**This program has been postponed for next summer**
“Crankies” are an old-fashioned form of entertainment in which a story is drawn on a long roll of paper, and then cranked across a stage from one side to another, accompanied with music and a storyteller.
For an example of crankies in action here’s folk duo Anna and Elizabeth performing the ballad “the Golden Vanity.”
Over five days of workshops, June 24 – 28, and a Saturday presentation, middle school students and rising 6th graders will learn to create and present a musical “Crankie” candlelight cinema production on the Patterson School Foundation campus in Happy Valley. Classes will run from 10am to 2pm daily, with a bagged lunch break. Water will be provided.
Students will create an original story inspired by local flora, fauna and fable, and will draw and paint a manually cranked cinema backdrop to express their story. A theatrical presentation for family and friends will cap the week on either Friday evening or Saturday evening , June 28th or 29th, TBA.
Students will learn about visual storytelling with the “Crankie” – including character development, theatrical play, collaborative drawing and art-making, storyboarding, negative space and silhouettes. The week-long workshop will be held in the Art Studio of the Wiese Dorm from 10am to 2pm daily, with a bagged lunch break. Up to 12 students can be included, with a minimum of 9 students required. Cost / student for the week-long workshop is $115, including all materials. A professional video of the workshop and final performance will be provided.
Instructors for the class are Kathy Ford and Alistair Burke, who own and operate Star of the Sea Studios in Watauga County. Kathy attended Yale School of Drama and is teacher, puppeteer and theatrical artist. A student of acting, voice and movement, she has performed with the Yale Repertory Theater, Boston Lyric Opera, The American Ballet and the Manhattan Children’s Museum. Kathy has worked over the past thirty years as an artist “without borders” with K – 12, collegiate and special education groups. A love of local flora, fauna and fable continues to inform and inspire her work.
Alistair Burke is a performer and photographer / videographer with over fifteen years’ experience producing theater and film. He trained as a teacher with the Metropolitan Opera Guild; earned a BFA in film, television and fine arts at Hunter College, and pursued further studies at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. His films, videos and photographs are represented in the collections of Hewlett Packard, Bank of America, Heifer International, Nickelodeon – Nick Kids, Appalachian Energy Summit, Appalachian State University and Appalachian Voices. Alistair has been a Guest Teaching Artist at Long Island University and has performed at Pratt Institute in New York City.
BASIC DAILY SCHEDULE FOR “CRANKIE” CLASSES
Day 1 – Introduction to Crankies, Storyboarding, Character Creation
Day 2 – Making the Crankie Panel and Characters, Playing with Voice and Presentation, Rehearsal
Day 3 – Making the Crankie and Developing Theatricality and Presentation, Rehearsal
Day 4 – Finishing Touches, Staging and Blocking, Costume Fittings, Rehearsal and Integrating Music
Day 5a – Dress Rehearsal with Music
Day 5b or Day 6 (TBA) – Evening Performance
Kathy Ford is a master costumer, puppeteer and theatrical performer; and Alistair’s favorite character to play is “a pompous troll with bragging rights to the moon and back.” This class will be lively, fun and educational.
Contact Liza Plaster for more information and to register at lizaplaster@bellsouth.net or 828 / 758-0906.
Scholarships available to those with financial need.