Posted on September 10th, 2017 by Figures of Speech
Four Quartets
Friday, November 3 at 7:00 PM
Saturday, November 4 at 4:00 PM
Sunday, November 5 at 2:00 PM
Presented by Pontine Theatre in collaboration with Newington Historical Society.
Newington Old Town Hall
336 Nimble Hill Road
Newington, NH 03801
Posted on September 10th, 2017 by Figures of Speech
We are thrilled to announce that the Maine Arts Commission has awarded FST two grants for the coming year. (We’re also thrilled to announce that they still have enough funding to give grants!)
An Arts and Humanities Grant, issued jointly by the MAC and the Maine Humanities Council, will be used to support a tour of free performances of Four Quartets to libraries in Maine’s mid-coast region in 2018. There is still room for partnering libraries to join this tour. Please contact us if you would like more information.
MAC’s Arts Learning Grant will be used this school year to support a community-wide educational residency in Eastport, Maine. During the week-long residency, FST artists will help the 7th & 8th grade students to adapt local tales to the shadow stage in the latest iteration of The Art of Memory: Stories from Eastport. The original tales will be performed free for the community on Friday. In the interim, our artists will also work with every K-6 student in the district and offer a master class for adults!
Please join us in thanking the Maine Arts Commission and Maine Humanities Council for generously supporting our work.
Posted on July 24th, 2017 by Figures of Speech
NIGHTINGALE
Wednesday, July 26 at 7:00pm
Stonington, Maine
We’re thrilled to bring our performance of Nightingale to Stonington as part of Opera House Arts’ annual Live! for $5 series. Live for $5 consists of 6 hour-long, live performances held on Wednesdays throughout the summer designed so everyone, regardless of age, can enjoy live theatre.
Nightingale is an exotic, musical adaptation of the Hans Christian Andersen story of the Emperor who is moved by the song of a plain gray bird, until he receives the gift of a jeweled mechanical bird with which he becomes obsessed. The production gently stresses the importance of connection with Nature, and with the true essences of life.
The Stonington Opera House
1 Opera House Lane
Stonington ME 04681
$5 – Box Office opens at 6:30pm
Posted on April 17th, 2017 by Figures of Speech
This winter, our entire team of affiliate puppeteers and designers were called upon when FST was contracted to create puppets and sets for Holly Star, a feature-length film being produced in Maine.
The project was the primary focus of our creative and administrative time for four months, and included the challenge of pioneering the common ground between the film and puppet worlds, ensuring that both FST and the film team could achieve our goals, and integrating the two forms’ strengths and aesthetics. In the end, we were able to bring into the fold three new puppeteers and a new set designer while participating in a creative project that opens us up to a massive new audience.
We have attached some behind-the-scenes photos from the film set in case you’re curious, and will be sure to pass along information about the final film when it is released.
Enjoy!
John Farrell
Artistic Director
John Farrell on the set of Holly Star
Laura Collard puppeteers Santa, watched by Dylan Rohman and Vanessa Romanoff
Puppet Set Designer John Sundling puts the final touches on Santa’s Workshop
Ian Bannon puppeteers Sloan
Andy puppet moves a Christmas tree
Posted on February 2nd, 2017 by Figures of Speech
Thursday, March 16 @ 4:30pm
Portland Public Library, Portland, Maine
Tickets & screening info: www.portlandyouthfilmfestival.com
Film info: www.figures.org/memory
Posted on December 29th, 2016 by Figures of Speech
FST has been commissioned to create a series of puppets and sets for Holly Star, a feature-length film being produced in Maine this winter. The romantic comedy follows frustrated NYC puppeteer Sloan home to Maine for the holidays for some soul searching and a touch of love.
Pictured above is Santa, one of the eight characters featured in a series of puppet sequences.
Writer/Director Michael Nickles had originally written the role of Sloan as a stop-motion animator, but after seeing a demonstration of our Little Match Girl puppet, he re-worked the screenplay to make Sloan a puppeteer. Her childhood memories will be created in FST’s signature puppet style, with set elements shot separately and added with post-production magic. We can’t wait to start filming!
Posted on November 18th, 2016 by Figures of Speech
Videographer Derek Kimball just cut a trailer of the little match girl passion drawing on rehearsal footage from our January premiere at Bates College. Contact us today to inquire about this touring production!
Posted on October 22nd, 2016 by Figures of Speech
Please enjoy this short, lovely article on “The Art of Memory” from our project partners over at the Island Institute!
Posted on September 19th, 2016 by Figures of Speech
The Maine Arts Commission has awarded Figures of Speech Theatre a Creative Aging Grant in the amount of $1,000 to support an inter-generational celebration of creativity, storytelling, and puppetry.
The project will be a collaboration between Freeport’s Figures of Speech Theatre and The Park Danforth and St. Brigid School in Portland.
From October through May, Figures of Speech Theatre Director of Education, Ian Bannon will facilitate shared storytelling sessions with assisted-living residents at The Park Danforth. Bannon, a certified TimeSlips facilitator, will use the model to create a fun, supportive atmosphere for risk taking.
TimeSlips is a collaborative storytelling format that was originally designed for people with memory impairments and other cognitive disabilities. TimeSlips provides an ideal way for people with cognitive challenges to communicate and share in a collective affirmation as creative individuals. Anne Basting, the founder of Timeslips, was named a 2016 MacArthur Fellow just this week!
In April, Ian will work with four-dozen elementary students from nearby St. Brigid School to devise large-scale shadow puppet adaptations of six stories generated by the residents of The Park Danforth. The students from St. Brigid School will benefit from a positive, cross-generational exchange designed around the issue of memory loss. At the same time, numerous common core objectives (in language arts, performance, visual arts, and speaking and listening) will be addressed as they devise their performances.
In May, the students will perform their adaptations for the original storytellers at The Park Danforth. Local musician and frequent Figures of Speech collaborator Dave Noyes will compose a lush, live score during rehearsals and in the final performance.
TimeSlips facilitators call the culminating event a “celebration” and it is intended to foster pride in the residents. The residents’ families in attendance often gain a newfound appreciation for what the residents are capable of as well as ideas for new ways in which to interact with them. The performances will be followed by an ice cream social…something people of all ages enjoy!
The Maine Arts Commission is an independent state agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Posted on August 22nd, 2016 by Figures of Speech
The Art of Memory: Stories from Maine’s Outer Islands
Friday, September 23 at 7:00pm
Mayo Street Arts in Portland, Maine
The third and final mainland screening of The Art of Memory will be held at Mayo Street Arts, which has emerged as Southern Maine’s new home for puppetry.
