THE EVIL SIDESHOW ROLLS INTO TOWN
Walking along the amusement park path the children are led off the trails by a blood thirsty creature. They awake to find them selves face to face with sensational oddities, voodoo magic and flying vampires. All this is presided over by Hexophidia ringmaster Doctor Idway, who takes them through a surreal nightmare, all woven into an entrancing and thrilling live performance.
 

The Hexophidia show since 1997 has chilling atmospheric images and is very theatrical. The Doctor Idway Character is a reincarnated witch from the Sixteenth Century. Robert Shane Koralesky (aka) Doctor Idway is a riveting hypnotic wizard on Hammond B3 organ and synthesizers with razor sharp half sung vocals. Nurse Idway played by Anna Lehmicke since 2007 is a vagabond zombie clown with an identity crises of sorts. Inbetween songs at every Hexophidia performance Nurse Idway gives away two dozen white washed boxes with original fluxus art in them, by the Doctor Idway to audience members. Nurse Idway is a prankster who entertains the audience through deviant tricks she is then punished for her crimes through a mock murder by the Doctor Idway.
The Cosmic Cannonball, Three Nuns &A Gun and Atomic Passion are all splinter acts of Hexophidia. The Subterranean Circus 1985 - 1995 features music videos produced, directed and performed by Doctor Idway, Amanda Kramer and Kevin Wahl.    

 

THE BIRTH OF DOCTOR IDWAY
Centuries ago... astrologists and scientists became aware of a celestial and unearthly turbulence. The atmosphere was charged with energy. The Earth seemed to tremble, it was as if nature hersef was thrashing about and the stars had come together. It's effect on the people of the Earth was one of extreme unrest. Suspiction and fear spread from the castles of the rich to the small hamlets of the poor. During this unnatual upheavel the Doctor Idway was born.

 

MADHOUSE: DOCTOR CERTIFIED
I'm a doctor you know. I don't have a diploma, but I'm a doctor. I'm glad to be a Madhouse patient, because it has taught me how to be humble. I use covergirl creamy-natural makeup. Courtney Love has been here to visit me. My Sisters name is Nurse Idway and I like her. I'm only seven years old and I'm the oldest one in my family. This place is where Mad magizine is published. When I was a little girl, I used to tell stories to my self. when I was older, I turned off the volume on the television set and made up dialoge to go with the shows I watched. The people of Creedmoor are Hobbits. I dictated the Hobbit stories to Tolkien, and he took them all down. I'm the Hobbit. Just ask John Denver, he told me I was. I'm the only person who ever got Ringo Starr angry. All the trouble started when in 1666 society decided to condemn me to a life of eternal chaos.
 

DOCTOR IDWAY SAYS...

I didn't set out to be a performer, but as my portfolio developed beyond drawing, painting and sculpture I started building, shooting, acting and editing set installations for music videos. And since I've always been interested in horror, my work tends to focus on dark, hypnotic and surrealistic themes. My subject matter is about the human experience and beyond.
None of it was intentional - it all developed and evolved over time. The work speaks for it's self. Each person takes something different from the same sound, image or visual performance. My influences are everything I see, feel and experience, but I've always loved horror movies particularly work by Hammer Horror Films. I grew up in the late 1960s watching the original Batman and Dark Shadows. And the artists I most admire are all the Fluxus artists from the 1960s.

 

COUSIN OZLO INTERVIEWS DOCTOR IDWAY

Q: Can you tell us about your character Doctor Idway?
A: Well the doctor idway is a reincarnated witch from the Sixteenth Century, I choose him to be a doctor because every single horror movie has a mad doctor in it.
 

Q: Has art and music always been a driving force in your life?
A: Yes.
 

Q: What do you get out of making art and music?
A: For me I get to entertain alot of people. So, it's not what I get it's what I can give.
 

Q: Where did the name Hexophidia come from?
A: I made it up, it's two words put together. Hex as in a curse and ophidia as in a snake. "Hexophidia" cursed by snakes.
 

Q: What motivates you?
A: Interesting people and old horror movies.
 

Q: Do you have a personal philosophy towards music?
A: Be your best and be proud of your work.

 

Q: To what do you credit to your longevity as a performing artist?

A: Luck, and we never do a bad show. No such thing as a bad Hexophidia show.

 

Q: You have created alot of theatrical ingredients into the Hexophidia performance, how and when did all this start?

