Manual Cinema’s Ada/Ava

Mourning for her twin sister Ava, elderly Ada marks time alone in a life built for two when a travelling carnival plunges her into a journey across the thresholds of life and death. Ada/Ava comes to life on both stage and screen with vintage overhead projectors, multiple screens, puppets, actors, live-feed cameras, multi-channel sound design, and a live music ensemble. Manual Cinema transforms the experience of the cinema and imbues it with ingenuity and theatricality, using a gothic tale to explore mourning and melancholy, self and other.

Based in Chicago, Manual Cinema is a performance collective, design studio, and film/video production company. Manual Cinema combines handmade shadow puppetry, cinematic techniques, and innovative sound and music to create immersive stories for stage and screen. The Chicago Tribune said, “To describe Manual Cinema as just a shadow puppet show is to say Pixar makes cartoons.”

Audience testimonials:

"It was an astonishing performance, it far surpassed any expectations. Astounding virtuosic performances, so great to be able to watch the performers doing their magic and lovely to interact with them afterwards."

Mia

"Best night of theatre I've had in a long time. Please bring Manual Cinema back for more shows! We love them! I would have gone back the very next night to see Ada/Ava all over again!"

Heather

"I loved the performance! I found the combination of shadow puppets and live actors intriguing and engaging...thanks for making theatre in Vancouver more interesting!"

Barbra

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