#mag 172
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Meme for @a-mag-a-day Day 177
MAG 172 - Strung Out
Diversity win! The victim of The Horrors(tm) is non-binary!
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clearly they wouldn’t appreciate The Tragedy of Francis: A Comic Puppet Show in All Acts
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how to stage “the tragedy of francis” (MAG 172), but like. in a normal theatre
hi this’ll have to do today @a-mag-a-day
im a theatre technician who, upon listening to the Spooky Play Statement of “Strung Out” got really into the idea of how one would Actually create the technical elements. it seems like an interesting challenge! this was the only theatre related episode with indepth description of the Spooky Stuff but if yall are interested id be happy to talk about Other Episodes and ways you can practical effects your way through the fearpocalypse :)
spoilers for mag 172 and fake blood below the cut!
rules of this:
- i am a technician, not a director. i am assuming that the play as described by jon is the script and that we need a giant spider and hooks and blood. i am not making any choices, simply describing how these effects can be done in a professional theater sense. to that end, i am also only a student; and not an expert.
- we are going as hard as possible. no substitutions, no artistic choices to pare it down, no nothing. this is the magnus archives we’re getting meta enough. alongside that, im not worrying about budget. this is broadway level shit.
- i am not putting a stage on a stage. this is just looking at the Tragedy itself and jon can go sit in the audience for all i care.
cool? lezzgo.
i. the hooks
this is a fly system! it’s mostly used for lowering and raising set pieces. oftentimes, its also used with actors to raise them into the air when flying. shows like wicked, mary poppins and peter pan use this to pull actors into the air to make it seem like they’re flying.
it’s done with wires connected to hooks connected to the actors’ bodies via straps. sound familiar?
they are often hidden with lights, but they don’t have to be- for a play that draws attention to these wires, the designer would probably draw attention to them - at least for when they start to dance around and stuff.
the hooks that attach to francis’ joints throughout the show could be flown in as well, and their costume and more strategic lighting could make it seem like they were attached to them. you can get pretty grotesque with high budget theater and special effects makeup.
ii. the spider
characters that are puppets is not a new thing in theater! one of the most famous examples is Audrey 2 in little shop of horrors- a puppet that has an actor off stage saying their lines into a microphone. the spider would also probably be the same.
there are some motorized puppets like the sandworm in beetlejuice the musical, but most are person-controlled, which works best for speaking puppets as show to show, peoples way of speaking can change from show to show, and the puppet needs to be able to keep up, and motorized puppets can be out of sync.
youtube
this video is a good making-of process for a giant speaking monster puppet, and i assume the spider would be the same, just much higher. there would probably be a false ceiling like the false wall above, and the puppeteers would sit above to operate the legs as if they were dangling.
it would probably be also attached to a fly system for easy lowering as the scene goes on.
iii. minor things
- the blood would come from “strawberries”, little packs of blood hidden under actors’ costumes that they can burst when needed. theres also a capsule version that one can put in the mouth and bite down on.
this is an example from the 2019 production of oklahoma, and a good look at blood strawberries and what they do
- the spider-drink would probably be done with. fake edible spiders, lots of scuttling noises from the soundboard and lights that hide the fact that they are not moving, perhaps with strobe or something crazy. the spider rain would probably be the same, but with stagehands pouring spiders down from the catwalks.
- other characters would also be off stage with mics.
- good actors will sell a Lot of this. even if the new hooks and stuff don’t touch them, they can definitely make it seem like they do.
sooooo um yeah! as much as this episode made me sick - i love technical theatre and this was a fun infodump !! take this um. as you will ig. please stage safely !! blood packs can stain and fly systems can be unsafe so please. don’t try this at home. or at least get a professional to help
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“You don’t get it, like – it’s my decision. I know what I’m doing; just – can we stop talking about it, please? It’s fine, i-it just. Helps. It helps.”
THIS EPISODE WAS THE MOST DISTURBING ONE IVE HEARD HOLY SHIT . HERES A SKETCHY THING IM GONNA GO THINK ABOUT THIS FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK
#the magnus archives#tma#tma art#tma spoilers#tma season 5#mag 172#GUHHHRDDJFHKGUG OH MY JEEZ#IM SHOOK#the web#mother of puppets
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MAG 172, Strung Out
I adore how meta this one is. Mother of Puppets controls the show; the Archivist cannot help but watch the show; the Archivist will watch every performance until the end of ... well, The End ... unless he's stopped; and Mother of Puppets can't stop performing even if it wants to.