A: I just never grew out of Saturday night horror movies and the Grand Gruignol Theater in Paris. The Grand Gruignol performed short skits with lots of fake blood, beheadings and mock murders. All this in the late 1800s through to 1960. The Grand Gruignol was the worlds first shock theater.

 

Q: Is there anything you would like to communicate to the audience when your on stage?
A: Yeah I have a real burlesque attitude, I just take it for what it's worth. The most important thing is not to take it all to seriously, it's a form of communication. It's like going to the circus, there's no message in it at all. We create good characters and bad characters the same way with the movies, it's escapism. 

 

Q: Over the years, do you think audiences have changed?
A: No. I don't think audiences have changed since the Roman Times. You give an audience something and expect them to react. I've got a real Barnum and Bailey attitude about performance, I think it should be a circus all the time. 
 

Q: Do you ever get tired of performing?
A: For me the show is the big pay off, that's the reason I do this. That time in front of an audience... if your an entertainer you just have to have that to breathe. Like circus people we entertain until we can't entertain anymore. If I have this long day, it's getting to perfom on stage to go on stage and perform. That's what I live for, it's really easy because we have it all mapped out. You really don't have to think, so you can just be an enertainer and really enjoy what you do. Hexophidia is a job a wonderful job!
 

Q: How do you calm down after all this?
A: When I step off stage I'm not Doctor Idway. It's the audience who is the biggest reason for the Doctor Idway. When there gone away, he doesn't exist any more. I'm not Doctor Idway until he comes out of the casket, through the stage fog or what ever explodes and there's an audience in front of me. Then I become Doctor Idway. 

 

Q: So you grab a burger, go home and that's it?
A: It's all very therapeutic, isn't it.
 

Q: You have produced, directed and performed in over a dozen music videos. How do you feel about making music videos now days?
A: Videos are now getting to the point where there so predictable. There's hardly anything that hasn't been done on video. The only thing I can think we can do differently with video is attitude - get across the Hexophidia attitude. 
 

Q: What are the virtues of age?
A: Experience. In retrospect you can see trouble, disappointment or jubilation coming. I also don't freak out if things don't go the way they could or should be. 

Q: What kind of writers do you like?
A: Surreal renegade poets.
 

Q: My hero is...

A: Is somewhere between Salvador Dali, Batman and Bette Davis, but my real hero is my Dad. Thank's dad.
 

Q: Favorite dream date?

A: I don't have dreams I have nightmares.

 

MATILDA BATES INTERVIEWS NURSE IDWAY

Q: Can you tell us about the Hexophidia show and your part as Nurse Idway?

A: Nurse Idway is a vagabond zombie clown with an identity crises of sorts, who in between songs Nurse Idway entertains the audience and gives out a couple dozen white washed boxes with original flux art by Doctor Idway in them to the audeince members. After commiting some bad tricks and Nurse Idway is murdered by the Doctor Idway, then she comes back to life again. some nights I don't know how I'm going to die, but the Doctor usually strangles or slits my thoat during the song (Fever). Sometimes I'm all bruised up from the physical aspects of the show, but then hey, that's show biz!
 

Q: And can you tell us who the actress behind the mask is?

A: Sure, good up standing Minneapolis Minnesota citizen Anna Lemicke.
 

Q: You obviously feel comfortable on stage, do you have fun perfoming?
A: I do have fun performing. Some nights things may not go as planned and we have to improvise and just go with the flow of it, and that's fun too.

 

Q: Do those yellow contacts make everything yellow?

A: No, the contacts do not make everything yellow.

 

Q: And is itchy under that mask?

A: The mask isn't itchy either, but it does get hot and sweaty, and I'm afraid it will mold itself to may face and never come off!
 

Q: Would you tell us a bit about the fluxus art boxes?

A: I dont know anything about them. Doctor Idway makes them, so I never know what's in them. After the show is my favorite part is to see what's in everybody's boxes.
 

Q: If an alien invited you aboard a spaceship would you go?

A: Only if the alien promised not to eat me or do horriable experiments on me.

 

Q: Do you have any phobias? 

A: Ants, germs and stupid people.
 

Q: Have you ever dreamt you could fly?

A: All the time.
 

Q: Any other recurring dreams?

A: That I can breath buried underground.
 

Q: And finally, as a child what scared you the most?
A: Falling through the ice on a frozen lake.