Press

 

“Director Thomas’ magic took on full force [in Pierrot Lunaire], with a production of grand inventiveness, beauty, and visual poetry… Thomas conjures a stage that blends the harsher, more jagged aesthetic of the expressionists of Berlin and Vienna with the delicate, vulnerable acrobats and clowns of Picasso’s pink and blue period.”

Hedy Weiss, Chicago Sun-Times

 

“I saw an American ingenuity and openness among the creators and performers that gave a certain wholeness and freshness to the enterprise and perhaps explained in part the ovations of the three sold-out houses which contained many people for whom Schoenberg’s music was not only entirely new but, just as he would have wished, a revelation.”

Critic's Choice with Andrew Patner, 98.7WFMT Radio Chicago

 

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Description

 

Blair Thomas, whose “work so impressed festival organizers that they practically built [the festival] around him,” Pittsburgh City Paper, founded Blair Thomas & Company. in January 2002, following his work with Redmoon Theatre Company as a founding member in 1989. Supporting the development of his puppet-based visual theatre work, The Chicago Tribune states: “the technique and commitment on display is nothing short of staggering.”
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Blair Thomas Biography

 

Blair Thomas has been selected as the 2006-2007 Jim Henson Artist-in-Residency position at the University of Maryland, College Park. He has been on the faculty of The School of the Art Institute of Chicago since 1991.

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Repertory>full repertory info

 

Pierrot Lunaire (44 minutes) and Reflections on the Nature of Water (20 minutes)

Pierrot Lunaire and Reflections on the Nature of Water tour together, a collaboration with eight blackbird (touring in conjunction with ICM Artists). Pierrot Lunaire, Schoenberg’s landmark twelve-tone cabaret opera, features soprano Lucy Shelton.

 

Rabbit’s Tale (40 minutes)

In this wordless story, a rabbit befriends a young boy only to be swindled away by two long-nosed twin tricksters. A dancing wise man and a clumsy giant ogre each try to assist, but ultimately it’s the gentleness of the rabbit that warms the hearts of his captors.

 

Ox Herder's Tale (estimated 80 minutes)

The Ox-Herder Tale is 80 minutes of visual theater, with 3 puppeteers, 4 performers (including the stilt walkers), 2 percussionists, and two crew/staff (total touring company of 11).

 

Downloads and Links

Website: Blair Thomas & Company

 

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