Production Video

To watch an online version of our final piece, please visit:

https://www.box.com/s/8m6d8bwbbw5lz8cuumvn

Thanks for following our process!

From the Actor's Perspective: Final Thoughts

"This experience was phenomenal and the amount that I learned from Kali and the rest of the ensemble is invaluable. I will be taking all of this with me as I go to Italy next year and pursue this kind of work at the graduate level! Thank you all and lets do this again some time :)"

- Matt Dranzik '13
  Ensemble Member














"I talked to my friend today about her thoughts on the show. One of the things that stood out to me from her reaction was that we had created a world that was so simple but at the same time incredibly thought-provoking. She also thought that it was rare to see a show with such a wholesome message. I would have to agree with her. I think that this project that we have all been a part of has blossomed into a rare piece of theatre that has challenged its audiences with perhaps unfamiliar styles but has also quite simply made us aware of our own society. My friend was also amazed at our ability to tell a clear story through a majority of movement and not a lot of dialogue. As a dancer, she was engaged with the craft of creating a story through physicality and recognized what a special kind of theatre she had witnessed.

I was also tickled that she hadn't recognized which character I was for awhile during the show, until she recognized something about my voice. This experience as a transformation process has been even more rewarding after hearing what individual audience members have to say about their response to the change in the people that they know once they have taken on these characters. Possibilities for art seem endless after this piece, and I have a lot of hope for the future in terms of creating theatre that plays with the idea of the familiar and the unfamiliar in order to challenge people's perceptions about life."

-Emily Hooper '14

 Ensemble Member

From the Actor's Perspective: Final Thoughts

"Where do I begin?  Where did we even begin with this whole process?  It's hard to think back that far.  Although it was only about a month ago, it seems like we've been working on this creation for years.  All the way from watermelons and souls and stardust and apples whittled down to an hour long show, which we all know could have easily ended up being 24 hours long.  Looking back on the process, it was truly one of the most fun and eye-opening experiences I've ever had.  To learn to not rely on the face for expression was a challenge, I believe, for most of us who are not used to physical theatre work.  Looking at how far we all have come since the first day amazes me.  We all left a bit more flexible and a lot more knowledgeable.  

         After a show, there is always that feeling of "post-show depression" but I felt it even more with MMM.  I felt more connected with this piece and this character since it was our baby that we built from the ground up, but now we have to let it go.  An idea that CJ brought up has stuck with me: even though our show has run its course, it will live on inside each of us and the people who saw it.  We can live with the feeling that it has affected us and the audience in some way, and that is why we do what we do.  

I've never worked with such a cohesive and creative group of people.  Let's do it again in 10 years!"

 -Estie Pyper '16

  Ensemble Member

OPENING NIGHT!

Since October, when Director Kali Quinn first visited Bucknell as a Resident Guest Artist, April 12th has always been the focal point. Getting us to April 12th was the goal. All of our work, time, effort, passion, and energy has been put forth to not only learn and explore masked theatre, but to produce something to present to an audience starting on opening night. For all of the ensemble, waking up today was arriving at a destination that never had a clear answer to what would happen- but something did happen. Masks, Movement, and Mayhem opened to an enthusiastic and engaged crowd tonight that also joined us for a post-performance talkback and a reception held in the greenroom thanks to Cap and Dagger, Bucknell's student theatre organization. The ensemble was focused, ready, and yes a little nervous before that red curtain was raised but they gave an outstanding performance. We are all excited to still have three shows: tomorrow at 2pm and Sunday and Monday at 8pm with talkbacks after each. 

Thank you to everyone who had something to do with the production and thank you to everyone who came out to see our world premier!

POWER & POSSIBILITY: A Program Note for Audiences

This piece evolved out of a five week rehearsal process by starting with themes of power, subversion, and laughter along with this set of half-masks, relating our own experiences, and seeing what kind of skills and interests each individual brought to the table. The characters, world, and story you are about to witness was developed through improvisation, physical play, and storytelling exercises… When interviewing people about their relationship to power, one of our ensemble members, Emily Mack, brought back two quotes from medical professionals she worked with on a spring break mission trip in Nicaragua:

“Power is the ability to be loved. The more you're loved the more powerful you are. People that can engender love and are loved by others are powerful. If a person is loved and respected, they have more power and influence over others. Humans are connected by love.”

“Power is the state of having and giving what you have to others.”

I believe these ruminations speak to the essence of our exploration together and to the product we will present today. The students, faculty, and staff at Bucknell are some of the most gracious, inspiring, and enthusiastic people I have ever met. Their ability to remain curious, open, flexible, and listening so intently to one another has taught me so much every step of the way and made it feel like anything is possible. Everything you see and hear today was created by this group of people in order to share it with you. Thanks for being part of this world premiere performance. Enjoy. 

~ Kali Quinn
Director

Imaginable

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When we devise a piece of theatre we are changing the world.

How? By operating under a different way of working that is un-systemetizable. We are not saying here is your part or role and now how will you fill it. We are saying: who are you, what can you bring, what do you want to say? This is huge. It’s flipping the coin. Instead of telling someone what to do you are giving them permission to allow themselves to do. To be. When doing a devised piece, there is no casting process. We don’t have a “cast.” Little by little we create an ensemble. Anyone who wants to be in that room can be in that room and day after day they are actively choosing to show up and participate. Their level of involvement and the way that they articulate themselves drives the group to become a community. I do not tell that community who they are or even how to talk with one another. We make a set of agreements on ways to work and follow it. We create a common language through play. We title things so that we can use them again. So that we can communicate what we want to have happen again. To remember something that excited us. We make observations. We witness one another. It is the responsibility as a facilitator in a devised process to cultivate ways of being heard. Ways for everyone to be at their best. To acknowledge one another. And most consistently encourage a space for people to listen to each one other, even when and especially when their may be disagreements. To discover ways to move forward without forcing an outcome. To establish group ritual by noticing the repetition. To allow the work to teach you what wants to happen next. And to always remember to start where you are. To meet each other there.

This, my friends, is the kind of world I strive to live in.

- Kali Quinn
Director

Posters Up & Opening This Week!