Manual Cinema's 10th Anniversary RETROSPECTACULAR! Kicks Off July 27

Manual Cinema, the Chicago-based performance collective, design studio, and film/video production company founded by Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace, Ben Kauffman, Julia Miller, and Kyle Vegter, will celebrate the company's 10th Anniversary with a four-week virtual celebration launching Monday, July 27 at Noon CST.

Titled Manual Cinema's 10th Anniversary Retrospectacular!, this month-long virtual birthday party will bring back four of the company's most seminal shows from the past 10 years on multi-camera, high-definition video and in their entirety.

Today, Manual Cinema revealed its four-show, "best of" Retropectacular! line-up: Lula Del Ray (July 27-August 3), The End of TV (August 3-10), No Blue Memories: The Life of Gwendolyn Brooks (August 10-17) and Frankenstein (August 17-23).
All four shows will be free to enjoy at manualcinema.com/watch.

i??Each week's show will be posted on Monday at noon, where it will be available for free, 24/7 on-demand viewing until the following Monday at noon, when it will be replaced with the next week's show.

Each show will open with a personal introduction from one of the company's five co-artistic directors, who will briefly introduce its place in Manual Cinema's history. The streams also come with a suggested donation to Manual Cinema to compensate for lost touring income due to Covid-19.

In addition, live, online, virtual talkbacks reuniting each production's creators, collaborators and fans are Saturday, August 1 for Lula Del Ray, Saturday, August 8 for The End of TV, Saturday, August 15 for No Blue Memories and Friday, August 21 for Frankenstein. Talkbacks start at 8 p.m. CST. Mark your calendar for the culminating event of Manual Cinema's 10th Anniversary Retrospectacular!: Manual Cinema's LIVE Tele-FUN-draiser World Premiere Special, Saturday, August 22 at 8 p.m. CST.

Manual Cinema's fans, friends, funders and artists will gather online for a one-night-only retro variety show. This live virtual celebration will be hosted by Manual Cinema's Julia Miller, includes cameos by characters featured in past Manual Cinema productions, along with special guest artists like Myra Su, who will perform one of her unique shadow crankie pieces, and singer/songwriter/visual artist Maren Celest, who will share a musical set.

Climaxing this must-see event is the world premiere of a new, 15-minute work created and performed live by Manual Cinema's five co-artistic directors featuring shadow puppetry, toy theater, cinematic techniques, and innovative sound and music. Again, donations will be encouraged to compensate for lost touring income due to Covid-19.

Visit manualcinema.com for more information about Manual Cinema's 10th Anniversary Retrospectular! and Manual Cinema's LIVE Tele-FUN-draiser World Premiere Special.

For the very latest updates, follow Manual Cinema on Facebook at facebook.com/manualcinema, on Instagram at instagram.com/manual_cinema and on Twitter at @ManualCinema.