A Note from the Director
Welcome to our second season at Dance Loft! Whether you’ve been with us since our Fringe days, or it’s your first time seeing a Pointless show, we are excited that you’re here and are humbled by your support. Visions of Love marks our 20th production and we offer it to you, our audiences old and new, as a valentine.
Reverently adapted from Charlie Chaplin’s landmark film City Lights, this is a story about kindness found in unlikely places. Originally billed as ‘a comedy romance in pantomime,’ our interpretation keeps the film’s story mostly intact, with edits made to focus the narrative on the relationships formed by the Tramp and the cast of characters that surround him.
Both Patti and I have a certain nostalgia for the stories and styling of the silent film era. Our DC theater community tends to admire ‘the classics’ and yet the works of silent film rarely reach our stages. As a company that specializes in highly visual puppet-dance-theater, we are uniquely positioned to interpret these silent classics for a contemporary audience. While we have taken some aesthetic liberties, many moments presented are studies of the film, and we approached these moments of homage as if they were text in a script. Keeping true to the film’s choreography while filtering through our style of spectacle was our biggest challenge. All of the physical language of the show borrows directly from Chaplin’s iconic role, but our aim was to create movement suited for both human and puppet alike. We ultimately landed on staging that is Chaplin inspired, with a mix of borrowed and newly invented choreography.
Finally, using the score composed by Chaplin, the musical phrasing was the ultimate influence of movement. The actions of the performers play in sync with the rhythms and tones of Chaplin’s score. We chose to approach the piece more like a ballet, letting music and movement live on equal ground instead of treating music as underscore, like most silent film does. The specificity of movement to music is what I believe to be the most notable difference between the original film and our production.
We hope you enjoy this love letter as much as we’ve enjoyed crafting it.
Pointless and Proud,
Matt Reckeweg, Co-Artistic Director
Credits
Pointless Theatre Presents: Visions of Love
A stage adaptation of Charlie Chaplin’s City Lights
City Lights © Roy Export S.A.S. All Rights Reserved. Charlie Chaplin™ © Bubbles Inc. S.A.
Music composed by Charlie Chaplin and presented through special arrangement with Bourne Co.
Ensemble
KERRY MCGEE, The Tramp
SHARALYS SILVA, The Blind Woman
VANESSA CHAPOY
LEE GERSTENHABER*
JON REYNOLDS
EIRIN STEVENSON
SCOTT WHALEN*
* Pointless Company Member ^Artistic Associate
Scenery built by Renegade Productions
18/19 Season graphics by Jackie Littman
Production
MATT RECKEWEG*, Director
PATTI KALIL* + FRANK LABOVITZ*, Co-Scenic Designers
FRANK LABOVITZ*, Costume Designer
BRITTANY SHEMUGA, Lighting Designer
ALEX VERNON, Puppet Designer
AMY KELLET, Props Designer
MICHAEL WINCH^, Sound Designer
MEDHA MARSDEN, Dramaturg
HAYDEN MORRISSETT*, Production Stage Manager
THOMAS NAGATA, Assistant Stage Manager
SPECIAL THANKS. Miss Pixie's Furnishings and Whatnots, Everyman Theatre, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Synetic Theater. Sherry Atkinson, Sharon Crissinger, Etta Hulcher.
Pointless Theatre's 2018-19 Season is generously sponsored by Bloomberg Philanthropies, Nora Roberts Foundation, and Share Fund. Funded in part by the D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities, an agency supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Ensemble
KERRY MCGEE (The Tramp)
Pointless Premiere! Other: Dracula (Jonathon Harker, Lucy, Renfield/We Happy Few), Peepshow (Ensemble/ dog & pony dc), Pericles (Dionyza, Boult, etc./We Happy Few), A Midnight Dreary (Edgar Allan Poe/ We Happy Few), Henry V (Director/ We Happy Few), Beertown (Mayor Soch, Joann/dog & pony dc), Love's LaBEERs Lost (Don Armado/ Live Art DC), Chalk (Director/We Happy Few), The Winter's Tale (Autolycus, Perdita, etc./We Happy Few), TOAST (Joey/dog & pony dc). Kerry couldn't be more excited to get to perform this role with this company. It's a dream come true.
