Who knew those old-school projectors we saw in elementary school would have a new life to produce live, technically heavy shows? The Manual Cinema proves a new, innovative way to use projectors with a show that is like nothing you’ve seen before. Presenting their performance of Ada/Ava, the Manual Cinema brought its talents to the Richard G. Fallon Theatre on March 23, where audience members were able to see movie magic unfold right before their eyes.
Twin sisters Ada and Ava are nearly inseparable. Suddenly, Ava passes and Ada is left alone with all her memories and must discover what life is like without her sister. When Ada stumbles across a carnival down by the beach, she finds herself walking into mirror maze, which sends her on a journey discovering life and death. Using supernatural elements and eerie visual and sound effects, Ada/Ava is a story that explores “mourning and melancholy, self and other” in a way that many have never seen before.
After the incredible performance, audience members were invited on stage to see how it all works. A technically heavy show, those on stage with the projectors had over 350 cues to follow, various “sets” used for the projectors to flip through and find on stage as well as profile masks for the actors that played Ada and Ava. From shadow puppetry, enhanced visuals and audio to the use of many overhead projectors and live music, audience members were immersed in a new, unique and lively form of cinema. We spoke with Calla MacNamara, Education & Engagement Manager for Opening Nights Performing Arts, to give us an inside look of the show.
Courtesy: Council on Culture and Arts of Tallahassee/Leon County
Her Campus (HC): You’re the Education & Engagement Manager for Opening Nights Performing Arts. Could you tell us a little about what you do as manager?
Calla MacNamara (CM): Yeah! I oversee all of our education incentives, membership engagement and, the fun part of my job, being able to do all of our special events. From season announcement parties and membership recruitment to socials and receptions, I get to be a part of all it. I’m originally from Tallahassee, so being able to support the arts and help them grow in our community is something that I’m really passionate about.
HC: How did Opening Nights Performing Arts get the Manual Cinema to perform Ada/Ava here at FSU?
CM: So, the company started as experimental theater. Now they travel everywhere, go to museums like The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and just performing anywhere they can. It was easy to get them into our lineup and it also fits in well with our entire season. It’s the final theatrical piece that we’re bringing to the visual arts theater.
Courtesy: Opening Nights FSU
HC: Were you able to pick which performance you wanted to present here at FSU or did Manual Cinema decided for you?
CM: Well, a lot of things like timing, their availability, venues, etc., go into when, where and what they will be performing. They’re touring right now and Tallahassee was the first stop back in the US after a couple of shows in Australia. Ada/Ava is the piece that they’re touring with right now and it’s their newest piece. So, that’s why it was chosen to be performed here at FSU.
HC: Other than the major differences between cinematic techniques and production styles, in your opinion, what makes Manual Cinema different than any other movie or performance piece out right now?
CM: It’s a very emotionally driven piece but also has that mystical space journey. It’s also not like your average set of “lights, camera, action.” It’s all very fluid and the use of the projectors help with the live feeling that the audience members see and experience as they’re watching the performance.
HC: Do you think Manual Cinema is also changing the way people are seeing theater?
CM: Oh for sure, especially for sound and lighting students. It challenges the norm and requires you to break some rules of design and production. It also changes how people look at life and death, mourning and melancholy. I can see it as possibly acting as a unique coping device for those who have lost a loved one or someone close to them.
HC: How do you think this performance will impact fine arts students and other member of the student body at FSU? In other words, by having such a creative and innovative performance here at FSU, what will students take away from it?
CM: I think each student can take a little something away from this performance. A nursing student could learn to be more sympathetic to someone dealing with a death while a lighting student could find a new technique in approaching a design or a project.