The only way to sever this Ouroboros of mutual gluttony is to introduce a third element.
Enter, Stage left: a Wild Martin
@a-mag-a-day
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I love this episode i love this episode i love-
OKAY. SO. FRANCIS. They're a fuck gender. Like me. I love them. I was so happy to realise they're non-binary and I love them dearly they're amazing.
Poor Francis I hope they recovered easily and were okay after the apocalypse :(
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There probably are valid things to be said about all the dead enbys, but also I don’t know what to tell you, it’s a horror podcast, the nonbinary characters are going to suffer and/or die horribly.
#tsv#the silt verses#tma#the magnus archives#vaughan tsv#francis tma#tsv s1ch7#mag 172#landscaping your mind chapter one#saw a post that irritated me
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MAG 172 - Strung Out
doodle 172/200; days left - 15/110 3/128
thEM :(((
also martin slapping jon just bc he can, hello???? xD
sorry for the low quality of these pics but i had to take them myself like this ↓ so it was hell on earth
PLUS i did most of it while waiting to get my haircut and hjkhjggk???? we had to listen to the hairdresser talk shit abt ukrainian refugees and GOD IM SO ANGY NOW
our country gives them 5 000 Kč which is like 200 dollars + it's only once so it's basically nothing and like no miss lady they really aren't "abusing the system" or whatever shiut your fuck im so angry omg
"ooh blahblahblah kids r dying or both sides" NO??? THEY AREN'T?? pls go read some reliable sources omg???? and go donate.
#tma#the magnus archives#francis :((((#tma 172#mag 172#tma s5#sorry for the vent ú__u#so much for not getting political xD
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More old art, based off MAG 172
#needles#spiders#needle#spider#mag 172#tma 172#tma#the magnus archives#bright colors#my art#art#artwork#honeyart
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"The Tragedy of Francis, a comic puppet show in all acts.
Act forty-eight thousand sixty seven: A stage that is a room that remains a stage. The audience watches, drooling, expectant. A table stands in the middle with a single chair. On that table can be seen a bottle, cigarettes, paraphernalia of all shapes, sizes, and consumptions.
From the space above the stage hang the hooks. They shift, gently, without the breeze, as eager and hungry as the patrons in the seats.
Enter Francis, stage left. They walk slowly, unsteadily. Every limb is shaking.
FRANCIS: Please. Please god, not again. I don't want it to happen again.
Pause for laughter."
[Laughter from the audience]
#tma#tma spoilers#tma web#mag 172#strung out#pause for laughter.#my art#the chokehold this episode has on me#this entire fucking podcast#my hand also wants to die
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Diversity win! The eldritch horror/avatar of the ceaseless watcher who must bear witness to this world of terror, brought about by his hand, is gay!
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Round One Part One - Match 4
Remember when everyone got mad at depictions of addiction? Wild time. Today we have the Web as a force of addiction (so true bestie) against Simon Fairchild’s love for his antiques!
MAG 172 - Strung Out | Spotify - Acast - YT | Wiki | Transcript
The Tragedy of Francis, a comic puppet show in all acts. Recorded by The Archivist, in Situ.
MAG 051 - High Pressure | Spotify - Acast - YT | Wiki | Transcript
Statement of Antonia Hayley, regarding a deep dive that took place near Sable Island, Nova Scotia.
#the magnus tournament#the magnus archives#tma#mag 172#mag 172 strung out#strung out#francis#the web#web#mag 051#mag 51#mag 051 high pressure#mag 51 high pressure#high pressure#antonia hayley#the vast#vast#round one#round one part one
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“I don’t want that anymore. It’s different now; I’m different now. I’ve worked so hard.”
THE SPIDER: “I don’t care.”
#tma#the magnus archives#the magnus archives fanart#tma fanart#mag 172#the web#the spider#the mother of puppets#tealightfulart#tma poster#digital art
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MAG 172 Relisten
Activity on my first listen: cutting the French tamarisk in my garden.
JON: "Ah, hold up. Uh, I, I need to, um…"
MARTIN: "Now? Seriously? We’re almost out of here."
JON: (kinda breathy) "I’m sorry. Not really up to me."
