Program Notes
Manual Cinema’s Frankenstein

PUPPETEERS

 Leah Casey (Percy Shelley, vocals) is a Chicago-based actress, writer, and dancer with an un­natural love for podcasts and sound design. Some of her previous credits include Franken­stein with Manual Cinema at Court Theatre, Romeo and Juliet with Teatro Vista, and Storm with Walkabout/Moonfool. When not onstage, she can be found behind the mic as an audio­book narrator, or working with the cast of Project Stellar, a science fiction podcast about a group of crazy kids who have close encounters of the awesome kind.

Sarah Fornace (Mary Shelley, Victor Franken­stein, MC co-artistic director) is a director, pup­peteer, choreographer, and narrative designer based in Chicago, and a co-artistic director of Manual Cinema. Outside of Manual Cinema, Fornace has worked as a performer and/or choreographer with Redmoon Theatre, Look­ingglass Theatre Company, Court Theatre, Steppenwolf Garage, and Blair Thomas and Co. Most recently, she wrote the story mode for the video game Rivals of Aether. In 2017, For­nace directed and edited the first episode of the web series The Doula is IN. In 2016, she directed and devised an “animotion” pro­duction of Shake­speare’s Hamlet with Rokoko Studios for Ham­letScen at Kromborg Castle in Elsinore, Denmark.

Julia Miller (The Creature, Eliza­beth Franken­stein, MC co-artistic director) is a director, pup­peteer, and puppet designer. With Manual Cinema, she has directed Mementos Mori and The End of TV and created original roles in Frankenstein (The Creature/Elizabeth), Ada/Ava (Ada), Lula del Ray (Lula’s Mother), The Magic City (Helen), and Hansel und Gretel (Hansel). In Chicago, she has worked as a per­former and puppeteer with Redmoon Thea­tre and Blair Thomas and Co. Miller spent several years training in devised theater, clown, and mask with Double Edge Theatre and Carlos García Estevez, as well as at the Accademia dell’Arte in Arezzo, Italy. She is a co-producer and direc­tor of several episodes of the new web series The Doula is IN.

Sara Sawick (Lord Byron) is a Chicago based theater artist. With Manual Cinema, she most recently appeared in the original cast of Frank­enstein (Lord Byron). She tours internationally with MC in Lula del Ray (Lula’s Mother), Me­men­tos Mori (Lady), and Ada/Ava (puppeteer). Sara works nationally with the Center for Per­formance and Civic Practice as the part­ner­ships and communications manager. She is also an artistic associate with Sojourn Theatre, most recently appearing in the Midwest regional premiere of How to End Poverty at Cleveland Public Theatre, presented in partnership with United Way of Greater Cleveland. Past projects include work with NetherRealm Studios (cine­matic performance capture); Actors Gymna­sium (Youth Circus co-director and writer); and one step at a time like this, in collaboration with Chicago Shakespeare Theater (performer).

Myra Su (puppeteer) is a storyteller, puppeteer, and puppet maker. Her primary medium is shadow puppetry but her work also includes experimentations with crankies, paper craft, bunraku, video, and taxidermy. Su has been a featured artist at the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, the Baltimore Crankie Festival, and the National Puppet Slam in Atlanta. Upcoming projects include a NPN/VAN-funded music-puppetry collaboration with renowned musician/filmmaker Tatsu Aoki, using miniatures, shadows, and live video. In addition to her independent work, Su has worked with Manual Cinema since 2013 as a puppet builder and touring puppeteer. Some of her show credits include: Frankenstein, Lula del Ray, and Ada/Ava. For her full portfolio, please visit myrasu.com.

MUSICIANS

Peter Ferry (percussion), praised as an “ingen­ious percussionist” (Chicago Sun-Times) and “an artist of vision” (Democrat and Chronicle), is a young American percussion soloist and artis­tic collaborator. Since his concerto debut at age 18, Ferry has championed the works of living composers including Michael Daugherty, who has praised Ferry as “one of the most promising and committed soloists of his generation.” A TEDx speaker, Ferry has collaborated with choreographer Nick Pupillo at Chicago’s Harris Theater and abroad at the European Museum of Modern Glass, where he was nominated for the Coburg Prize. An alumnus of the Eastman School of Music, Ferry graduated with the first-ever John Beck Percussion Scholarship, an Arts Leadership Program certificate, and the presti­gious Performer’s Certificate recognizing out­standing performing ability.

