OMG! Can you feel the energy? QuestFest is almost here! Staff members from Quest and our partners are running from meeting to meeting. Artists are in rehearsals and planning their travel. Volunteers and interns are already lending a hand. We’ve got a great line up this year. Take a look at the QuestFest website and click on “performances.” QuestFest residencies are already underway. Black Cherry Puppet Theater is in rehearsals for a new show that we are commissioning. It’s called “Between Mean” and the show will have its world premiere at the Creative Alliance.
This year, for the first time, QuestFest will include a one-day FreeFest. Gallaudet University and Quest are partnering to present a full day of free performances and workshops on the Gallaudet campus on Saturday, March 31. The day will feature two remarkable groups from Catalan (Spain) and one of the DC area’s top visual theatre companies, Happenstance Theater. Pittsburgh area artist, Dan Kamin will perform his Mr. Slo-Mo. We’ll have street performers, stilt walkers, food, and crafts. We’re also creating a site-specific piece that will feature performers from both Gallaudet and Northeast Washington, DC.
The Theatre Project gets things started with performances again this year. The Nana Project will perform their charming show “Alonzo’s Lullaby” the first week of March. Miwa Matreyek, a remarkable visual theatre artist from California, will run the second week of March. Miwa’s work is mesmerizing.
Area students and community members participating in QuestFest residencies will perform visual theatre pieces that they have created at the QuestFest Community Showcase on Saturday, March 24 at the Creative Alliance. The showcase is one of the coolest things at QuestFest. And it’s free!
We welcome Joe’s Movement Emporium to the QuestFest family this year. Joe’s will serve as QuestFest’s primary theatre hub in the Washington area. There are tons of shows and workshops at Joe’s including “Balloonacy,” a visual theatre show for pre-school age children. Drew the Dramatic Fool is returning to perform “What the Fool?!?, which was so well received last year at the Theatre Project.
This week, we are starting to plan the QuestFest Conservatory and we hope to post the master classes, seminars, panel discussions, and workshops in a week or so. Keep checking the festival website for news and updates. See you there!
Silence!
The France-US Alliance and the French Embassy is sponsoring an evening of speechless art forms at Napoleon Lounge this Friday, January 20 at 8pm. Quest’s Wings Company will be performing two poems from their show “Road Signs” and leading a “poetry in motion” activity.
Mysterious and aimed for the open minded, Silence! bends the boundaries of artistic expression and asks the audience to find meaning in the absence of sound. In keeping with the poetic and thought provoking themes of this winter, AFDC is proud to present this artistic endeavor.
The event will feature a silent DJ set where guests will be equipped with wireless headphones, a screening of the finest French silent films, silent poetry and the discovery of sign language, and a Marceau inspired mime performance by Quest Affiliate Artist Mark Jaster.
Find your own beautiful perspective and explore the world without sound in this four-part experience that is sure to create a buzz, yet leave you completely speechless.
Napoleon Lounge // 1847 Columbia Road NW
$15 for AFDC members and $20 general admission.
RSVP 202.234.7911 or francedc.org\
This event is organized in partnership with Gallaudet University.
Thank You
We want to thank all of you have gave generously to Quest over the holiday season. Your contributions make a real difference. We also want to thank CVS Caremark for a $1,200 grant to support TheatreBridge, Quest’s visual theatre and literacy program.
