Credits
Pointless Theatre Presents: Don Cristóbal
Don Cristóbal freely adapts Federico Garcia Lorca's iconic puppet show El Retablillo de Don Cristóbal.
Story adaptation by Patti Kalil, Rachel Menyuk, Eric Swartz
Ensemble
VANESSA CHAPOY Rosita
ADRIAN IGLESIAS Puppeteer/Guardia
ADRIANNE KNAPP The Madre/Guardia
PAZ LOPEZ THe Poet/Lorca
THAIS MENENDEZ The Director
MATTHEW SPARACINO* Don Cristóbal/The Actor
SCOTT WHALEN* The Enfermo
* Pointless Company Member
^ Pointless Artistic Associate
Scenery built by Renegade Productions
Production
RACHEL MENYUK* & ERIC SWARTZ Co-Directors
MEL BIELER* Set Designer
FRANK LABOVITZ* Costume Designer
FRANCISCO BENAVIDES Puppet Designer
AMY KELLETT Props Designer
NIOMI COLLARD Lighting Designer
EVAN COOK Sound Designer
LEX DAVIS* Fight Director
HAYDEN MORRISETT Stage Manager
ANTONELLA PEREZ FERRERO Assistant Stage Manager
NAVID AZEEZ* Production Manager
SPECIAL THANKS. AACPS Studio 39, Brick Hill Properties, Theater Alliance. Stephen Baker, Steve Cosby, Etta Hulcher, Devin Mahoney, Jaime Nudd, Jennifer Osborn, Mike Winch.
Pointless Theatre’s 2017-18 Season is generously sponsored by The Nora Roberts Foundation, The Patrick and Beatrice Haggerty Foundation, and The Share Fund. Funded in part by the D.C. Commission on the Arts & Humanities, an agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.
Ensemble
VANESSA CHAPOY (Rosita)
Pointless Premiere! Other: The Lathe of Heaven (Ensemble/Spooky Action Theatre & Georgetown University), In the Next Room, or the vibrator play (Annie/Georgetown University), Wind Me Up, Maria! (Morgan Adams/Georgetown University). Vanessa has a BA in Spanish and Theatre & Performance Studies from Georgetown University. Much love to Pointless for this opportunity and her family for their unconditional love and support!
ADRIAN JESUS IGLESIAS (Puppeteer/Guardia)
Pointless Premiere! Other: The Lathe of Heaven (Ensemble/Spooky Action Theater), Blancaflor (Prince/GALA Hispanic Theatre), ¡Cajas, Cajas, Cajas! (U/S Boy/Imagination Stage). Upcoming: A Sidewalk Stroll (Encore Stage & Studio). Adrian did not attend the University of Maryland, but very much likes to fit in.
ADRIANNE KNAPP (The Madre/Guardia)
Pointless Premiere! DC: Stop and Smell the Rosé (Sarah/LiveArt in a Day 2018). Pittsburgh: Romeo and Juliet (Juliet/PICT Classic Theatre), 1984 (Gladys/Prime Stage Theater), Prometheus Bound: A Puppet Tragedy (Power/Io, Irma Freeman Center for Imagination). Point Park '16. In bocca al lupo, crepi il lupo!
PAZ LOPEZ (The Poet/Lorca)
Pointless Premiere! Other: Alley Kids (City Kids Theatre), Jacqmin Family in the Petrified Forest and a Microwave Night (2017 Source Festival), Don Juan Tenorio (GALA Hispanic Theatre), Cajas, Cajas, Cajas! (U/S, Imagination Stage), Oyeme, the Beautiful (Imagination Stage). She has a B.A. in Acting and Staging from the Universidad Mayor of Santiago, Chile. She has also trained at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts in Washington, D.C.
THAIS MENENDEZ (The Director)
Pointless Premiere! Other: Óyeme, The Beautiful (Valentina/Imagination Stage), VolcanO!, Tales of El Salvador (GALA Hispanic Theatre), What Every Girl Should Know and Dry Land (Anne, Reba/Forum Theatre). Caucasian Chalk Circle (U/S Shauva/Constellation Theatre). Neverwhere (Jessica, Lamia/Rorschach Theatre). Thais graduated from Boston College, teaches yoga around DC, and has had very surreal dreams throughout this process. ¡un fuerte abrazo para mi familia!
