Published: September 7th 2024, 7:00:07 pm
As I began to develop ideas for this series, at first I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do with it. But as I considered different characters and the kinds of trances I wanted to give to you all, the picture gradually grew more clear. I began to explore what message each character conveyed, both in the original Alice in Wonderland and within my own personal interpretation of the story. Each character can be paired quite naturally with certain themes, so I wanted to go along with the ideas which resonated strongly, instead of trying to force each character into a narrative that didn't quite ring true (with possibly one exception).
I ended up choosing five characters: The White Rabbit, the Blue Caterpillar, the Mad Hatter, the Cheshire Cat, and the Jabberwock.
I knew from early on that I wanted to write a Hatter script. He is the heart and soul of the operation! The other must-have character was Cheshire, who I also have much fondness for. I took inspiration from Carroll's books, the animated and live-action movies, and of course, my own ideas of the characters. The White Rabbit was the next one settled into the lineup, as she really is integral for getting Alice, and the listener, into Wonderland in the first place. With such a well known story, how can you craft a better induction than that?
Though the Caterpillar is not as well-known or as popular, I felt she would be a wonderful intermediary between the Rabbit and Hatter, and I also felt that she had a strong message of her own that seemed important for the audience during this experience. More and more, it became clear to me that this series was about personal health and wellbeing, both physical and mental.
I wanted this series to be uplifting and inspiring. That was why I ultimately created the Jabberwock the way I did. He was there to turn your expectations on their head, and to weave together all the messages, thoughts, and hopes I had planted with the earlier characters. (It's never mentioned in the audios, but I kind of headcanon this version of the Jabberwock to be the King of Hearts, transformed and cast out by the Red Queen.) My Jabberwocky is a very different character from the one you'll find in most Wonderland adaptions.
This project was truly a labor of love to me. I'm quite nervous about the audience reception. It's not the kind of concept that is easy to advertise, and I worry that the execution also won't satisfy some listeners. But I enjoyed myself making it, so I really hope that everyone can find at least one small part that they like.
Which character/audio was your favorite? Why? Were you able to understand everything that was going on? I tried to weave a lot of subtlety into these ones, so I'm super curious to see what everyone picks up on and how you interpret things!!
It was hard not to write much more than I did in this message. I'd love to spill more details to anyone who has questions :)
As always, thank you so much for supporting me, and I hope you have fun in Wonderland.
Sincerely,
spell