SHARALYS SILVA (The Blind Woman)
Pointless: Rite of Spring, Gimme a Band, Gimme a Banana: The Carmen Miranda Story (Carmen Miranda). Other: Witch (Mother Sawyer/ Convergence Theatre), Óyeme, the Beautiful! (Valentina/Imagination Stage), Crónica de una muerte anunciada (Angela Vicario u/s, performed/Gala Hispanic Theatre). Sharalys has a BA in Theatre from the University of Puerto Rico.
VANESSA CHAPOY (Ensemble)
Pointless: Don Cristóbal (Rosita). Other: The Lathe of Heaven (Spooky Action Theater & Georgetown University). In the Next Room, or the vibrator play, Wind Me Up, Maria! (Georgetown University). Upcoming: Annie Jump and the Library of Heaven (Rorschach Theatre). Vanessa has a BA in Spanish and Theater & Performance Studies from Georgetown University. Much love to Pointless for this opportunity and her family for their unconditional love and support!
LEE GERSTENHABER (Ensemble)
Select Pointless: Imogen (Belarius), King Ubu (Bordure), Doctor Caligari (Ensemble), A Very Pointless Holiday Spectacular (Piper), Sleeping Beauty: A Puppet Ballet (Carabosse), Canterbury (Wife of Bath). Other: Little Red Riding Hood & 3 Little Pigs (Little Red/Gregory - The Puppet Co.), Hand to God (u/s Jessica/Studio Theatre), Source Festival: Buried Cities (Leah), A Bouquet a Day (Laura). Lee received her B.A. in Theatre from the University of Maryland. She is a founding company member of Pointless Theatre and an avid lover of spectacle. More is more!
JON REYNOLDS (Ensemble)
Pointless Premiere! Other: Dracula, A Midnight Dreary, Pericles, Chalk (We Happy Few), Mnemonic, Hum (Theater Alliance), Beertown, A Killing Game, Courage, Toast (dog & pony dc), Perfect Arrangement (Source Festival), The Winter's Tale, As You Like It, The Second Shepherds' Play (Folger Theatre), Romeo & Juliet (The Shakespeare Theatre), The Skin Of Our Teeth, Monster (Rorschach Theatre), Scenes From The Big Picture (Solas Nua). Jon is proud to be sharing the stage with the brilliant artists of Pointless Theatre.
EIRIN STEVENSON (Ensemble)
Pointless: Rite of Spring (Elder). Other: Bully (Tanisha/The Interrobang Theatre Company), #1MPF (Ensemble/The OneMinute Play Festival), Jitney (Rena/Murphy Fine and Performing Arts Center), The Color Purple (Ensemble/Murphy Fine and Performing Arts Center).
SCOTT WHALEN (Ensemble)
Pointless: Don Cristóbal, d0t :: a Rotoplastic Ballet, Sleeping Beauty: A Puppet Ballet, Minnie the Moocher, Doctor Caligari, King Ubu, Hugo Ball: A Dada Puppet Adventure, Canterbury, Gimme a Band Gimme a Banana: The Carmen Miranda Story, The Solar System Show. Other: Titus Andronicus, Peter Pan, My Fathers Dragon, Treasure Island (Synetic Theater); Frankenstein (We Happy Few). Other regional credits include work at Woolly Mammoth, Studio Theatre, Infinite Stage and Brave Souls Collective.
POINTLESS THEATRE CO. is dedicated to creating bold, visceral, and affordable spectacles that gleefully smash the traditional boundaries between puppetry, theatre, dance, music, and the visual arts. Through our work we excite a passion for adventurous art in the nation's capital and nurture a diverse, active, and inspired audience.
