Semester Updates!

The semester is almost to a close, and we have some updates!

Waking Up!

Cameron's final project, a devised puppetry production, performed for a weekend of shows (including a visit from the youth artists at Mosiac Youth Theatre) as well as two sold out school matinees for 300 kids! The child audience was engaged and questioning what they saw on stage. Q and A sessions after the shows revealed deep thought and interesting ideas regarding the different puppets in the space. The undergradaute ensemble, including MFA grad Sarah Kucharek, performed using primarily sound and nosie based communication in relation to live and recorded music. They created two of the three pieces through daily devising with different puppet bases as well as object manipulation. The third piece was the already on it's feet production of "Mind!" that Cameron created by workshopping a four sided face mask character at EMU's new TYA festival "Freshly Squeezed", and then later reworked under an artist residency with Spinning Dot Theatre Company. 

From Cameron: "The process was difficult but rewarding. The cast was apprehensive in the beginning because we were only starting with a few puppet ideas and a general theme, but as we started devising with our bodies and objects, the play started to take shape. It got to a point where people had to tell me to stop devising because there were conclusions that needed to be found. We courageously moved forward on the endings that were seen and I'm proud of the work that we did. I plan to further explore the use of the eyeball puppet/mask and how it can be used with two humans. I think that was an a-ha moment for the ensemble and myself. It's a very interesting puppet to look at."

Photos by Randy Mascharka and Wallace Bridges

Grads Take New York 2023: Manhappenings in Manhattan!

From Meredith: "Sarah, Sam, and I took a little adventure to the Big Apple over spring break as a part of the course, Jewish Identity and the American Theatre. Our week started with a visit to Greenwich Village and Washington Square Park, reflecting on the subversion of mainstream culture that the Village is known for. We also paid visits to the Tenement Museum for an apartment tour, the Museum at Eldridge Street for a synagogue tour, and the Center for Jewish History to view artifacts from Yiddish Theatre and from Jewish performers. Since New York has a pretty robust performing arts scene (maybe you’ve heard of it), we had to take advantage of the opportunity to see some incredible performances. Sondheim Unplugged at 54 Below, Funny Girl, and Leopoldstadt were all full group excursions. Sarah, Sam, and I ventured to & Juliet, Moulin Rouge, and Bad Cinderella on our free nights.

Undoubtably, the highlight of our trip was the chance to visit both New Victory Theatre for us ADTY folks and Lincoln Center with our whole group. At New Victory, we met with Greg Mytelka and Chris Totten, who were gracious enough to give us a tour of their beautiful facilities, walk us through some of the many programs New Victory offers, and answer our questions about working in theatre for young audiences and families in New York. At Lincoln Center, our group met up with Michael Page, Lincoln Center General Manager and EMU alumnus, who gave us tours of both David Geffen Hall and Alice Tully Hall, and gave us all a peak into the more administrative side of working in the arts.

After a wild week, we were (mostly) glad to beat an incoming ice storm and return to Michigan to tackle the end of the year!"

Hare and Tortoise

The ADTY Tour has been going smoothly! We opened "Hare and Tortoise" to a wonderful weeked of audiences at EMU in the beginning of March and have now been visiting local elementary schools and libraries every Friday. We plan to perform for 2000 students by the end of April!  The cast started with rehearsals and exploring the physicality of the characters. The script allows for a lot of freedom in how you block certain scenes, so we worked with different comedic moments that would fit into the world of the play and showcased the differences between these two opposing characters. And yet, the show is about friendship and enjoying the seasons inside of the classic Aesop race. We enlisted the help of Kristin Ellert to design and paint our set, Renee Bell to design our costumes, and Isaac Steinhower with the Columbus Children's Theatre to build our set. EMU Alumni Tae Hoon Yoo composed and performs live music at every tour stop! Sebastien Verdoux created many of the props with the help of the EMU scene shop. It's truly been a collaborative experience.

The children have been super engaged with every performance. They are invested in the race that Hare wants to run and they speak up when Tortoise takes their time with every activity. Lots of moments have become automatic group numbers such as the clicking of the watch that our Worldmaker ensemble creates. Children can't help but click along with their mouths. We have had some very energetic audiences that have cheered and booed at the ups and downs of Hare so excitedly asking Tortoise to race every season. When Tortoise wants to wait until the next season, the kids express their dissapproval and vouch for Hare's side. And yet, when the race is won, they are cheering for Tortoise and question Hare's tactics in front of everyone. We have understudies for this production, and on our triple show day (all at one school!) decided to give the understudies a show. It was fun to watch as previous audiences walked through the cafeteria during our third show, noticing that Hare and Tortoise were being played by different actors, and exclaiming that as they exited the room. 

We have 4 more tour stops until the semester is over! Congrats everyone!

Photos by Randy Mascharka and Wallace Bridges
Set Design by Kristin Ellert
Costume Design by Renee Bell
Props by Sebastien Verdoux