Laura Schandelmeier & Stephen Clapp

Dance Box Theater, Inc.
a non-profit 501(c)3 tax exempt organization
Artistic Vision   Biographies   Dance Projects   Press Quotes   Video Work Samples
Haunted (2009)

Haunted is a dynamic dance theater performance that unearths the true story of demonic possession that inspired the cult classic book and film, "The Exorcist." Created and performed by Laura Schandelmeier and Stephen Clapp with live music by Chloe and Leah Smith of Rising Appalachia and Ghanian percussionist/storyteller Kofi Dennis.

Performances:

Edinburgh Fringe Festival

        11-22 August 2010

              Dance Base
              14-16 Grassmarket
              Edinburgh, United Kingdom EH1 2JU















Haunted is a dynamic dance/theater performance that unearths the true story of demonic possession that inspired the cult classic book and film, "The Exorcist." Created by Laura Schandelmeier and Stephen Clapp, the evening-length performance work is a collaboration between artistic and life partners Schandelmeier and Clapp, with live music by sisters Chloe and Leah Smith of the musical ensemble Rising Appalachia and Ghanaian percussionist/storyteller Kofi Dennis.  Haunted examines a story of demonic possession from the diverse community in which Schandelmeier and Clapp live and work - Mount Rainer, Maryland (USA) where The Washington Post first reported in 1949 about the "Haunted Boy of Mount Rainier."





























"...Breathtaking...Eloquent...Strangely Transporting..."  
(David Cuthbert, The Times Picayune)






"...an intriguingly spooky movement-theater piece..."  
(Celia Wren, The Washington Post)


















The premier of Haunted was performed on a (23' x 29') Ouija board painted onto a Marley dance floor by visual artists Valerie Theberge and Shahin Shikhaliyev, with costumes by Ayo Ngozi. (The Ouija board set can also be projected through a gobo to facilitate touring). Haunted draws from acts of possession, ghost stories and ritual to create a dynamic motion narrative and a unique musical sound-scape. For mature audiences. (A family friendly version is also available).



A recent incarnation of Haunted was a duet performance by Schandelmeier and Clapp with video from the New Orleans based Mondo Bizarro's I Witness project. Haunted at the State of the Nation Festival was made possible with funding from Alternate ROOTS and the Southern Arts Federation in partnership with ArtSpot Productions and Mondo Bizarro.


Haunted Originally premiered in May 2008 at Dance Place in Washington, DC and has been presented by Joe's Movement Emporium, ArtSpot Productions/Mondo Bizarro, and Dance Base.  The work marks the 4th evening-length performance collaboration by Schandelmeier & Clapp.















The premier of Haunted was made possible in part by


The National Endowment for the Arts

Alternate ROOTS

The Maryland State Arts Council

The Prince George's County Arts Council

Meet The Composer's MetLife Creative Connections Program *




*Leadership support for Meet The 
Composer's MetLife Creative Connections program is generously provided by MetLife 
Foundation.  Additional support is provided by The Amphion Foundation, Argosy Foundation 
Contemporary Music Fund, BMI Foundation, Inc., Mary Flagler Cary Charitable Trust, Aaron 
Copland Fund for Music, Inc., The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, The James Irvine 
Foundation, Jerome Foundation, mediaThe foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, New 
York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, Pennsylvania 
Council on the Arts and Virgil Thomson Foundation, Ltd. 




















































































Background Photo by R.C. Schandelmeier


















Website Design by Stephen Clapp