MARTIN: "Fine." (sigh)
It is actually a really shitty thing to do, to react to physical needs of others like that, making them feel bad about it. I speak from experience and I’m sad to say that I was the shitty one. I taught myself to ignore my bodily needs, I drink very little, I eat very little when it's an inconvenience for me in any way. My spouse drinks the amount of water a human normally should to stay healthy and therefore has to pee a lot more often than I do. In the past I also reacted annoyed when we were out travelling and they had to seek out bathrooms while I wanted to push on. I realized how shitty that was of me and while it is hard to change my thinking pattern I don't blame them anymore for needing a quick break.
JON: "If you’re bored, you could always… take in a show."
MARTIN: "That’s – That’s not funny, Jon."
JON: "If you say so."
Is Martin really so averse to the statements? We know for Jon it feels good to let it out, all that has build up. And the fear around him feels good. But also, he's the Archivist, it's his thing. It really is a bit as Jude put it. Leeching on all the other fears, feeding off of everything, not just the victims in his domain. Martin does have Eye in him, but is it enough that the fear of victims, who are not in his domain, does something "positive" for him? Jon may imply here it's not all bad for Martin with his "if you say so", he surely could Know that. Or he's just dismissive of Martin's sour mood.
That "pause for laughter" is what gets me most in this one. Being watched and judged and mocked. I don't have any experience with addiction/substance use, so the others stuff doesn't really get to me.
Also can we appreciate the soundscaping? It's so good!
Okay, scratch the "only pause for laughter gets me", those hooks, piercing through all kinds of Francis' body parts make me wince every time... But that's more the territory of body horror.
MARTIN: "I went exploring, alright? I don’t know why; I shouldn’t have."
JON: "No, y,you shouldn’t have!"
Martin going exploring in a Web domain... Not suspicious at all! Still teasing Web!Martin.
MARTIN: "Being here – (sigh) I-It just makes me second-guess all of it, and I – I don’t like it, it – really scares me."
That's fair in a Web domain. Almost ventures into Spiral territory here...
JON: "Knowing… Seeing… i,it’s not the same thing as… understanding."
Yeah can relate. I can be really good at coming to conclusions, or identifying if one thing has something to do with another thing, or doesn't. But there are also a lot of times where I am fully aware of both things and it just takes me sooo long to connect the dots.
JON: "pattern of consequences and subtle nudges, but I, I can’t – I can’t hold them all in my head at the same time."
That's how I describe TMA to others. Like it's so good at surprising because it has such a vast lore. And when things come together it still makes sense, like you feel like "Oh yeaaah, right, there was something about that!"
JON: "Would you like to leave now?"
MARTIN: (…decisive) "Yeah, screw this place. Never liked the theatre anyway."
That is so funny to hear from someone who likes poetry XD I always thought it’s a rather similar art.
@a-mag-a-day
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mag 172 - strung out
the very point of so much theatre and acting tends to be to create the illusion that things are real. to make the audience forget that those are not real people responding naturally to a situation presented to them, but rather characters performing scripted actions and words in a formated plot. it's a two-way street, too, because the audience also need to have some suspension of disbelief and let themselves be affected by the narrative presented. as such, storytelling presents a perfect stage for the web - whether in convincing its victims that they have some illusion of choice or willpower, or in painfully reminding the audience that its all a play
the web also does not actually gain anything from manipulation or control, but rather it sustains itself on the fear of it. even if your actions are entirely your own, if you're scared that they're not, the web still gains something of it. here, however, it paints up a seemingly quite backwards scene, where it instead chooses to tell its victim over and over again that they do have contol over the situation, they're just too weak to seize that control. the lack of power is over themselves and their own body, and it's in their own hands. but that's not how addiction works, of course, so it becomes this horrific cycle of self-blame and guilt and inevitable relapse
i would by no means call myself an expert on addiction - i have no significant proximity to the subject - but isn't a big part of recovery the recognition that it's not just a matter of willpower? that's what marks addiction as different from just repeatedly wanting something. similarly, a large part of overcoming the web is the acceptance of it. as it thrives on paranoia and fear, simply letting in the possibility that your actions might not truly be made under freewill and accepting it seems to do a lot to fight it, as there is no fear for it to feast on. there's only the manipulation itself which, once again, doesn't actually feed the web
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Diversity win! The person stuck in a perpetual puppet show hellscape in the middle of a fear apocalypse uses they/them pronouns!
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