herein wee weight

There is a secret society beneath the Glendale-Hyperion bridge. What are they plotting?

Trick-or-treaters were able to visit herein wee weight in my driveway in Los Angeles for Halloween 2022. It was my most succcessful production to date, combining the life-size scale of Graveyard Swing with the stylized flats of Bobby’s Birthday.

It also includes my most sophisticated sound design yet, aurally transforming a flimsy carport into a cavernous underpass.

herein wee weight

Behind-the-Scenes Tour

Enjoy a long vlog-style breakdown of everything that went into this production. As ever, this project was an exercise in improvisational techniques. I’ve never shared all the things I learned quite like this before!

In-Progress Photos

A handful of photos depicting various parts of the work while it was under construction. Perhaps more than any other previous project, this one moved pretty smoothly from early concept to final product.

A light pencil sketch depicting various characters and scenery
One of the first sketches for the show
A simple carport—tarp over a tent structure made of metal tubing—assembled in a driveway
The carport under which the show takes place, freshly assembled
A finer sketch with a one-foot scale grid superimposed
The “final” sketch, drawn to scale and used as a reference for construction
The Feeder’s first motion test
characters
Most of the characters, mostly assembled
heron
A heron, newly assembled and standing on its own for the first time
welder-assembled
The Welder, assembled and mounted in place on the radio tower
speakers
I soldered 20' of extra wire between each of these pairs of speakers so they could be mounted at opposite ends of the space
The barge, moving for the first time
welder
The Welder
fighter
The Fighter (formerly known as The Feeder, but I thought this was funnier)
pourer
The Pourer
share-the-weight
The Painter

Research Photos

herein takes place within and along the Los Angeles River, which is not far from where it was really installed. I took many walks along the river for inspiration.

Vegetation in the river
Birds sitting on a wire over the river
Graffiti on a wall under the bridge
An arch of the Glendale-Hyperion bridge
A bird, possibly an egret, sitting in the river
A yield sign along the bike path
The view down one of the arches of the bridge
A more distant look at all the arches of the bridge
Some bollards full of soil or sand between the river and a pathway
The path along the river, unobstructed
A vinyl banner showing an archival photo. It reads “1929, Newly Built Hyperion Viaduct.”
A plaque affixed to a stone at ground level. It reads “Lewis MacAdams Riverwalk. At the center of itself the river is silence.”
Vegetation in the river
A view of the Red Car Trolley foot bridge at dusk
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