Manual Cinema

Manual Cinema MANUAL CINEMA is a performance collective, design studio, and film/ video production company based in

If you're in the Chicago area, seeing Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol is an absolute MUST this holiday season! 🌟🎄 Our re...
12/07/2024

If you're in the Chicago area, seeing Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol is an absolute MUST this holiday season! 🌟🎄 Our rendition combines shadow puppetry, live musicians, and actors to create an unforgettable show. Come see Christmas Carol at the Studebaker Theater (located in Chicago's historic Fine Arts Building) from December 13-29!

Tickets: https://shorturl.at/lubGP

Photos by Liz Lauren

Think you know Christmas Carol? Think again. 🎄 Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol uses hundreds of paper puppets, live acto...
12/01/2024

Think you know Christmas Carol? Think again. 🎄 Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol uses hundreds of paper puppets, live actors, and live musicians to bring Dickens’ tale to life in a totally unique way.

Experience this visual masterpiece December 13-29 at The Studebaker Theater. Located in the historic Fine Arts Building on Michigan Ave. ✨️

Tickets: https://shorturl.at/lubGP

It’s Black Friday—time to treat yourself to Christmas Carol tickets! 🎁✨ Give the gift of an unforgettable holiday experi...
11/29/2024

It’s Black Friday—time to treat yourself to Christmas Carol tickets! 🎁✨ Give the gift of an unforgettable holiday experience.

Manual Cinema’s Christmas Carol combines shadow puppetry, live music, and cinematic magic to reimagine Dickens’ classic story like never before.

📅 Performances: Dec. 13–29
📍 The Studebaker Theater - 410 South Michigan Avenue (Fine Arts Building)

🎟️ Let's get those tickets! https://shorturl.at/lubGP

What happens when Manual Cinema reimagines Christmas Carol? Pure holiday magic.🎄🤩 Our show is a blend of innovative pupp...
11/26/2024

What happens when Manual Cinema reimagines Christmas Carol? Pure holiday magic.🎄🤩 Our show is a blend of innovative puppetry, live actors, stunning visuals, and live musicians! Tickets are on sale now - be there or be 🔲. (Truly though, we hope you can join us!)

Tickets! 🎟️
https://shorturl.at/lubGP

Performances run Dec. 13-29 at The Studebaker Theater in Chicago.

Tis the season!! 🎄👻⛓️ Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol is back with our signature twist on this holiday classic! Our show...
11/20/2024

Tis the season!! 🎄👻⛓️ Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol is back with our signature twist on this holiday classic! Our show blends live actors, shadow puppetry, an original score, and cinematic magic to bring Dickens’ tale to life in a whole new way.

Performances run December 13-29 at The Studebaker Theater, located in the historic Fine Arts Building in Chicago.

Seriously, it's really good. Come see it!

Tickets are on sale now! 🎟️
https://shorturl.at/lubGP

11/15/2024
Aardman Animations is Hiring a few puppet focused positions! 👀
11/13/2024

Aardman Animations is Hiring a few puppet focused positions! 👀

View our Latest Vacancies

Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol is recommended by Chris Jones! Top 10 Holiday Shows to see this year! Dec. 13-29! Ticket...
11/13/2024

Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol is recommended by Chris Jones! Top 10 Holiday Shows to see this year! Dec. 13-29! Tickets & more info: https://shorturl.at/lubGP

Christmas tunes with Jane Lynch at Steppenwolf, anyone? Or “Frozen” in Aurora might just be the perfect holiday pick for families.

Leonardo! is coming to Eugene, OR this week for two performances! Thanks so much to the Hult Center for the Performing A...
11/11/2024

Leonardo! is coming to Eugene, OR this week for two performances! Thanks so much to the Hult Center for the Performing Arts for having us, we can't wait! 🌟🤓

Tickets: https://hultcenter.org/events/manual-cinema-leonardo/

SHOW TIMES:

Tuesday, Nov 12, 2024 @ 7pm
Wednesday, Nov 13, 2024 @ 7pm

Photo 1: Lily Emerson, Anney Fresh, Leah Casey, Photo by Rebecca J Michelson
Photo 2: Lily Emerson, Photo by Rebecca J Michelson

We're headed to Germany this week with Iron & Wine! If you're in Hamburg, Berlin, or Cologne, we'd love to see you at on...
11/08/2024

We're headed to Germany this week with Iron & Wine! If you're in Hamburg, Berlin, or Cologne, we'd love to see you at one of the shows! 🌟

Tickets: https://ironandwine.com/tours/

Nov 9, 2024 - Hamburg, Germany
Venue: Fabrik
Show Time: 8pm

Nov 11, 2024 - Berlin, Germany
Venue: Huxleys
Show Time: 8pm

Nov 12, 2024 - Cologne, Germany
Venue: Bürgerhaus Stollwerck
Show Time: 9pm

Photos by Claire Alaxandra

With election season upon us, we encourage you to make your voice heard. In addition to reminding you to vote, we also w...
11/05/2024

With election season upon us, we encourage you to make your voice heard. In addition to reminding you to vote, we also wanted to share this poem by Gwendolyn Brooks, featured in Manual Cinema's No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks.

