NextLOOK: The Clarice and Joe’s New Incubator Series Launches with Pointless Theatre, October 11

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Sarah Snyder
ssnyder3@umd.edu
301.405.8151

College Park, MD— The innovative and exuberant Pointless Theatre Company presents three world-premiere puppet spectacles at Joe’s Movement Emporium in Mount Rainier, Maryland on October 11 at 7pm. The performance is part of NextLOOK, a new incubator series presented by The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center and Joe’s Movement Emporium.

Join Pointless Theatre for this special works-in-progress showing, after which audience members will have a chance to ask questions about the works and engage in formative conversations as the pieces continue to be developed. The audience will be asked to share their ideas with the artists through a written response, a drawn visual response or through a discussion directly with the creative teams. The performance is Pay What You Want. In addition to the October 11 showing and conversation, Pointless Theatre will be in residency at Joe’s October 9-13.

About the puppet spectacles

Half Hangit Maggie tells the story of a Scottish barmaid who was hung in the gallows of Edinburgh and lived to tell the tale. Inspired by traditional Scottish ballads, the saucy story of Maggie Dickson is brought to life through shadow puppetry and live song and dance. In Cake in the Sky, an imaginative world of food is brought to life through a variety of styles of puppetry as a community struggles to reach the most delectable goal imaginable. Join a group of scouts through a magical menagerie in Famous Birds, an immersive experimentation in shadow puppetry inspired by classic cartoons. These puppet spectacles contain profanity and may not be suitable for children.

About Pointless Theatre

Comprised of alumni from the UMD School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies, Pointless Theatre is smashing traditional boundaries of how a work of theatre is developed through its innovative devising process. Three teams made up of one writer, one designer and one director team up to create a unique idea and realize the process over the course of the year. Over the summer of 2014, these works were rehearsed and performed in Pointless’ unique style that blends puppetry, theatre, dance, music and the visual arts.

Pointless Theatre strives to have no artistic boundaries or limitations. Their ensemble approach to creating theatre through play and improvisation informs their work, and their performers’ energy and commitment to their performances stems in part from this method of creation.

About NextLOOK

The Clarice is partnering with Joe's Movement Emporium in Mount Rainier, Maryland to offer this new incubator series for both locally-based and touring artists who want to develop new work with input from the community. Pointless Theatre is the first in the NextLOOK series followed by Vincent E. Thomas/VTDance on January 8, 2015 and BOOMScat on March 3, 2015. All performances take place at Joe’s.

Tickets

More information can be found on our website. Tickets for this performance are Pay What You Want. For more info, visit the website or call (301) 405-ARTS (2787).

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Located on the University of Maryland campus and a part of the College of Arts and Humanities, The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center is a premier presenting arts venue and collaborative laboratory shared by the Artist Partner Program (APP), the School of Music (SOM), the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies (TDPS), Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library (MSPAL) and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission (M-NCPPC).  The Clarice made its debut in 2001 and has grown into a national model for campus performing arts centers, presenting performances and programs by artist partners as well as by students, faculty and alumni of SOM and TDPS. The Clarice is building the future of the arts now.

The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center is supported by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council, an agency dedicated to cultivating a vibrant cultural community where the arts thrive. An agency of the Department of Business & Economic Development, the MSAC provides financial support and technical assistance to nonprofit organizations, units of government, colleges and universities for arts activities. Funding for the Maryland State Arts Council is also provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. 

Joe’s Movement Emporium is the largest independent performing arts center in Prince George’s County, MD. Founded in 1992, it is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that incorporates dance, movement and performing arts traditions from around the world into exceptional educational and artistic experiences. Joe’s unique ability to utilize the arts as a vehicle for progressive education, workforce training and economic growth have made it one of the most well-respected nonprofit organizations in the region. For more information call 301-699-1819 or visit joesmovement.org.