Mementos Mori Costume Designbymiekavanderploeg Music Andsounddesignbykylevegter

Brooklyn Academy of Music Adam E. Max, Chairman of the Board William I. Campbell, Vice Chairman of the Board Katy Clark, President Mementos Mori Joseph V. Melillo, Executive Producer Created by Manual Cinema Directed by Julia Miller Puppet design by Drew Dir Choreography by Sarah Fornace Music and sound design by Kyle Vegter Costume design by Mieka van der Ploeg DATES: OCT 18—21 at 7:30pm Season Sponsor: OCT 20 at 10pm LOCATION: BAM Fisher (Fishman Space) Major support for theater at BAM RUN TIME: Approx Ihr, 25mins provided by: The Francena T. Harrison Foundation Trust The SHS Foundation The Shubert Foundation, Inc. Additional Support provided by the Jim Henson Foundation. #BAMNextWave BAM Fisher Mementos Mori Written by CAST Manual Cinema Artistic Directors: Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace, Julia Miller, Puppeteers Kyle Vegter, Ben Kauffman Lizi Breit (Laura), Linsey Falls (Mel), Diane Maire (Anna Francesca), Director Sara Sawicki (Lady), Julia Miller Sharaina Latrice Turnage (Marie) Puppet Designer Musicians Drew Dir Deidre Huckabay (Flute, Vocals), Michael Hilger (Synthesizer, Guitar, Associate Puppet Designer Vocals), Alex Ellsworth (Cello), Lizi Breit Maren Celest (Vocals) Original Music & Sound Designer Live SFX Kyle Vegter Maren Celest Costume Designer MUSIC CREDITS Mieka van der Ploeg Make Yourself Comfortable Mask Designer Written by Bob Merrill Julia Miller Produced by Kyle Vegter Arranged and Performed by Choreographer Maren Celest, Michael Hilger, Sarah Fornace Alex Ellsworth, Deidre Huckabay Stage Manager and Live Video Editor The Stars Will Lead Me to You Mariana Green Written by Ben Kauffman Produced by Kyle Vegter Production Manager Performed by Ben Kauffman, Mike Usrey Kyle Vegter, Michael Hilger, Deidre Huckabay, Alex Ellsworth Company Manager Shelby Glasgow Sound Engineer Jonathan Schenke ABOUT Mementos Mori Since 2010, Manual Cinema has been Creating any Manual Cinema show is creating works of live performance a complex process, and the scope of that combine handmade shadow Mementos Mori’s story posed particular puppetry, cinematic techniques, and challenges. Mementos Mori uses close innovative sound and music to tell to 500 different shadow puppets and immersive stories. Using vintage slides over the course of the show. overhead projectors, multiple screens, Since there is little to no dialogue, puppets, actors, live feed cameras, nearly every second of the performance multi-channel sound design, and a live is sound designed and scored with music ensemble, Manual Cinema seeks original music. In the beginning stages, to transform the experience of attending Manual Cinema’s creation process looks the cinema, imbuing it with aliveness, similar to that of an animated film—the ingenuity, and theatricality. story is rendered into storyboards, and simple animatics are created for the The story of Mementos Mori was composers to begin scoring. A “demo” written collaboratively by the five version of the show is cut together artistic directors of Manual Cinema, like the first cut of a film. Once actors, who were interested in creating a piece puppeteers, and musicians are added responding to how modern technology— to the mix, the process transforms into particularly smartphones and social a theatrical production, as the artists media—has shifted our relationship explore how to execute the complex with presence and absence, death choreography and intricate sound world and dying. The idea was for the piece in a live context. to follow multiple characters whose stories would unfold this theme in Screens are ubiquitous in our everyday different ways, and that one of these lives, but in Manual Cinema the characters would be Death herself. imagery of the screen is the product After development workshops at the of live humans executing physical tasks University of Chicago and the Almanack with virtuosity in real time in the same Arts Colony, Mementos Mori received space as the audience. The aim of any its world premiere at the Museum of Manual Cinema show is to take the Contemporary Art Chicago in 2015. visual and sonic vocabulary of film and Since then, it has toured nationally television—a vocabulary that, growing and internationally, including at the up saturated by media, we all share— Noorderzon Performing Arts Festival in and use it to explore themes and stories the Netherlands. As Manual Cinema that are weird, powerful, human, frequently does, it returned to the piece and theatrical. in 2017 to revise, refine, and update the storytelling. Opera (Brussels), Hubbard Street Dance (Chicago), Pop-Up Magazine (SF), Nu Deco Ensemble (Miami), New York Times best-selling author Reif Larsen Who’s (NYC), and three-time Grammy Award- winning eighth blackbird (Chicago). In 2017, the company will have debuts Who in