Speech to the Young: Speech to the Progress-Toward (Among them Nora and Henry III)

By Gwendolyn Brooks

Say to them,
say to the down-keepers,
the sun-slappers,
the self-soilers,
the harmony-hushers,
"Even if you are not ready for day
it cannot always be night."
You will be right.
For that is the hard home-run.

Live not for battles won.
Live not for the-end-of-the-song.
Live in the along.

The European Leg of the Iron & Wine Light Verse Tour is in full swing! This week, we're heading to Denmark, Sweden, and ...
11/03/2024

The European Leg of the Iron & Wine Light Verse Tour is in full swing! This week, we're heading to Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. We're looking forward to our Scandinavian adventure 🇩🇰🇸🇪🇳🇴

Tickets: https://ironandwine.com/tours/

Nov 4, 2024 - Copenhagen, Denmark
DR Koncerthuset ()
Show starts at 20:00/8:00 PM

Nov 5, 2024 - Stockholm, Sweden
Göta Lejon ()
Show starts at 19:00/7:00 PM

Nov 6, 2024 - Oslo, Norway
Rockefeller Music Hall ()
Show starts at 19:00/7:00 PM

Nov 7, 2024 - Gothenburg, Sweden
Pustervik ()
Show starts at 19:00/7:00 PM

Photos by James Murray

Hey Des Moines! 🌟 Leonardo! is heading your way tomorrow, November 2nd, at the Des Moines Civic Center! This show uses h...
11/01/2024

Hey Des Moines! 🌟 Leonardo! is heading your way tomorrow, November 2nd, at the Des Moines Civic Center! This show uses hundreds of illustrated paper puppets, book pages, two-dimensional props, furry monster puppets, and songs to bring Mo Willems' books to life. It's a blast for all ages, and we hope you can make it! 🤓🌈☂️

Tickets: https://www.desmoinesperformingarts.org/whats-on/events/2024-2025/family-series/leonardo-a-wonderful-show-about-a-terrible-monster

Thanks to Des Moines Performing Arts for having us, we can't wait!

SHOW TIME:
Saturday, November 2 @ 11am
Venue: Des Moines Civic Center
Presented by Des Moines Performing Arts

Image 1: Leah Casey, Sarah Fornace, Lily Emerson, and Anney Fresh. Photo by Rebecca J Michelson
Image 2: Leah Casey, Sarah Fornace, Lily Emerson, and Anney Fresh. Photo by Rebecca J Michelson

Exciting news! Tickets for Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol are NOW LIVE! 🎄👻⛓️ Co-presented by Studebaker Theater and the...
10/29/2024

Exciting news! Tickets for Manual Cinema's Christmas Carol are NOW LIVE! 🎄👻⛓️

Co-presented by Studebaker Theater and the historic Fine Arts Building, our adaptation of Charles Dickens' timeless tale blends shadow puppetry, live actors, and an original musical score to deliver a visually impressive and emotionally powerful experience.

Performances will run from December 13-29 at the Studebaker Theater, in Chicago.

We can't wait for you all to experience the magic of this show!

Tickets: https://www.fineartsbuilding.com/events/christmas-carol/

Chicago, that's a wrap! Thank you for an incredible weekend of shows at the beautiful . To the cast and crew and all the...
10/27/2024

Chicago, that's a wrap! Thank you for an incredible weekend of shows at the beautiful . To the cast and crew and all the lovely audiences we love you and couldn't do it without you! 🥰 Till next time! ⚡⚡⚡

It's nearly showtime, Chicago! 🧟‍♂️ Frankenstein is coming to the iconic Studebaker Theater this weekend! We've stitched...
10/23/2024

It's nearly showtime, Chicago! 🧟‍♂️ Frankenstein is coming to the iconic Studebaker Theater this weekend! We've stitched together an incredible show for you and we can't wait to see some familiar faces in the audience! If you haven't purchased tickets yet, now is your chance! 🎟️

Tickets: https://www.fineartsbuilding.com/events/frankenstein/

Chicago Frankenstein Show Times:⁠

Friday, Oct 25 @ 7:30 PM⁠
Saturday, Oct 26 @ 7:30 PM⁠
Saturday, Oct 26 @ 2:00 PM⁠
Sunday, Oct 27 @ 2:00 PM⁠

Photo 1: Manual Cinema's Frankenstein, Sarah Fornace, photo by Tiffany Bessire
Photo 2: Manual Cinema's Frankenstein, photo by Michael Brosilow
Photo 3: Manual Cinema's Frankenstein, Julia Miller, photo courtesy Elly White

Address

2203 W 21st Street
Chicago, IL
60608

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Manual Cinema

MANUAL CINEMA is a performance collective, design studio, and film/ video production company founded in 2010 by Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace, Ben Kauffman, Julia Miller, and Kyle Vegter. Manual Cinema combines handmade shadow puppetry, cinematic techniques, and innovative sound and music to create immersive visual stories for stage and screen.


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