UPCOMING EVENTS
2014 FALL GLUE FACTORY PROJECT
SEPTEMBER 10 - 14, 2014
PARALLEL LIVES
A duet evening created & performed by BETH CORNING in collaboration with renowned award-winning dancer ARTHUR AVILES – former principal dancer with Bill T. Jones /Arnie Zane Dance Company.
Set design created by AKIKO KOTANI
Lighting design by IAIN COURT
Despite the constant “in touch” technology, humanity seems to be growing further apart, more sealed into our own worlds.
PARALLEL LIVES explores the quiet hum of the quotidian & our even quieter expectations that life could be more. Two strangers? Two lovers? Two neighbors? We don’t know for certain, however what we do know is they are separated by their inability to connect.
It is the everyday that is of interest here. That one moment of passing by a window, & in that fleeting glimpse what do we see? The audience and the performers metaphorically, and literally, separated by transparent walls, if we look through them, would we recognize ourselves, or deny the view and return to our virtually connected worlds? Moments of fantasy coincide with the mundane.
PARALLEL LIVES
Come & see. Come September.
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2015 SPRING GLUE FACTORY PROJECT
MARCH 25 - 29, 2015
AT ONCE THERE WAS A HOUSE
A zany theatrical ride that explores the question of "whatever happened to Dick & Jane?" A series of vignettes that range from the humorous to the poignant, from the comical to the disturbing.
Created as a commissioned work for Groundworks Dance Theater in Cleveland back in 2005, the work was recreated for the dancers of Dance Alloy Theater in 2007. This critically acclaimed 30-minute work will be expanded to a full evening production starring a multi-disciplined cast culled from Pittsburgh's best performing artists - including award-winning actor/director Martin Giles; Squonk Opera's Jackie Dempsey; Attack Theater's Michele de la Reza; and former PBT soloist Tamar Rochelle Tolentino. Performed by a seasoned group of performers who actually KNEW who Dick and Jane were!
“ A psychological thriller, full of vivid portraits that both delighted and discomforted. This was not only compelling dance, but compelling theater!” — Pittsburgh Post Gazette
“The irony is thick…an astonishing work…there is no guessing what comes next, and while there are lots of laughs in the piece, they’re balanced by poignant moments that make it thoughtful and persuasive.” — Akron Beacon
AT ONCE THERE WAS A HOUSE
Come & see. Come March.
2014 FALL GLUE FACTORY PROJECT
SEPTEMBER 10 - 14, 2014
PARALLEL LIVES
A duet evening created & performed by BETH CORNING in collaboration with renowned award-winning dancer ARTHUR AVILES – former principal dancer with Bill T. Jones /Arnie Zane Dance Company.
Set design created by AKIKO KOTANI
Lighting design by IAIN COURT
Despite the constant “in touch” technology, humanity seems to be growing further apart, more sealed into our own worlds.
PARALLEL LIVES explores the quiet hum of the quotidian & our even quieter expectations that life could be more. Two strangers? Two lovers? Two neighbors? We don’t know for certain, however what we do know is they are separated by their inability to connect.
It is the everyday that is of interest here. That one moment of passing by a window, & in that fleeting glimpse what do we see? The audience and the performers metaphorically, and literally, separated by transparent walls, if we look through them, would we recognize ourselves, or deny the view and return to our virtually connected worlds? Moments of fantasy coincide with the mundane.
PARALLEL LIVES
Come & see. Come September.
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2015 SPRING GLUE FACTORY PROJECT
MARCH 25 - 29, 2015
AT ONCE THERE WAS A HOUSE
A zany theatrical ride that explores the question of "whatever happened to Dick & Jane?" A series of vignettes that range from the humorous to the poignant, from the comical to the disturbing.
Created as a commissioned work for Groundworks Dance Theater in Cleveland back in 2005, the work was recreated for the dancers of Dance Alloy Theater in 2007. This critically acclaimed 30-minute work will be expanded to a full evening production starring a multi-disciplined cast culled from Pittsburgh's best performing artists - including award-winning actor/director Martin Giles; Squonk Opera's Jackie Dempsey; Attack Theater's Michele de la Reza; and former PBT soloist Tamar Rochelle Tolentino. Performed by a seasoned group of performers who actually KNEW who Dick and Jane were!