Zachary Good (clarinets) is an instrumentalist (clarinets and recorders) and performer from Pittsburgh. Now based in Chicago, he is a free­lance musician, educator, and founding mem­ber of the performance group Mocrep. Along with Manual Cinema, Good has enjoyed per­forming with the International Contemporary Ensemble, Eighth Blackbird, Third Coast Per­cussion, Ensemble Dal Niente, Lyric Opera Unlimited, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and the improv trio ZRL. He is also a band director at the Chicago Waldorf School. Good is a grad­uate of Oberlin and DePaul.

Deidre Huckabay (flute, piano) is a Chicago-based performer, writer, photographer, and event producer. She is co-owner of the experi­mental cassette tape label Parlour Tapes+ and a regular contributor to Cacophony Magazine. Huckabay is a member of the Chicago-based performance group Mocrep, co-curator of the WE Series at Elastic Arts, and founder of Spi­derf*rt Press. She is also a 2017 3Arts Make a Wave grantee and a Sponsored Artist at High Concept Labs. In 2017, Huckabay received a full year studio and rehearsal residency with the Eighth Blackbird Chicago Artists Workshop.

Lia Kohl (cello) is a cellist and multidisciplinary artist based in Chicago, creating and per­forming embodied music and multimedia per­formance that incorporates sound, video, movement, theater, and sculptural objects. Kohl is a curator and ensemble member with the acclaimed performance ensemble Mocrep, with whom she has toured nationally and interna­tionally. She has presented work and performed at the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Con­temporary Art Chicago, and held resi­dencies at Mana Contemporary Chicago, High Concept, DFBRL8R Performance Art Gallery, and Stanford University. As an improviser, Kohl performs regularly around Chicago and with ZRL, her clarinet/percussion/cello trio. She also plays with Chicago bands Whitney, OHMME, and Circuit des Yeux and tours regularly with Manual Cinema.

STAFF & CREATIVE TEAM

Lizi Breit (puppet designer, MC associate de­signer) is a Chicago-based artist working pri­marily in illustration, animation, sculpture, and performance. She has been working with Manual Cinema since 2011 and is currently serving as associate designer. Breit is an artistic associate with the Neo-Futurists and a former member of Blair Thomas & Co. Her internet self lives at www.lizibreit.com.

Claire Chrzan (lighting designer) is excited to collaborate with Manual Cinema again after previously designing No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks and The End of TV. Other credits include Evening at the Talk House, The Mutilated, and The Room (A Red Orchid); The? Unicorn? Hour?, Saturn Returns (The Neo-Futurists); The Distance, We’re Gonna Die (Haven Theatre); Caught (Sideshow Theatre Company); After Miss Julie, The Night Season (Strawdog Theatre Company); Peerless (First Floor Theater); Pinocchio (Neverbird at Chicago Children’s Theatre); Love and Human Remains, Good Person of Szechwan (Cor Theatre);The Terrible (The New Colony); The Guardians, Uncle Bob (Mary-Arrchie); The Hero’s Journey, Best Beloved: The Just So Stories, The Pied Piper (Forks and Hope Ensemble). Chrzan also works as a production stage manager for companies including Hubbard Street’s HS2, the Joffrey Ballet’s Joffrey Academy, and Alonzo King LINES Ballet. Clairechrzandesigns.com.

Drew Dir (director, puppet designer, MC co-artistic director) is a writer, director, and puppet designer. Previously, he served as Resident Dra­ma­turg of Court Theatre and as a lecturer in theater and performance studies at the Univer­sity of Chicago. Dir holds a master’s degree in text and performance studies from King’s College London and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Shelby Glasgow (live sound effects and video, stage manager, MC company manager) joined Manual Cinema in September 2016 as the touring stage manager and company manager. She has since toured within the United States and internationally with Ada/Ava, Lula del Ray, Mementos Mori, The End of TV, and Manual Cinema’s newest full-length show, Frankenstein. Shelby graduated from the Uni­ver­sity of Cen­tral Florida with a BFA in stage management and has stage managed regionally all over the country. Thank you to Manual Cinema for these amazing opportunities!