Production
PATTI KALIL (Co-Scenic Design) Select Pointless: Don Cristóbal (Co-Adapter), Rite of Spring (Story), Imogen (Set Design), d0t::a RotoPlastic Ballet (Puppets), King Ubu (Puppets), Gimme a Band, Gimme a Banana! The Carmen Miranda Story (Co-Playwright, Set, Puppets), Hugo Ball (Set, Puppets), Doctor Caligari (Set- Helen Hayes Nomination). Other: How to Catch a Star (Props/Kennedy Center- TYA), Love Factually (Props/The Second City- Kennedy Center), The Wizard of Oz (Set Design/Synetic Theatre), Flood City (Theatre Alliance), Where Words Once Were (Props/Kennedy Center-TYA), Twist Your Dickens (Props/The Second City- Kennedy Center), Peter Pan (Props/Synetic Theatre), Still Life with Rocket (Props/Theatre Alliance), Hello, My Name is (Props/The Welders). Patti is a graduate at the Juilliard School Professional Internship program, and holds an MFA in Studio Art from MICA, and a BA in Theatre from the University of Maryland, College Park.
AMY KELLETT (Props Design) Pointless: Don Cristóbal(Props), Rite of Spring (Puppets/Props), King Ubu (Props). Other: The Late Wedding (The Hub Theatre), Peekaboo! (The Hub Theatre), She Kills Monsters (HCC), The Three Musketeers (Synetic Theater), A Tale of Two Cities (Synetic Theater), New Play Festival 2016 (YPT), Mein Kampf (Scena Theatre). Some of the other hats Amy wears in the DC area include being a company member/puppeteer/puppet builder with Wits End Puppets and a freelance scenic artist.
FRANK LABOVITZ (Co-Scenic Design, Costume Design) Pointless: King Ubu (Director), Costumes for Don Cristóbal, Rite of Spring, Gimme a Band, Gimme a Banana!, Doctor Caligari, Sleeping Beauty: A Puppet Ballet, Mark Twain's Riverboat Extravaganza. Other: Roundhouse Theatre, Studio Theatre, Forum Theatre, Theater J, Metrostage, Imagination Stage, and Adventure Theatre. Helen Hayes Awards: Dreamgirls (Signature Theatre, 2013). Nominations: The Threepenny Opera (Signature Theatre, 2015), The Totalitarians (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, 2015). Frank received his MFA in design from The University of Maryland (which might explain how he got dragged into all this Pointlessness).
HAYDEN MORRISSETT (Production Stage Manager) Pointless: Don Cristóbal (Stage Manager), .d0t:: a RotoPlastic Ballet, King Ubu (ASM).
THOMAS NAGATA (Assistant Stage Manager) Pointless Premiere! AIDA (Constellation Theatre Company); The Ice Child (Keegan Theatre); In The Heights, Annie, Aubergine (Olney Theatre Center); All The Way, The Roommate (South Coast Repertory); Jean Anouilh’s Antigone (A Noise Within). Thomas is thrilled to be making his Pointless debut.
MATT RECKEWEG (Director) Founding Co-Artistic Director of Pointless Theatre. Select Pointless: Rite of Spring (Director), d0t::a RotoPlastic Ballet (Director/Set Design), Hugo Ball (Director), Doctor Caligari (Director), A Very Pointless Holiday Spectacular (Choreographer), Sleeping Beauty: A Puppet Ballet (Director), Minnie the Moocher (Director), Canterbury (Director), Imagination Meltdown Adventure (Art Director), and The Solar System Show (Sparko/ Puppet Designer). In addition to Pointless, Matt works in Community Engagement at Arena Stage as the Community Programs Coordinator. He studied Theatre at the University of Maryland, College Park where he was a proud member of Erasable Inc.
