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photo id   243015
photographer   Brian Cahn
place   Blue Lake, USA
date   05 Jul, 2006
USA Grand Guignol
Debbie McMahon is caked in coagulated stage blood on Wednesday, July 5, 2006 during a five-day workshop in Grand Guignol, "the theater of terror," at the Dell'Arte School of Physical Theater in Blue Lake, California. Grand Guignol, which flourished in Paris' red light district from 1897-1962, brewed up a heady mixture of horror, laughter and the erotic in short plays often set in brothels, opium dens, lunatic asylums and operating rooms. The gruesome special effects and theatrical illusions were so shocking to the audience that a house physician was employed at each performance to attend those who were sickened or felt faint. Dell'Arte is the only institution in the USA to offer an MFA degree in Ensemble-Based Physical Theater. The two-and-a-half year program includes intensive training in mask, clown, melodrama and commedia.