Manual Cinema

Manual Cinema returns to Berkeley with a live production of Frankenstein, a Cal Performances co-commission which was adapted for video by the collective of musicians, composers, theater artists, and filmmakers in fall 2020 for Cal Performances at Home. Frankenstein weaves the plot of Mary Shelley’s classic story with themes of desire, birth, and loss from the author’s own biography. Manual Cinema is known for creating handmade and imaginative works of live cinema, and in Frankenstein actors join puppeteers onstage, creating a silent animated film in real time alongside an immersive score performed live by four musicians. Manual Cinema last appeared in Berkeley in its mesmerizing production of Ada/Ava presented by Cal Performances in 2018.