There are plenty of things to do around here this Halloween weekend.</p><p>Mikal Shapiro, musician and multi-discipline artist, has resurrected one: &ldquo;Danse Macabre,&rdquo; her autumn shadow play that celebrates death and the dead. Shapiro, who returned to Kansas City this summer after completing school in New York, talked to The Star about the show, its origins and this year&rsquo;s theme. </p><p><strong>Give us an abridged history of the Danse. You&rsquo;ve been out of town for a while. When was the previous one?</strong></p><p>The Danse originated in 2003 at my house in midtown on a sheet between the dining and living rooms. At that time, my property was under construction, and we turned the interior into a giant installation of work by local artists.</p><p> A funk DJ installed sod all over my bathroom and a psycho Santa Claus massacre in my bathtub. Visitors wrote their worst fears in the corner on the wall behind a curtain. A psychic read fortunes in a room upstairs. African drum troupe Djembe Kaan played. During the night, we put on three productions of the &ldquo;Danse.&rdquo; This was my first shadow play since I was a kid, and I&rsquo;ve been making them ever since.</p><p>Over the years, the Danse has become a fall ritual of mine. The theme continues to revolve around the commonality of death, the ultimate equalizer (despite age, race, class, gender, etc.) and is based loosely on the classical French piece by Camille Saint-Saens. </p><p>This year, I draw inspiration from my road trip across central Mexico during El Dia de los Muertos (thus the official Spanish title for this play &ldquo;Danza Macabra&rdquo;). It will take place outside the Telephonebooth Gallery, 3319 Troost. We&rsquo;ll have limited seating, fire pits and warm concessions. </p><p>We&rsquo;ve also scheduled a modified street performance in the Crossroads District during the Artwalk in front of Hammerpress Studios. The whole production runs approximately 15 minutes long.</p><p>But to answer your question, my last shadow play was at the Tank in Hell&rsquo;s Kitchen, New York, this summer. My last Danse Macabre was in an apartment in Yonkers, same time last year (I take whatever space I can get). That particular Danse examined phobias, from nuclear fallout to love.</p><p><strong>How many shows are scheduled? </strong></p><p>There are three performances: 7:30, 8:30 and 9:30 p.m.</p><p><strong>Explain what the shadow theater will be like and how it integrates music and art and drama.</strong></p><p>This year, the screen is 20 feet long and 10 feet high &mdash; one of my largest. We project the shadows from behind using multiple lights, performers and puppets. As a low-to-no-budget operation, we create the puppets from trash and found objects. The aesthetic is raw and primitive, with a complex soundtrack.</p><p>I engineered the original score in my bedroom featuring classical guitarist Joe Gameson and musicians Pedro Calderon, Allan Winkler (KC Gamelan ensemble), Devin McCollum (the Boon) and Sean Branagan (Hearts of Darkness, Djembe Kaan). I&rsquo;ve also collected field recordings. For instance: the rooster call from my friend Derek Moore&rsquo;s urban farm in northeast Kansas City.</p><p>I keep the projects very inclusive and ask strangers to participate whenever I can. Sometimes, it&rsquo;s the guy hitting on me at the bar. Sometimes, it&rsquo;s my neighbor&rsquo;s 8-year-old daughter. Professional artists include Winkler, Shane Ogren, Alison Greene (New York) and Beth Sarver alongside outsider artists like &ldquo;Behind the Stove&rdquo; &rsquo;zine maker Greta Wilckens and dancer/choreographer Jane Gotch.</p><p>This year&rsquo;s specific concept revolves around American morbidity with motifs from Mexico and the U.S. Southwest.