was originated by Fluid Movement, a Baltimore based collective that runs shows even larger than ours! They run shows with up to 100 folks in public pools and have been doing their thing for about 25 years. I ended up in Baltimore after law school, saw this was a thing, and they immediately let me in their group. At the time they were doing a Film Noir theme and I was in a gangster scene. It was amazing and I thought a natural fit for the circus community in New Orleans. When I moved back to town in 2016, I asked for their blessing to steal their concept and they had nothing but love, encouragement, and advice. Indeed, some years we are fortunate to welcome Fluid Movement members in our audience. I had been a part of the aerial circus community before I left town and had produced a show for the 2010 Fringe Fest, so in Aqua Mob's early years I relied heavily on friends and contacts from that scene. Philip Stalcup had been doing lighting design, and had purchased a whole coterie of lights to make the show pop. Phil is still involved and each year our lighting rig and lighting effects get bigger and more complicated! Most of the other artistic swimming groups at the amateur level are offshoots of USA Artistic Swimming and are competition focused. There is one other group I know of out of Melbourne Australia- the Clams. But, I have never worked with them.
OK, say I'm a local actor with some experience and I want to audition for whatever next year's show will be? What specific skills do I need to start working on in the next few months?
No synchronized swimming experience, no problem! Comfort in the water matters more than perfect technique, and you have to learn to project when you’re half-drowned! We have info nights in late spring and anyone who wants to contribute in any way is welcome to come (watch our instagram for info!). If you’re game to learn something new, don’t mind getting wet (be that water or fake blood), and you love the ethos of community DIY aquatic theatre then we’d love to have you!
We're excited for the first night of Wendy Darling - should we bring anything with us? Ponchos? Or just an open mind? Thanks so much for talking to us, we really appreciate your time and all our best wishes for the show!
Ponchos are optional, an open-mind is required. We’re so excited to show everyone what we’ve been working all summer on! RED RUM! RED RUUUUM!
Wendy, Darling runs from Sept 25th -Oct Oct 11th at The Midtown Hotel. Click here for information and ticketing.
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