A Chicago-Based production company is raising money to make a live cinematic shadow puppet show to take place at Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago in 2015.
Manual Cinema is crowdfunding via Kickstarter to create "Mementos Mori," a live shadow puppet performance the depicts three interrelated stories about death and technology. The Kickstarter campaign launched July 21 and as of Tuesday evening was over $4,600. The group is looking to raise $10,000.
Give their trailer a look. It's pretty badass.
The show will use uses more than 300 paper shadow puppets, seven overhead projectors, six puppeteers, three projection screens, three musicians, two cameras, and a video mixer. The Kickstarter campaign will be used to pay for the equipment, puppeteers and musicians.
The three stories Mementos Mori will tell involve:
- Melba, a seven year-old, is disturbed by visions of dying birds after she steals a pocket watch from a mysterious visitor.
- Mel, a washed up television host with a bad heart, finds unexpected romance in the arms of an enigmatic stranger.
- Marie, a bike messenger, delivers her final package from beyond the grave.
While based in Chicago, Manuel Cinema travels across the country playing at puppet festivals, art museums, and theater festivals. The Kickstarter wraps up on Aug. 20.
Image via Kickstarter by Jerry Schulman
