Pointless Theatre Sets 2015-16 Season

Pointless Theatre, DC's premiere puppet spectacle company, has announced the 2015-2016 season with a slate of three productions that live up to the company's mission to "gleefully smash the traditional boundaries between puppetry, theatre, dance, music and the visual arts."

The upcoming season features Gimme a Band! Gimme a Banana! The Carmen Miranda Story, a brand new, original production presented as a part of the Women's Voices Theater Festival, and two new adaptations of previous Pointless productions: A Very Pointless Holiday Spectacular: The Annual North Pole Talent Show and Hugo Ball: A Super Spectacular DADA Adventure.

"We are adding an entire production to our season this year," says co-Artistic Director Matt Reckeweg. "On top of that, we are producing shows in two different venues. We are excited to be able to grow as a company as we look to sustain a high level of quality in our productions."

The season opens on October 14, 2015 with the debut of Pointless' samba spectacular, Gimme a Band! Gimme a Banana! The Carmen Miranda Story. This Brazilian-influenced production features Carmen Miranda's classic songs, including "The Girl From Impanema," as well as a live band, pantomime, dance, masks, and puppetry. The show draws visual inspiration from the colors and textures of Brazil, the birthplace of the co-creators of the production, Mel Bieler and Patti Kalil. "Most people know Carmen Miranda as the Chiquita banana lady," says Bieler, "But we are interested in exploring the untold story of this icon in our signature style and to share the sounds of samba with our audiences." Gimme a Band! Gimme a Banana! The Carmen Miranda Story is presented as a part of the Women's Voices Theater Festival, and it opens on October 14, 2015 and runs through November 14, 2015 at Capital Fringe's Trinidad Theatre (1358 Florida Ave, NE).

This holiday season, Pointless will return to the Mead Theatre Lab at Flashpoint (916 G St. NW) presenting their annual holiday production, A Very Pointless Holiday Spectacular: The Annual North Pole Talent Show, a winter cabaret for adults featuring puppetry, improv, sketch comedy, and a funky reindeer band. A Very Pointless Holiday Spectacular opens on December 1, 2015 and runs through January 2, 2016. This will be the second consecutive year that Pointless has presented A Very Pointless Holiday Spectacular.

In April 2016, Pointless will return to Capital Fringe's Trinidad Theatre to present their new adaptation of Hugo Ball: A Super Spectacular DADA Adventure. This production is a revival of Pointless' 2011 production, and the company plans to completely reimagine the production with new puppets, a new set, and new choreography so that audiences old and new will find something fresh to love about the show. The show is a one-of-a-kind experience loosely based on the life of Hugo Ball, one of the founders of the highly influential DADA anti-art movement. Through Ball's story, the show explores themes of art, love, faith, and the unexpected cost of pushing the boundaries. "We promise you that you're not going to see anything like it in the city, or anywhere else for that matter," says Reckeweg. "We hope to create an entirely entertaining and engaging spectacle that can only be called Pointless." Hugo Ball opens on April 15, 2016 and runs through May 14, 2016 at the Capital Fringe's Trinidad Theatre (1358 Florida Ave, NE).

This year marks the first time that Pointless will be producing a full production in the new Capital Fringe venue, blocks away from H Street and Gallaudet University. Both Give Me a Band! Give Me a Banana! and Hugo will be performed at the Trinidad Theatre, owned and operated by Capital Fringe, at 1358 Florida Ave, NE. "We are thrilled to not only provide more seating for our audiences," says Patti Kalil, Co-Artistic Director Pointless, "We are excited to once again have the support that comes with working with CulturalDC and to join hands with a new theater in Trinidad."

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