William H. Gile Series Welcomes Mummenschanz to Capitol Center for the Arts

The Capitol Center for the Arts is pleased to present the revolutionary theater artists Mummenschanz as part of the FREE Gile Series on Wednesday, January 13, at 7pm.

Since their first performances on Broadway over 40 years ago, Mummenschanz (roughly meaning masquerade) has thrilled audiences around the world. Their spectacular and revolutionary nonverbal theatrical style has created an extraordinary number of well-loved figures and fantasy creatures in the shape of versatile face masks, half-body to whole-body masks, and three-dimensional sculptural heads. On stage, they amazingly turn everyday objects and materials into abstract forms, simple costumes, and expressive masks. They engage in a wordless dialogue with the audience that is filled with humor and imagination. The stories and episodes deal with human relationships which can be understood by any audience around the world, across any linguistic and cultural boundaries.

In 1972, Bernie Schurch and Andres Bossard, both from Switzerland, with Italian-American Floriana Frassetto formed their now celebrated visual theater group. Though each had a different background, the three artists were united by a common goal: to create a non-verbal theatrical language that would transcend the traditional barriers of nationality and culture. From their first major success at the Avignon Festival 1972, they have been performing in Western and Eastern Europe to North and South America, from Middle East and Africa to Asia, Australia and New Zealand, including the most renowned worldwide festivals. They performed for three years at Broadway's Bijou Theatre (demolished in 1982 to make room for the Marriott Marquis Hotel) defying all expectations and being enthusiastically reviewed by the world's most important magazines and newspapers.

Since 2000, Mummenschanz has become a company of five with founders Floriana Frassetto and Bernie Schurch joined by Pietro Montandon, Raffaella Mattioli, and technical director Jan Maria Lukas. They will perform a retrospective on 33 years of Mummenschanz.

The William H. Gile Concert Series opened on December 16, 1960 after a legacy of more than $700,000 was left by Helen B. Gile to finance a free concert series for the residents of Concord. The bequest was made in memory of Miss Gile's father, William H. Gile.

Tickets for this free Gile Series Performance are available Tuesday, December 15, at 11am, by calling 603-225-1111, online at www.ccanh.com, and at the box office, located at 44 South Main Street, Concord, NH 03301, on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.