Rasean Davonte Johnson (projections and scenic design) is delighted to be working again with Manual Cinema, following his previous involvement with Lula del Ray and Fjords. A Chicago-based video artist and theatrical designer, he has also worked with Steppenwolf Theatre, The Hypocrites, Yale Repertory Thea­tre, Long Wharf Theatre, McCarter Theatre Center, Geva Theatre Center, Berkshire Theatre Group, Alliance Theatre, the Ningbo Song and Dance Company, and B-Floor Theatre. Johnson received his MFA degree from the Yale School of Drama. raseandavontejohnson.com.

Ben Kauffman (composer, sound designer, MC co-artistic director) is a composer, director, and inter­active media artist, and a co-artistic director of Manual Cinema. His film and inter­active work has been shown at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion and the Peggy Notebaert Nature Mu­seum in Chicago, and at CUNY’s Baruch Col­lege in New York City. Kauffman has lectured and given workshops at the Metropolitan Mu­seum of Art, New York University, and the Parsons School of Design/The New School. His past composer/sound designer credits with Manual Cinema include Ada/Ava, The End of TV, and the New York Times documentary The Forger. Kauffman holds a master’s degree from New York University’s Interactive Telecom­muni­­ca­tions Program (ITP).

Lara Musard (prop designer) serves as the prop manager at Court Theatre in Chicago, where Manual Cinema’s Frankenstein first premiered in October of 2018. For this project, she worked with Drew Dir to design and create the majority of the two- and three-dimensional pieces seen in the Victor Frankenstein sections of the story­telling. (Having propped nearly 60 shows at Court Theatre over a 12-year period, Musard found Frankenstein to be, by far, the most unique.) She is grateful for the experience of working in this medium and proud to have been part of the team.

Mike Usrey (sound engineer, MC tech director). “That may be the most important thing to understand about humans. It is the unknown that defines our existence. We are constantly searching, not just for answers to our questions, but for new questions. We are explorers. We explore our lives day by day, and we explore the galaxy trying to expand the boundaries of our knowledge. And that is why I am here: not to conquer you with weapons or ideas, but to co­exist and learn” (Benjamin Lafayette Sisko).

Mieka van der Ploeg (costume designer) has designed costumes for a host of Chicago thea­ters that includes Lookingglass Theatre, Chi­cago Shakespeare Theatre, The Hypocrites, Chicago Children’s Theatre, About Face Thea­tre, the House Theatre, Next Theatre, Griffin Theatre, the Building Stage, Albany Park Thea­ter Project, Dog and Pony Theatre, and Manual Cinema. She is proud to be an artistic associ­ate at About Face Theatre. Van der Ploeg has re­ceived Jeff Award nominations for Golden Boy (Griffin Theater) and Mr. Burns (co-designed with Mara Blumenfeld and Thea­ter Wit).

Kyle Vegter (composer, sound designer, MC co-artistic director) is a composer, producer, and sound designer, and the managing artistic director of Manual Cinema. As a composer of concert music, he has been commissioned by groups including the Chicago Symphony Orches­tra’s MusicNOW series, the Pacific Northwest Ballet, and Tigue. Vegter’s music and sound design for theater and film has been seen worldwide and commissioned by the New York Times, NPR’s Invisibilia, Topic (First Look Media), the Museum of Contemporary Art Chi­cago, StoryCorps, the Art Institute of Chi­cago, the Poetry Foundation, Hubbard Street Dance, the O, Miami Poetry Festival, and others. His past composer/sound designer credits with Manual Cinema include Lula del Ray, Ada/Ava, Fjords, Mementos Mori, The End of TV, and various other performance and video projects. Vegter has been an artist-in-residence at High Concept Laboratories and co-founded Chicago’s only contemporary classical music cassette label, Parlour Tapes+.

For all North, Central, and South American booking enquiries please contact:
Laura Colby, Director, Elsie Management
laurac@elsieman.org
Tel: +1 718 797 4577
www.elsieman.org

Exclusive Asian touring representation:
Broadway Asia Company
info@broadwayasia.com
Tel: +1 212 203 9986
www.broadwayasia.com