Jennifer Khoshbin

Sideshow is inspired by the design of French paper theater models and Baroque theatre design. Both use multiple “frames” in perspective to compress space down to a unified scene. Audience members and actors fulfill large parts of the illusory experience through imagination. Play in public, both as a theme and as an activity, can flourish in incomplete spaces that invite improvisation and story making.

Constructed of three powder-coated cut steel frames, the piece utilizes conventions of theatrical illusion by overlapping the frame’s individual subjects. Each frame depicts accurate silhouettes of local plants, animals, and landscapes, including deer, songbirds, trees, and ferns. The scale and form of the theatre create a space of theatrical play for children to both act and imagine. Located adjacent to the Magik Children’s Theater, students and visitors can move openly between frames to create their own unique productions. Continued collaboration with performing arts groups will ensure a continued dialogue of play and creativity surrounding the sculpture.