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Kung Fu Kitty
Book & dvd by Lauri Bortz
Illustrated by Marianne Nowottny
Abaton is pleased to present the long-awaited book/DVD set Kung Fu Kitty, written, narrated and directed by Lauri Bortz with illustrations, set designs and musical score by Marianne Nowottny, videotaped and edited by Mark Dagley, starring Abaton mascot and recording artist Frick-the-Cat.
Kung Fu Kitty is altogether unrelated to last year’s major motion picture Kung Fu Panda. The former, an epic undertaking, has been in the works since 2005. It was shot on a shoestring budget in a small attic room at Abaton headquarters in Jersey City.
The story of Kung Fu Kitty is based on Exodus, though it features original Chinese characters rather than Hebrew biblical heroes. It is enacted by real felines, Frick-the-Cat and her Fuzzy Wuz She bandmate Bony, as well as Abaton newcomer Diamanda. The cats are joined by a host of inanimate furry friends—an elaborate assortment of semi-realistic stuffed monkeys—in a whimsically hand-painted cardboard set built to scale by artist/musician Stirling Krusing.
Kung Fu Kitty will appeal to folklore fans of all ages, entire families, possibly their pets too. This charming tale harkens to days of yore in China, to a mythical time and place where monkeys ruled and cats served. The story is philosophical without being morally aggrandizing and humorous without being base—though monkeys will be monkeys.
While author Lauri Bortz is best known for her critically acclaimed plays, she has been creating children’s literature for decades. Her stories were in high demand by fellow students at South Elementary School, Glencoe, Illinois. Ms. Bortz worked as a nanny throughout her teens and into her twenties, entertaining charges with homespun tales. She received multiple requests from these youngsters and their parents for a “real book.” With Kung Fu Kitty she has finally met these demands.
This book is 116 pages, with 42 richly drawn black and white illustrations. The DVD, shot in high definition color, is 82 minutes long. The musical score will soon be available separately on CD. A tie-in coloring book is coming in the near future. There is also a sequel, Kung Fu Kitty: Laying Down the Law, in progress.
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What Is She Doing?
CD
Marianne Nowottny
This is the artist’s first full-length studio recording in over five years and her third album on the Abaton Book Company label.
Ms. Nowottny came to the attention of New York avant garde music and art circles in 1998, at the age of sixteen, with the release of Afraid of Me, described as “one of the most astonishing debuts ever” by New York Press. She has since released CDs on Camera Obscura, Foxy Digitalis, Barl Fire and Celestial Jars.
With the desire to record an album that was, in her own words, “as much Fleetwood Mac as Lil’ Kim,” Nowottny set out to construct a homemade R&B/pop CD. The resulting What Is She Doing? is packed with primitive electro beats, low budget keyboards, spacey electronics and Nowottny’s own inimitable voice. This long overdue update serves as a travelogue of exotic themes, musical styles and textures adapted by the artist during her now decade-long career.
What Is She Doing? was engineered by Mark Dagley (Pothole Skinny, Hi Sheriffs of Blue, Girls) and features Ben Miller (X-Destroy All Monsters, Third Border) on saxophone.
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