“ A psychological thriller, full of vivid portraits that both delighted and discomforted. This was not only compelling dance, but compelling theater!” — Pittsburgh Post Gazette
“The irony is thick…an astonishing work…there is no guessing what comes next, and while there are lots of laughs in the piece, they’re balanced by poignant moments that make it thoughtful and persuasive.” — Akron Beacon
AT ONCE THERE WAS A HOUSE
Come & see. Come March.
photo Frank Walsh
RECENT 2014 WINTER GLUE FACTORY PROJECT
RECIPES OUR MOTHERS GAVE US
premiered JANUARY 15 - 19, 2014, Pittsburgh, PA
"...a success…a richly textured experience… It has both laughter and sadness, sometimes in the same moment… a wry commentary… Given the eloquence with which she uses dance theater, her current work is a boon for those who appreciate the performing arts." — Mark Kanny Pittsburgh Tribune Review
"...mouth-watering details, so carefully assembled and thoughtfully presented, a trademark of Ms. Corning's work… she is nothing if not deliberate and maintains a bold vision… spellbinding… breathtaking finesse… "Recipes" should be seen by all women and the men who want to understand the mystery, power and awe of the opposite sex." — Jane Vranish, Pittsburgh Post Gazette
"…memorable... hilarious, but poignant and relevant… The show was filled with that wonderful balance of humor and seriousness". — Adrienne Totino, Coal Hill Review
"… thought-provoking use of contrast and juxtaposition… the performance is moving, and its strong effect on the audience prompted me to reflect on how correct Corning is in her observation that these recipes seem as if they are written into our DNA" — Wendy Aaron, The Pittsburgh Tatler
Created by Beth Corning, Francoise Fournier, & Maria Cheng. With special music/movement by Mary Ellen Childs. Lighting by Iain Court.
3 seasoned performers … an Asian, an American, and a French/Swede, explore societal stories that season one's life.
The lines we were fed, the words we imbibed, the recipes tried …
RECIPES for success, for failure, for nutrition, for starvation —
the world intrudes, the ingredients reinterpreted!
This work was made possible in part by generous support from:
CORNINGWORKS Board of Directors, First Commonwealth Bank,The Heinz Endowments, The Hillman Foundation, Individual Donors, The New Hazlett Theater, The Pittsburgh Foundation, PA Council on the Arts – Project Stream, The Priory Hotel, Port Authority of Allegheny County, WYEP 91.3 FM & Special Guest Sponsors: Goehring, Rutter & Boehmm, BNY Mellon Wealth Management, Capterra Risk Solutions, Sisterson & Co., LLP, Maggie Kanaan: Vice President/ Financial Advisor at Hefren-Tillotson, Inc., The Mastilak Wealth Management Group of Wells Fargo Advisors, LLC, The MBM Group, Turner Construction, & Crawford Ellenbogen, LLC
Guest Artists:
Maria Cheng
(performer/ collaborator) is a playwright, actor and choreographer. Her dance/theatre works have been presented to critical acclaim across four continents, including the Beijing Dance Association, Nordrhein-Westfalen Tanzfestival, Green River Festival of Australia, Djakarta International Dance Festival and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, among others. She was the choreographer for artistic director Liviu Ciulei’s productions at the Guthrie Theatre. The recipient of awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guthrie, Harkness, Jerome, McKnight and Rockefeller Foundations, she's played leading and featured roles at Theater Mu, Mixed Blood, Park Square and Penumbra Theatres in Minnesota and Lake Dillon, Backstage and Vintage Theatres in Colorado. Plays she has authored include Antecedents, AWSOMMM!, Spirit & Sworded Treks, Wok-up American Dream and Fermata. Retired from dance performance, she chaired the Dance Program at the University of Minnesota to national prominence. In 2012, she co-founded TEA – Theatre Esprit Asia in Denver, the southwest’s first and only Asian-Western theatre company.
(performer/ collaborator) is a playwright, actor and choreographer. Her dance/theatre works have been presented to critical acclaim across four continents, including the Beijing Dance Association, Nordrhein-Westfalen Tanzfestival, Green River Festival of Australia, Djakarta International Dance Festival and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, among others. She was the choreographer for artistic director Liviu Ciulei’s productions at the Guthrie Theatre. The recipient of awards from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Guthrie, Harkness, Jerome, McKnight and Rockefeller Foundations, she's played leading and featured roles at Theater Mu, Mixed Blood, Park Square and Penumbra Theatres in Minnesota and Lake Dillon, Backstage and Vintage Theatres in Colorado. Plays she has authored include Antecedents, AWSOMMM!, Spirit & Sworded Treks, Wok-up American Dream and Fermata. Retired from dance performance, she chaired the Dance Program at the University of Minnesota to national prominence. In 2012, she co-founded TEA – Theatre Esprit Asia in Denver, the southwest’s first and only Asian-Western theatre company.
