What happens to a symbol when it outlives its usefulness? Performer Mary Tuomanen and director Aaron Cromie explore the betrayal of Joan of Arc by her own army at Compeigne. A virtuosic solo show with masks, puppets and movement from the team that brought you the 2011 Fringe hit, A Paper Garden.
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Aaron Cromie is a Philadelphia based director, designer and performer who has been creating works of mask & puppet theatre nationally for over a dozen years. Mary Tuomanen is a Philadelphia performer and playwright educated at the Lecoq School of Movement in Paris. Together, they are combining their forces to make their first completely self-produced project -- Saint Joan, Betrayed -- a study of 15th century revolutionary, Joan of Arc.
This low-tech, high-impact piece relies on virtuosic storytelling, masks and puppets to tell the story of how the Maid of Orleans was betrayed by her own men, leading to her capture and ultimate execution. Why did the very people who were once willing to fight for this charismatic woman then allow her to fall to their enemies, unransomed? Saint Joan, Betrayed explores the paradox of how symbols can outlive their usefulness -- what happens when a movement believes it has outgrown its leader? We will also be incorporating the fantastic stories of the saints whose voices Joan claimed to hear -- St. Catherine, St. Michael and St. Margaret -- using toy theater scenes which Aaron developed this summer at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center National Puppetry Conference.
