An insight into performing The Paper Escaper with Noah Casey
Hi! My name is Noah Casey. I’m a nipaluna/Hobart based actor, writer, musician, and puppeteer. I’ve been working with Terrapin on various projects for the last three years, as well as many other theatre works around the state, and I was a part of the team that brought Scaredy Cat to Tasmanian theatres this time last year.
In The Paper Escaper I play The Maker: an eccentric author who meticulously crafts pop-up books in his perfectly organised studio.He starts the show as a bumbling (somewhat neurotic) old man happily working on his newest piece but becomes increasingly bamboozled and frustrated when one of his creations escapes from the book he crafted for them and starts causing chaos.
The costume uses an oversized mask, and it is so much fun playing the cartoonish over-the-top physical actions that that type of performance demands, and getting to interact with all of the puppets (although it can be a struggle to actually see them sometimes).
The Paper Escaper was an absolute delight to travel around Tasmanian schools in 2022, and it always managed to get a great reaction from the students. The show is full of surprising turns, explosions of colour, and at its heart is a story about the joy of creativity, and being free to be who you really are. I’m very much looking forward to elevating the show for this theatre reprisal, and getting to bring the magic of the show to Tasmanian audiences of all ages.
The sound design by Jacky Collyer is exceptional, it totally drives the show, and hearing it fill the Theatre Royal is going to be really special. I also can’t wait to see people delight in the creativity and wonder of all of the paper-craft puppets and colourful characters that make up The Paper Escaper’s world.
Hope to see you in the theatre in October.