Under the Poppy is all about theatre, so a theatrical performance is a natural next step. Our troika – filmmaker Diane Cheklich, puppet master Al Bogdan, and me – is busily putting together a YouTube trailer for the book, using both live and created actors, in a shadow-puppet world.

And it is blowing my print-based mind.

Coming from the writer’s side of the street, where I can make anything happen by simply saying that it did (“Before she could cry out, Mrs. Quist found herself two hundred feet in the air”) (OK, it’s supposed to be said believably, but anyway), watching this production take literal shape is beyond fascinating. Every move a shadow puppet makes means that someone has to make it happen: tug a lever, manipulate a limb, turn a head, somebody’s got to do it. Each scene must be considered as a separate entity: are we inside or outside, INT. or EXT.? Who’s there, and placed where? How about the lighting? It’s only crucial. What happens if we use a sparkler, a cigarette, a ribbon of red? Music – we need music. (Currently in the works.) And sound effects. And lyrics (OK, I can do that part). And of course our human actors. . . .

Wow is this fun.

Next time: photos.