BRITTANY SHEMUGA (Lighting Design) Pointless Premiere! Other: Paper Dolls (Mosiac Theatre), Twist Your Dickens (The Second City- Kennedy Center), Jesus Hopped the A Train (1st Stage Theatre), Godspell (NextStop Theatre). MFA Lighting Design, University of Maryland, College Park. brittanyshemuga.com
ALEX VERNON (Puppet Design) Pointless Premiere! Other: Milo the Magnificent (Puppet Designer, Puppeteer/Alex and Olmsted), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Puppet Designer/Rorschach Theater), The Christmas Revels (Puppet Designer, Washington Revels), Mnemonic (Puppet Designer/Theater Alliance). Company member with Happenstance Theater since 2012. Alex also makes original puppet works as half of Alex and Olmsted! AlexAndOlmsted.com
MICHAEL WINCH (Sound Design) Pointless: Rite of Spring (Sound Design), King Ubu (Music Director - Helen Hayes nominated 2017) Imogen (Music Director), Doctor Caligari (Music Director - Helen Hayes nominated 2016). Other: The Frederick Douglass Project (Music Director/Solas Nua), MANIFESTO! (Music Director/Happenstance). Grant recipient, Maryland State Arts Council, 2017. Michael plays Irish Traditional Music in the D.C. area.
DONORS & SUPPORT
THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS
Join the team and get unlimited access to $15 tickets all season.
Berserk ($1K+)
Janet Barlett, Melanie and James Douglass, Maria Marques and Nelson Kalil
Absurd ($500+)
Tara and Pat Cox, Tom Mounteer and Robert Zeliger, James Osteen, Joanne and Mark Whalen
Crazy ($250+)
Lindsey Boyle, Cadie Chea, Tara and Pat Cox, Rachel and Brian Dombroski, Ed Gramlich, Barry Kropf, Sara Cormeny and Pete Miller, Carl and Undine Nash, Jonah Richmond, Gary and Anna Marie Richmond, Catherine Schuler, Caroline Wilkins
Wacky ($100+)
Alison Beyrle, Daniel Borinsky, Frank Cervarich, Rose Ann Cleveland, Timm and Patti Curran, John Driscoll, Katrina and David Grusell, Nancy Hodges, David Kornreich, Susan F. Klinger, Michael Krass, David Kriebs, Barry Kropf, Brian Lieberman, Peter Loge, Laura Menyuk, Nell Minow, Ryan Moore, James Murphy, Marc Okrand, Korey Rothman, Claire Schwartz-Menyuk, Linda Stillman, David Tannous, Susan Turner, Wendy Walker, Roy and Joanne Whitehead, Susan Campbell and Terence Winch, Bridget Woodbury
Silly ($50+)
Rebecca Barish, Margaret and Frank Cervarich, Ursula David, Paul Geddes, Marcy and Moshe Gerstenhaber, Joan and Jeff Hamilton, Tanya and David Hansz, Hannah Hessel, Alison Drucker and Thomas Holzman, Laura Humbert, Todd Johanesen, David Kessler, Traute and James Langmesser, Steven Loewy, Natsu Onoda Power, Jon Reynolds, Juliet Sablosky, Katharine Smith, Nathan Suberi, David Vine, Andrew Whiting
Donors as of 1/1/19
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POINTLESS Staff
PATTI KALIL & MATT RECKEWEG, Co-Artistic Directors
DAVID LLOYD OLSON, Managing Director
WENDY SNOW WALKER, Deputy Director
ALISON BEYRLE, Director of Development
FRANK CERVARICH, Director of Audience Engagement
HAYDEN MORRISETT, Production Manager
RACHEL PARKS, Director of Digital Marketing
SCOTT WHALEN, Director of Public Relations
SARAH WILBY, Special Events Manager
Board of Governors
David Lloyd Olson, Chair
James O'Leary, Vice-Chair
John A.J. Barkmeyer, Esq., Secretary
Katie Golden, Treasurer
Alison Beyrle, Melanie Douglass, Laura Gross, Patti Kalil, Matthew Reckeweg, Bridget Woodbury
Company Members. Mel Bieler, Aaron Bliden, Lee Gerstenhaber, Frank Labovitz, Devin Mahoney, Rachel Menyuk, Sadie Rothman
EMERETI: John Hamilton & Ruth Anne Watkins
Artistic Associates. Kyra Corradin, Mary Catherine Curran, Madeline Key, Owen McCusker, Robert Christopher Manzo, Stacy Musselman, Matthew Sparacino, Nick Wilby, Michael Winch