Francoise Fournier
(performer/ collaborator) began her dance training at the Academie de Dance de Vitry sur Seine, outside Paris, France, before moving to Stockholm Sweden in 1977 where she continued her dance education, at Stockholm’s Dans Högskolan. Her performance career has spanned over three decades, beginning in 1985 when she began dancing for the renowned Swedish choreographer Per Jonsson, creating roles in many of his works including his iconic The Smiling Dog. Francoise has been engaged by, and danced for most of the top established Swedish choreographer’s including Björn Elisson, Kenneth Kvarnström, Suzanne Jaresand, Kajsa Giert, Margaretha Åsberg and Måns Erlandsson. As well, she has performed in many works by the critically acclaimed dancetheater choreographer/director Birgitta Egerbladh, and as an “actress” in numerous plays presented at Dramaten (the Royal Dramatic Theater) and Stadsteatern (The City Theater) of Stockholm, as well as several films. She recently starred with Henrik Dahl, in a two-person play AFTER RAOUL - IF THIS FEELING WE ALSO TELL, by Jenny Norbeck, at Teater Tribunalen in Stockholm. This spring she will begin touring a theater/dance production throughout Sweden called “Mams and Dads” by Måns Erlandsson, and My Areskoug.
(performer/ collaborator) began her dance training at the Academie de Dance de Vitry sur Seine, outside Paris, France, before moving to Stockholm Sweden in 1977 where she continued her dance education, at Stockholm’s Dans Högskolan. Her performance career has spanned over three decades, beginning in 1985 when she began dancing for the renowned Swedish choreographer Per Jonsson, creating roles in many of his works including his iconic The Smiling Dog. Francoise has been engaged by, and danced for most of the top established Swedish choreographer’s including Björn Elisson, Kenneth Kvarnström, Suzanne Jaresand, Kajsa Giert, Margaretha Åsberg and Måns Erlandsson. As well, she has performed in many works by the critically acclaimed dancetheater choreographer/director Birgitta Egerbladh, and as an “actress” in numerous plays presented at Dramaten (the Royal Dramatic Theater) and Stadsteatern (The City Theater) of Stockholm, as well as several films. She recently starred with Henrik Dahl, in a two-person play AFTER RAOUL - IF THIS FEELING WE ALSO TELL, by Jenny Norbeck, at Teater Tribunalen in Stockholm. This spring she will begin touring a theater/dance production throughout Sweden called “Mams and Dads” by Måns Erlandsson, and My Areskoug.
Mary Ellen Childs
(composer & collaborating choreographer of the "kitchen ensemble" section) was named a United States Artist Friends Fellow in 2011. She composes concert work, often with a strong visual element, for a variety of ensembles, including solo accordion, string quartets, chamber groups, and vocal works. The creator of many multi-media works, Childs is well known for her "visual percussion" pieces for her percussion group CRASH, in which she incorporates the movements of the bodies of the performers. Her repertoire includes DrumRoll, for four drummers on wheeled chairs, and Click, a fast-paced, game-like work for three stick-wielding performers, which The Village Voice deemed a "newly born classic, like Steve Reich's Clapping Music, only a thousand times more virtuosic." Childs has received commissions from the Kronos Quartet, Opera America, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, The Kitchen, the Walker Art Center, and the Other Minds Festival, among others. She also serves as Program Director for the McKnight Fellowships for Dancers and Choreographers at Northrop at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
(composer & collaborating choreographer of the "kitchen ensemble" section) was named a United States Artist Friends Fellow in 2011. She composes concert work, often with a strong visual element, for a variety of ensembles, including solo accordion, string quartets, chamber groups, and vocal works. The creator of many multi-media works, Childs is well known for her "visual percussion" pieces for her percussion group CRASH, in which she incorporates the movements of the bodies of the performers. Her repertoire includes DrumRoll, for four drummers on wheeled chairs, and Click, a fast-paced, game-like work for three stick-wielding performers, which The Village Voice deemed a "newly born classic, like Steve Reich's Clapping Music, only a thousand times more virtuosic." Childs has received commissions from the Kronos Quartet, Opera America, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, The Kitchen, the Walker Art Center, and the Other Minds Festival, among others. She also serves as Program Director for the McKnight Fellowships for Dancers and Choreographers at Northrop at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.
