Manual Cinema
Frankenstein
Saturday, October 20, 2024
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Adapted from the novel by Mary Shelley
Concept by Drew Dir
Devised by Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace & Julia Miller
Original Music & Sound Design by Ben Kauffman & Kyle Vegter
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Love, loss, and creation merge as Manual Cinema presents its thrilling version of the classic Gothic tale Frankenstein. The Chicago-based performance collective imaginatively combines shadow puppetry, cinematic techniques, sound effects, and live music in haunting shows like nothing else you’ve ever seen.
Manual Cinema stitches together the classic tale of Frankenstein with the biography of the original novel’s author, Mary Shelley, to create an unexpected story about the beauty and horror of creation. The real-life and fictional narratives of Shelley, Victor Frankenstein, and Frankenstein’s monster expose how family, community, and education shape personhood – or destroy it by their absence.
Court Theatre presented the World Premiere of Frankenstein in Chicago, November, 2018. Frankenstein had its New York premiere at The Public Theatre’s Under the Radar Festival in January 2019 and its international debut in Scotland at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2019.
PRODUCTION
Adapted from the novel by Mary Shelley
Concept: Drew Dir
Devised by: Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace and Julia Miller
Original Music and Sound Design: Ben Kauffman and Kyle Vegter
Storyboards: Drew Dir
Shadow Puppet Design: Drew Dir with Lizi Breit
Projections & Scenic Design: Rasean Davonte Johnson
Costume & Wig Design: Mieka van der Ploeg
Lighting Design: Claire Chrzan
3D Creature Puppet Design: Lizi Breit
Prop Design: Lara Musard
Production Stage Manager: Erin Albrecht
Video Mixing & Live Sound Effects: Shelby Sparkle
Sound Engineer: Sadi Tremblay and Mike Usrey
PUPPETEERS
Sarah Fornace (Victor, Mary Shelley)
Julia Miller (The Creature, Elizabeth)
Leah Casey (Percy, Vocals)
Sara Sawicki (Alphonse, Lord Byron)
Myra Su (Ensemble)
MUSICIANS
Peter Ferry (percussion)
Zachary Good (clarinets, aux percussion)
Deidre Huckabay (flutes, aux percussion, piano)
Lia Kohl (cello, aux percussion, vocals)
TOURING
Stage Manager, Video Mixing and Live Sound Effects Kyle Vegter
Lighting Director David Goodman-Edberg|
Sound Engineer Mike Usrey
ADDITIONAL CAST
PUPPETEERS
Lizi Breit (Ensemble)
Maren Celest (Alphonse Frankenstein, Lord Byron)
Kara Davidson (The Creature, Elizabeth Frankenstein)
MUSICIANS
Nora Barton (cello, aux percussion, vocals understudy)
Michael Chen (clarinets, aux percussion understudy)
Rachael Dobosz (flutes, aux percussion, piano)
Jason Gresl (clarinets, aux percussion)
Jeff Kimmel (clarinets, aux percussion)
Robin Meiksins (flutes, aux percussion, piano)
Erica Miller (cello, aux percussion, vocals)
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The Court Theatre commissioned and presented the premiere of Frankenstein in Chicago in November, 2018, with additional commissioning support provided by at the University of California, Berkeley. Frankenstein was originally developed with The Public Theater’s Devised Theater Initiative in a research residency partnership with the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, with assistance from the Orchard Project Ari Edelson, Artistic Director. The show was the recipient of the 2018 Jim Henson Workshop Grant.
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About Manual Cinema
Manual Cinema is an Emmy Award-winning performance collective, design studio, and film/video production company founded in 2010 by Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace, Ben Kauffman, Julia Miller, and Kyle Vegter. Manual Cinema combines handmade shadow puppetry, cinematic techniques, and innovative sound and music to create immersive stories for stage and screen.
Using vintage overhead projectors, multiple screens, puppets, actors, live feed cameras, multi-channel sound design, and a live music ensemble, Manual Cinema transforms the experience of attending the cinema and imbues it with liveness, ingenuity, and theatricality. The company was awarded an Emmy in 2017 for “The Forger,” a video created for The New York Times and named Chicago Artists of the Year in 2018 by the Chicago Tribune. In 2020 they were included in 50 of Chicago theater "Rising Stars and Storefront Stalwarts" (Newcity). Their shadow puppet animations were featured in the 2021 film remake of Candyman, directed by Nia DaCosta and produced by Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions. In 2022 they premiered Leonardo! A Wonderful Show About A Terrible Monster, an adaptation of two books by celebrated children’s author Mo Willems and a live adaptation of their 2020 streaming hit A Christmas Carol.
In 2023 Manual Cinema completed production on their first self produced short film, Future Feeling, and will be touring with folk rock band Iron & Wine in 2024 creating live visuals on stage.
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This engagement of Manual Cinema is made possible in part through the ArtsCONNECT program of Mid Atlantic Arts with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.