Wadleif, design for a Cirque du Soleil type show

I was boasting out loud the other day after seeing a Cirque du Soleil commercial that I could design one of those shows.

My wife said, “Well why don’t you?”

“Well…alright” I said.

So I got to thinking about characters and a story arc. The story centers around Wadleif, a forest custodian that falls in love with an unobtainable Forest Queen. After seeing her he tries to become things he is not in order to impress her. Throughout the show he tries to copy the performers, much to the comic delight of the audience. He fails and in the final act either Wadleif hurts himself and the queen takes pity on him -OR- he gives up and acts like himself which the queen admires and in the end creates a love for him.

Here are the main characters I’ve created. These are the actors and not the performers, they would just have themed costumes that would work with what ever stunt they were doing.

Wadleif, carries a broom that he uses to sweep the forest with. It has flowing roots so that it actually functions. At the climax of the story it will light up similar to how it is depicted here. His character is not intentionally funny, but we laugh at his attempts to please the Forest Queen. However, we commiserate with him by the way in which his boss, the Lichen Monster character, treats him. He is an everyman.

The first of the clown trio is the Rock Clown. He would be played by a short portly man. He is the Hardy to the Twig Clown's Laurel. The pair function mainly as a group and are always seen together. The Twig Clown would be played by a tall lanky man. He is the master of ceremony for the show and the only member of the cast to speak English. The others might use a word or two, but speak in stage gibberish for the show. The two clowns are afraid of nearly everything - they run amok during stage transitions, and freak out if approached by cast members. They are not afraid of the Mole Character and the audience, esp. females in the crowd. A staged joke during a crowd participation would be the Twig Clown's top twig becoming erect while interacting with a female audience member.

The final clown member of the trio is the Acorn Clown. She would be played by a petite athletic woman. Her character is a lesbian and in love with the Forest Queen and her Guards. She wants very much to be a Guard and is very forward. She constantly bullies the other clowns for being such cowards.

The Forest Queen role is mainly just an aesthetic one.



The Forest People are meant to be on the periphery. They move unseen around the crowd and in the rafters and hide in the set designs (prop foliage and such). The black suit on the right is how they would look before they are revealed. You might see a flicker of their lights, I want the audience to think they are seeing movement, but not make out what it is. In the climax of the show they move down to the stage and the suits would light up like shown on the left. This effect is similar to suits at the opening ceremony of the Chinese Olympics.

Lichen Monster is Wadleif's 'boss' and berates him at every step. He stomps small forest creatures, is generally evil, and is of course shamed somehow during the climax of the story.

The Queen's Guards consists of three contortionists and are the only actors to actually preform.

The blind Mole Character burrows around the stage and pops up thru trap doors for comic relief during stage transitions. He falls in love with a tree stump that has a silhouette just like his. He brings gifts to it. The two male clowns aren't afraid of the Mole because of his apparent small size. They constantly chase him and try to eat the him. It is revealed at the end of the circus that the Mole is in fact huge, played by two or three people much like the Chinese dragons seen in festivals. This causes the clowns to flee the stage in terror.

LED lights would be used in the costumes with foliage on them i.e. the Lichen Monster's necklace and Wadleif's shoulders. This is to give a floating orb or firefly effect around them. The stage lighting would be etherial and give an enchanted forest feel. Small pin lights at the ceiling of the arena would simulate a starry night. At the climax of the story some of those lights would descend toward the audience, similar to a room full of fireflies. I'd like to have a floating seed effect somehow, similar to the forest spirit scene in Avatar. Smoky wild rave or club type atmosphere. Music would be a cross between Animal Collective, a jungle sounds CD, and Bobby McFerrin voice effects.