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RECENT 2013 GLUE FACTORY PROJECT
REMAINS — a one woman show
premiered June 2013, Pittsburgh, PA
"... a powerful exploration of experiences that will come to all of us if we live long enough… boldly conceived, emotionally varied and deeply personal… a tour de force… The coda is a theatrically bold gesture, but also inevitable and characteristic of Corning's aesthetic orientation."
— Mark Kanny, Pittsburgh Tribune Review
CLICK FOR MORE RAVE REVIEWS
Directed by award-winning Theater Director
Dominique Serrand
Choreography & performance by Beth Corning
After loss,
after dinner, after youth -
the ever-changing geography of one's life.
Dominique Serrand
Choreography & performance by Beth Corning
After loss,
after dinner, after youth -
the ever-changing geography of one's life.
CORNINGWORKS and the New Hazlett Theater present ... Pittsburgh’s 4th annual GLUE FACTORY PROJECT - the world premiere of REMAINS, a multi-disciplinary dancetheater one-woman show, created in collaboration with, and directed by, DOMINIQUE SERRAND director of the TONY award-winning theater company Theatre de la Jeune Lune, and currently THE MOVING COMPANY. Lighting by Iain Court. Co-presented by & performed at, The New Hazlett Theater June 5 - 9, 2013.
Pulitzer prize-winning author Marilynne Robinson once wrote, “It seems to me that what perished need not also be lost”. Perhaps, but how easy is that? What does one have to do to keep a memory alive? Does saving memorabilia help hang on to one’s past? From the smallest daily gesture to a seemingly monumental life event… when it’s past, what remains?
THE GLUE FACTORY PROJECT typically challenges audience assumptions on aging.
REMAINS takes that mission to new heights — literally confronting our end-time issues of memory and mortality, loss and legacy. Through a series of poignant, moving, and theatrically inventive vignettes, Corning traverses shifting landscapes … an empty home? one’s imagination? … stumbling on moments of memory, what had been and what is. REMAINS aims to take audiences on an honest and intimate journey exploring life’s lingering stages in all its relative joys and pains, humor and humility, and yes, stubborn and unfathomable remnants.
This work was made possible in part by generous support from BAR MARCO, CORNINGWORKS Board of Directors, The Fine Foundation, First Commonwealth Bank,The Heinz Endowments, The Hillman Foundation, Individual Donors, The New Hazlett Theater, The Pittsburgh Foundation & Heinz Endowments Professional Artist Grant, PA Council on the Arts – Project Stream, The Priory Hotel, Port Authority of Allegheny County, WYEP 91.3 FM.
Pulitzer prize-winning author Marilynne Robinson once wrote, “It seems to me that what perished need not also be lost”. Perhaps, but how easy is that? What does one have to do to keep a memory alive? Does saving memorabilia help hang on to one’s past? From the smallest daily gesture to a seemingly monumental life event… when it’s past, what remains?
THE GLUE FACTORY PROJECT typically challenges audience assumptions on aging.
REMAINS takes that mission to new heights — literally confronting our end-time issues of memory and mortality, loss and legacy. Through a series of poignant, moving, and theatrically inventive vignettes, Corning traverses shifting landscapes … an empty home? one’s imagination? … stumbling on moments of memory, what had been and what is. REMAINS aims to take audiences on an honest and intimate journey exploring life’s lingering stages in all its relative joys and pains, humor and humility, and yes, stubborn and unfathomable remnants.
This work was made possible in part by generous support from BAR MARCO, CORNINGWORKS Board of Directors, The Fine Foundation, First Commonwealth Bank,The Heinz Endowments, The Hillman Foundation, Individual Donors, The New Hazlett Theater, The Pittsburgh Foundation & Heinz Endowments Professional Artist Grant, PA Council on the Arts – Project Stream, The Priory Hotel, Port Authority of Allegheny County, WYEP 91.3 FM.
