Jalopy Theatre Presents: An Evening at Flushing Town Hall
SAT, DEC 16, 2023
8:00 PM
Doors open: 7:30 PM
Performance: 8:00 PM
Flushing Town Hall no longer requires visitors or performers to show proof of vaccination against COVID-19; wearing a mask is optional but recommended. For more details, please visit www.flushingtownhall.org/covid-safety
The Jalopy Theatre Presents: An Evening at Flushing Town Hall
Featuring: The Jalopy Chorus & The Loneliness of Either, Or: A Requiem for Joan of Arc, by Ali Dineen and the Boxcutter Collective
Songwriter Ali Dineen and Brooklyn-based puppet troupe Boxcutter Collective join forces to present The Loneliness of Either, Or: A Requiem for Joan of Arc, a performance that weaves together personal histories, our present political moment, and the story of Joan of Arc.
Part concert and part pageant, this evening of song and pageantry will explore the story of Joan of Arc, the 19 year old woman who was burned at the stake in 1431 for refusing to wear women’s clothing. Twenty years later, Joan was declared a martyr, and almost 500 years later she was canonized by the same Catholic Church that convicted her and sentenced her to death.
The Loneliness of Either, Or: A Requiem for Joan of Arc examines the lesser known nuances of Joan’s story, delving into her relationship to gender, prophecy, and faith. Using giant puppets, pageantry, and original music for piano and choir, this show asks the question: where do we find hope and faith in a world full of contradictions and false prophets? Drawing upon the works of scholars such as Sylvia Federici and Leslie Feinberg, as well as the songwriter’s own history, this Requiem looks to understand where we turn when our heroes, myths and gods betray us, and what we can learn from the the in-between places in our lives.
Artist Bios:
BOXCUTTER COLLECTIVE
The Boxcutter Collective is a Brooklyn-based puppet theater troupe made up of seven core members. The founding members met while working at the Bread and Puppet Theater, and after creating shows together for many years in different combinations, in 2016 they decided to formally band together to harness the power of puppet shows for the forces of good. Since then, Boxcutter has been relentlessly creating and performing new work including Caveman Ballet, Happyland! Now!!, Everything is Fine, Dimension Zero: Brain Robbers from Outer Space, and The Divinity Supply Company, a collaboration with Peter Schumann of the Bread and Puppet Theater. They have performed at many venues across New York City, including La Mama Experimental Theater Club, Amant Arts, Coney Island USA, Rubulad, and the Jalopy Theatre, where they are the resident theater collective. Boxcutter has also performed at the NYC International Puppet Fringe Festival, the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, and the Brooklyn Folk Festival. They are currently working on their first feature length film, How to Deal with Tantrums, coming to a screen near you in 2024.
Learn more about this troupe at boxcuttercollective.org or on social media @boxcutter_collective.
ALI DINEEN
Ali Dineen is a songwriter, visual artist and teacher born and raised in Queens. Ali has performed at the Museum of Art and Design, the Caramoor American Roots Music Festival, the American Folk Art Museum, and the Brooklyn Folk Festival, among other wonderful venues, and was awarded the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation Residency in 2020. Ali is also the music director for local puppet troupe extraordinaire The Boxcutter Collective, arranges music and sings with Reverend Billy & the Stop Shopping Choir, and is part of a duet with the inimitable Feral Foster. Ali released a third album, Hold On, in 2020, and plans to record again soon.
Learn more about this artist at alideen.com or on social media @ali_dineen.
JALOPY CHORUS
The Jalopy Chorus, Jalopy’s resident vocal ensemble, is a community chorus that sings a wide variety of world folk harmony traditions. Founded in 2014 by Eva Salina and Olivia Lynch, and currently co-led by Eva Salina and Ali Dineen, the Chorus performs regularly at the Jalopy Theatre, and has also performed at the Brooklyn Folk Festival and the Washington Square Park Folk Festival. In October 2018, the Chorus performed in The Mile-Long Opera: A Biography of 7 o’clock, an immersive choral work performed on The High Line with 1000 singers from all over New York City. In the winter of 2022, the Chorus participated in the interactive installation of Your Voices by Artist Es Devlin at Lincoln Center.
Learn more about this ensemble at jalopytheatre.org or on social media @jalopychorus.
JALOPY THEATRE AND SCHOOL OF MUSIC
The Jalopy Theatre and School of Music is a multi-faceted arts space showcasing evolving folk and traditional music and art from New York City, the Americas, and the world. Our programming supports artists, fosters multi-generational community, and provides enrichment and education about our shared musical heritage.
Learn more about this organization at jalopytheatre.org or on social media @jalopybrooklyn.