Australia, France, and Germany, and will return to the Edinburgh Fringe with Manual Cinema Lula del Ray. Manual Cinema is a performance collective, design studio, and film/ video production company founded in Puppeteers 2010 by Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace, Ben Kauffman, Julia Miller, and Kyle Vegter. LIZI BREIT Manual Cinema combines handmade Laura, Associate Designer shadow puppetry, cinematic techniques, and innovative sound and music to Lizi Breit is a Chicago-based artist create immersive stories for stage working primarily in illustration, and screen. Using vintage overhead animation, sculpture, and performance. projectors, multiple screens, puppets, She has been working with Manual actors, live feed cameras, multi- Cinema since 2011 and is currently channel sound design, and a live music serving as associate designer. She is an ensemble, Manual Cinema transforms artistic associate with the Neo-Futurists the experience of attending the cinema and a former member of Blair Thomas and imbues it with aliveness, ingenuity, & Co. lizibreit.com. and theatricality. Manual Cinema has been presented LINSEY FALLS by, worked in collaboration with, or Mel brought its work to the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC), BAM, Museum Linsey Falls is pleased as punch to be of Contemporary Art Chicago, Kennedy mixing it up with Manual Cinema again! Center (DC), Under the Radar Festival His past Chicago productions include (NYC), La Monnaie-DeMunt (Brussels), Manual Cinema’s The Magic City; the Noorderzon Festival (Netherlands), weekly show That’s Weird, Grandma Kimmel Center (DC) The O, Miami (Barrel of Monkeys); Lyle Finds His Poetry Festival, Tehran International Mother and The One and Only Ivan Puppet Festival (Iran), Davies (Lifeline Theatre); Fight City, Hotel Aph- Symphony Hall (SF), Ace Hotel Theater rodite, and Namosaur (The Factory The- (LA), and elsewhere around the world. ater); Slaughter City, Drumming in the They have collaborated with StoryCorps Night, and Debris of the Prophet (Prop (NYC), Erratica (London), Belgian Royal Thtr); A Summer’s Day and Blue Planet Photo: Marc Perlish (Akvavit Theatre); The Sign of the Four credits include H20 (Off Broadway with and Frankenstein (City Lit Theatre); Ground Up Productions and regionally Ghosts of Treasure Island (Adventure with the Contemporary American Stages Chicago); Henry V (Promethean Theatre Festival); Sense and Sensibility Theatre Ensemble); Lolita de Lares (Repertory Theatre St. Louis, Actors (Urban Theater); and The Black Slot Theatre of Louisville, and Chicago’s (AstonRep Theater Company). Northlight Theatre); as well as work with the Long Wharf, Michigan Opera Theater, and Victory Gardens Theater. KASEY FOSTER Chicago credits include productions Lady (understudy) with First Folio Shakespeare, The Gift, Remy Bumppo, Dog & Pony, Redmoon, Kasey Foster has been performing, The Actors’ Gymnasium, Light Opera producing, and directing in Chicago Works, and TASK Clown Theatre. She is since 2004. She recently returned a graduate of Northwestern University from a tour with Lookingglass Theatre and a proud member of Actors’ Equity. (Moby Dick), where she is now an artistic associate. Foster has appeared regionally at South Coast Rep (CA), SARA SAWICKI Arena Stage (DC), The Alliance (GA), Lady Berkeley Rep (CA), and most recently in Chicago with Lookingglass’ Treasure Sara Sawicki is a Chicago-based Island and Manual Cinema’s Mementos theater artist. In addition to touring with Mori. Foster is represented by Gray Manual Cinema, she works nationally Talent Group. She sings with the with the Center for Performance and Chicago bands Grood, Babe-alon 5, Old Civic Practice. Other recent projects Timey, and This Must Be the Band. She include work with NetherRealm Studios has directed/choreographed over 30 (Harley Quinn & Cheetah, cinematic original works, and produces an annual performance capture on Injustice 2); series called Dance Tribute. Thanks to Actors Gymnasium (youth circus co- you for supporting the arts. They make director and writer); one step at a time everything better. like this in collaboration with Chicago Shakespeare Theater (performer); For Youth Inquiry (company member, DIANE MAIR director, performer, teaching artist); Anna Francesca and Sojourn Theatre (associate artist, performer, director). Diane Mair is a Chicago-based actress, circus artist, and puppeteer. Her past productions with Manual Cinema SHARAINA LATRICE TURNAGE include Mementos Mori, My Soul’s Marie Shadow, Radio Cinema (in collaboration with Third Coast Audio Festival), and Sharaina Latrice Turnage is from the Monday or Tuesday (performed with the southside of Chicago. She is making her Chicago Symphony Orchestra). Other debut at Manual Cinema and couldn’t be more thrilled to work with such an amazing company.

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