2012 GLUE FACTORY PROJECT
8 SOLD OUT HOUSES
4 RAVE REVIEWS!
Pittsburgh's 3rd annual
THE GLUE FACTORY PROJECT
The Life & Death Of Little Finn
an adult dancetheater puppet production
created in collaboration with
Canadian COMPANY X — led by critically acclaimed choreographer/designer Marina Harris
3 consummate performers,
6 puppets,
original animation,
& other numerous moving parts,
all combine to tell the story of
an ordinary, little man, made of clay and wood
struggling with love & life's fickle tango
For adults 18 & over.
• Click HERE for Animation Preview!
CORNINGWORKS’ presentation of the world premiere of THE LIFE & DEATH OF LITTLE FINN - a dancetheater/puppet show, for adults 18 years of age and older‑ is a collaboration with the multi-disciplinary Canadian COMPANY X from Nova Scotia, led by Marina Harris. This touching account of the life and death of Finn, one ordinary, mistreated little man, is told through original puppetry, animation, dance, and voice over.
THE LIFE & DEATH OF LITTLE FINN inhabits an intimately scaled multi-dimensional landscape, performed by three live professional dancers:
Beth Corning, artistic director of CORNINGWORKS
Melinda Evans, former principal dancer with Utah Repertory Dance Theater,
Marina Harris, classically trained dancer, award-winning choreographer, costume designer and writer
who partner two traditional 20-inch marionettes, three 15-inch rod puppets, one 11- inch hand manipulated doll, and other various moving objects, all hand made by Marina Harris.
Supporting the “live” action is an innovative use of original animation, also created by Ms. Harris, that runs throughout the hour-long production providing the moving scenery, commentary, and internal monologue for all the “performers”.
The irony of an adult dancetheater/ puppet production, performed after hours in the Children’s Museum, for an intimate audience of 30, promises a provocative, moving, and highly personal theater-going experience. A unique snapshot of memories and emotional ruminations that run the gamut from poignant to sad, funny to cruel — a bouquet of love’s fickle serenade.
This work was made possible in part by generous support from The Heinz Endowments Small Arts Initiative, MAYA Design, Port Authority, WYEP FM, First Commonwealth Bank, individual donations, CORNINGWORKS Board of Directors, City of Asylum, The Priory – A City Inn, & DISH Osteria Bar
8 SOLD OUT HOUSES
4 RAVE REVIEWS!
Pittsburgh's 3rd annual
THE GLUE FACTORY PROJECT
The Life & Death Of Little Finn
an adult dancetheater puppet production
created in collaboration with
Canadian COMPANY X — led by critically acclaimed choreographer/designer Marina Harris
3 consummate performers,
6 puppets,
original animation,
& other numerous moving parts,
all combine to tell the story of
an ordinary, little man, made of clay and wood
struggling with love & life's fickle tango
For adults 18 & over.
• Click HERE for Animation Preview!
CORNINGWORKS’ presentation of the world premiere of THE LIFE & DEATH OF LITTLE FINN - a dancetheater/puppet show, for adults 18 years of age and older‑ is a collaboration with the multi-disciplinary Canadian COMPANY X from Nova Scotia, led by Marina Harris. This touching account of the life and death of Finn, one ordinary, mistreated little man, is told through original puppetry, animation, dance, and voice over.
THE LIFE & DEATH OF LITTLE FINN inhabits an intimately scaled multi-dimensional landscape, performed by three live professional dancers:
Beth Corning, artistic director of CORNINGWORKS
Melinda Evans, former principal dancer with Utah Repertory Dance Theater,
Marina Harris, classically trained dancer, award-winning choreographer, costume designer and writer
who partner two traditional 20-inch marionettes, three 15-inch rod puppets, one 11- inch hand manipulated doll, and other various moving objects, all hand made by Marina Harris.
Supporting the “live” action is an innovative use of original animation, also created by Ms. Harris, that runs throughout the hour-long production providing the moving scenery, commentary, and internal monologue for all the “performers”.
The irony of an adult dancetheater/ puppet production, performed after hours in the Children’s Museum, for an intimate audience of 30, promises a provocative, moving, and highly personal theater-going experience. A unique snapshot of memories and emotional ruminations that run the gamut from poignant to sad, funny to cruel — a bouquet of love’s fickle serenade.
This work was made possible in part by generous support from The Heinz Endowments Small Arts Initiative, MAYA Design, Port Authority, WYEP FM, First Commonwealth Bank, individual donations, CORNINGWORKS Board of Directors, City of Asylum, The Priory – A City Inn, & DISH Osteria Bar
