The Shoulder was the first show Brian had the pleasure of working on with Dan. The show was created by bringing artists and students with different talents together during residencies in which Dan was simultaneously the leader, collaborator, and friend to everyone. Beginning with a clear vision of what he wants, he then asks everyone to join him in figuring out how to solve problems. Dan enables everyone around him to develop a keen sense of ownership and pride in the finished work.
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David’s version of the story focused exclusively on the Japanese women and their interactions with American culture before and after their surgeries, Dan’s ingenious narrative intervention was to juxtapose the story of one of the Maidens with that of a young boy in rural New Hampshire whose exposure to her story was mediated through their television appearance. In this way, Dan was able to use his own memories, fears, and desires as a springboard to look at these larger historical and political issues, making something personal into something political. Dan’s other intervention was to tell the story of the American boy with few puppets, relying on the conventions of an onstage storyteller (which Dan played himself), while, by contrast, puppets and objects tell the story of the Maiden without much spoken language. Thus, Dan transformed the Maidens’ story from one nation’s encounter with a previous adversary to a bi-national story in which American and Japanese realities are paralleled and converge momentarily,
ABOUT BRIAN SELZNICK AND DAVID SERLIN
Brian Selznick has written and illustrated many books, mostly for children, including The Invention of Hugo Cabret, which was made into the Academy Award–winning movie Hugo. David Serlin is a professor in the Department of Communication at UC San Diego. He is the author and editor of numerous books, including Replaceable You: Engineering the Body in Postwar America, which served as the basis for Hiroshima Maiden. Brian and David were introduced to each other 25 years ago by Dan Hurlin, who served as the officiant at their wedding. Websites:
www.thebrianselznick.com
www.davidserlin.academia.edu Instagram
@thebrianselznick
To learn more about Dan Hurlin’s work, please visit
www.danhurlin.com.
transforming both in the process. In a coup de théâtre, at the moment the two stories converge, a puppet of the boy appears for the first time, making real the shock of the interaction. We’d like to note here that Dan’s bifurcated structure of Hiroshima Maiden in turn inspired Brian’s book Wonderstruck. Thinking about how Dan had created one visual story with puppets, and a second story told only with language, Brian created his book with one story all in pictures, and a second story all in text. Like Hiroshima Maiden, the two stories weave back and forth until they join up at the end. Dan’s influence extends far past the edges of the stage.
Disfarmer (2009). Puppeteers (l-r): Darius Mannino, Chris Green, Eric Wright, Matt Acheson & Tom Lee. Photo: Richard Termine
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There are so many more stories we could share with you about Dan and the power and grace of his puppetry, as well as his ongoing influence. He directed all three of the toy theater pieces Brian has created (which you can find on Brian’s website), and David has a lot more to say about how Dan transformed his ideas around historical research. But we will close with this memory from Hiroshima Maiden, which we think sums up what Dan does best: While working on the show, Dan had the opportunity to travel to Japan with his husband, Kazu, to do first-hand research about the Maidens. Remarkably, while he was there, he was able to meet one of the Maidens—Michiko Yamaoka— who in the intervening years had become a professional peace activist. Dan interviewed Michiko and folded more of her experiences directly into the piece. He was also able to raise funds to bring her to the premiere at St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn, New York. David sat next to Michiko during the dress rehearsal, and after the performance ended, with tears streaming down everyone’s faces, Michiko turned to David and, through her translator, said, “That’s exactly what happened to me. The puppet tells the truth.”
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