Kindred Widows – Nov 1-3

ABOUT

Kindred Widows paints a dreamlike portrait of a family that is both terrifying and banal. Through the story of Amanda, who was mute during the last 18 years of her life, this work examines how memory is passed along between women of different generations. Drifting between reality and imagination, the dining room table serves as a theatre where the past resurfaces. As the violin plays, fragments of life, loaded with secrets, flow into each other, and overlap with everyday gestures. Rooted in a personal narrative tinged with dark humor, this wordless creation invites us to enter the elusive universe of memory.

Press Representative: Sam Rudy Media Relations

Photo: Sylvie-Ann Paré

CREDITS

Claudine Rivest is a multidisciplinary artist from Quebec dedicated to the art of puppetry for ten years. She has trained in both visual arts (Atelier Sfumato, 2008) and contemporary puppet theater (UQAM, 2017) and creates non-verbal universes that are both playful and strange. Her short pieces Pipo and Amanda have been performed in Québec and abroad. Her most recent creation Kindred Widows (Les veuves parallèles, 2023), created with the collaboration of Sophie Deslauriers as director, is her first long piece. She has also directed short animated films and collaborated with several puppet theater companies as Les Sages Fous and Théâtre des Petites Âmes.

Creation, design and performance: Claudine Rivest   Stage direction: Sophie Deslauriers and Claudine Rivest                                         Music: Isaac Beaudet-Lefèbvre Lighting design: Nancy Longchamp                               Collaboration on animated costume design: Sylvie Baillargeon                               Collaboration on set design: Paul Foresto                               Assistance with puppet design: Sophie Deslauriers                   Advisor on hand puppet manipulation: Noë Cropsal       Advisor on dramaturgical movement: Olivia Faye Lathuillière                                 Coproduction : Les Sages Fous
Claudine Rivest would like to thank the Canada Council for the Arts, Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec as part of the Mauricie partnership program, Les Sages Fous, Maison de la culture Marie-Uguay, La Bulle-lieu de création, Atelier Silex, Casteliers, Isabelle Payant and Dinaïg Stall.

The 11th La MaMa Puppet Festival Fall 2024 is made possible by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, the Acción Cultural Española (AC/E), the Cultural Office of the Spanish Embassy in Washington DC and the Cultural Office of the Consulate General of Spain in New York, the Howard Gilman Foundation, The Jim Henson Foundation, the Québec Government Office in New York, Puppet Slam Network, Radio Drama Network, The Shubert Foundation. Additional support from Cheryl Henson is gratefully acknowledged.