Bereaved of her twin sister Ava, septuagenarian Ada solitarily marks time in the patterns of a life built for two. However, a traveling carnival and a trip to a mirror maze plunges her into a journey across the thresholds of life and death. Set in a landscape of the New England gothic, Ada/Ava uses a story of the fantastic and super natural to explore mourning and melancholy, self and other.
Ada/Ava premiered in 2013.
PRODUCTION CREDITS
Created by Manual Cinema
Concept and Direction by Drew Dir
Devised by Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace and Julia Miller
Original Score & Sound Design by Ben Kauffman & Kyle Vegter
Wigs and Costumes by Mieka van der Ploeg
Shadow Masks by Julia Miller
PUPPETEERS
Ada/Puppeteer Julia Miller
Ava/Puppeteer Lizi Breit
Puppeteers Sarah Fornace & Evan Garrett
MUSICIANS
Vocals, Clarinet, Sound Effects Maren Celest
Synthesizer, Guitar Michael Hilger
Cello, Keyboard Kyle Vegter
Additional Drums, Synthesizer, and Piano Michael Hilger
PRESS
“an exquisitely precise piece of visual storytelling”
Lyn Gardner, The Guardian, Ada/Ava, August 2016
“…a brilliant mix of hi-fi and lo-fi”
Mike Wade, The Times (UK) Ada/Ava, August 2016
“… this Chicago troupe is conjuring phantasms to die for in an unclassifiable story of spectral beauty…”
Ben Brantley, The New York Times Critics' Pick Ada/Ava, June 2015
“Manual Cinema is talent incarnate”
Helen Shaw, Time Out New York Critics’ Pick Ada/Ava, June 2015
Manual Cinema Presents the Semi-Gothic ‘Ada/Ava’