MATTHEW SPARACINO (Don Cristóbal/The Actor)
Pointless: .d0t :: a RotoPlastic Ballet, Hugo Ball, A Very Pointless Holiday Spectacular, Doctor Caligari, Canterbury, Imagination Meltdown Adventure. Other: The Farnsworth Invention, Lobby Hero (1st Stage), Six Degrees of Separation (Keegan Theatre), The Winter’s Tale, Antony & Cleopatra (Folger Theatre), Animal (Studio Theatre), Never Never (Barabbas Theatre), The Campsite Rule (Washington Rogues), Richard II, Dracula, The Merchant of Venice (Chesapeake Shakespeare), FEVER/DREAM (Woolly Mammoth). Matt is so proud to share the stage with this outstanding cast. Upcoming: Illyria (Orsino/WSC Avant Bard). matthewsparacino.com
SCOTT WHALEN (The Enfermo)
Pointless: Minnie the Moocher, Doctor Caligari, Sleeping Beauty: a Puppet Ballet, .d0 t :: A RotoPlastic Ballet, King Ubu, Hugo Ball: A Dada Puppet Adventure, Gimme a Band, Gimme a Banana: The Carmen Miranda Story, Canterbury, Imagination Meltdown ADventure, The Solar System Show. Other: Peter Pan, Titus Andronicus (Synetic Theatre), FEVER/DREAM (Woolly Mammoth Theatre), Hand to God (U/S, Studio Theatre. Upcoming: My Fathers Dragon (Synetic Theatre).
POINTLESS THEATRE CO. is dedicated to creating bold, visceral, and affordable spectacles that gleefully smash the traditional boundaries between puppetry, theatre, dance, music, and the visual arts. Through our work we excite a passion for adventurous art in the nation's capital and nurture a diverse, active, and inspired audience.
Production
FRANCISCO-JAVIER BENAVIDES (Puppet Design) Pointless Premiere! Hailing from Minneapolis, MN; where he was a frequent collaborator with Theater Forever and Teatro Del Pueblo, a founding
member of the creatively named Neutral Mask Collective, and a staple at numerous cabarets and art happenings. Other: H.T. Darlings Museum by (Puppet Maker & Actor/Submersive Productions). Upcoming: A Horse By The Tail In The Night at (Submersive Productions).
MEL BIELER (Set Design) Mel is a founding company member of Pointless Theatre. Select Pointless: Give Me A Band... (Co-Playwright, Set, Puppets), Doctor Caligari (Production Manager), A Very Pointless Holiday Spectacular (PM & Set Designer), Sleeping Beauty: A Puppet Ballet (Stage Manager & PM), Canterbury (SM & PM), Imagination Meltdown Adventure (PM). Mel has worked professionally as a Production Manager and Stage Manager for various Washington, DC theatre companies, and is now and Event Designer with Design Foundry.
NIOMI COLLARD (Lighting Design) Pointless Premiere! Other: PBS Newshour, Step Afrika!, BHAVI The Avenger, The Source Festival. Remember kids, at your smallest components you are indistinguishable from a forest fire.
EVAN COOK (Sound Design) Pointless Premiere! Evan’s work has also been heard in The Pavilion (The Hub Theatre) and The Love of The Nightingale (CUA). See and hear more at evancook.audio.
PATTI KALIL (Co-Adapter) Pointless: Rite of Spring (Story), Imogen (Set Design), d0t::a RotoPlastic Ballet (Puppets), King Ubu (Puppets), Gimme a Band, Gimme a Banana! The Carmen Miranda Story (Co-Playwright, Set, Puppets), Hugo Ball (Set, Puppets), Doctor Caligari (Set- Helen Hayes Nomination). Other: Where Words Once Were (Props/Kennedy Center-TYA), Twist Your Dickens (Props/The Second City- Kennedy Center), Peter Pan (Props/Synetic Theatre), Still Life with Rocket (Props/Theatre Alliance), Hello, My Name is (Props/The Welders). Patti is a graduate at the Juilliard School Professional Internship program, and holds an MFA in Studio Art from MICA, and a BA in Theatre from the University of Maryland, College Park.
AMY KELLETT (Props Design) Pointless: Rite of Spring (Puppet & Props), King Ubu (Props). Other: The Late Wedding (The Hub Theatre), Peekaboo! (The Hub Theatre), She Kills Monsters (HCC), The Three Musketeers (Synetic Theater), A Tale of Two Cities (Synetic Theater), New Play Festival 2016 (YPT), Mein Kampf (Scena Theatre). Some of the other hats Amy wears in the DC area include being a company member/puppeteer/puppet builder with Wits End Puppets and a freelance scenic artist.
FRANK LABOVITZ (Costume Design) Pointless: Rite of Spring, King Ubu (Director), Costumes for Gimme a Band, Gimme a Banana!, Doctor Caligari, Sleeping Beauty: A Puppet Ballet, Mark Twain's Riverboat Extravaganza. Other: Roundhouse Theatre, Studio Theatre, Forum Theatre, Theater J, Metrostage, Imagination Stage, and Adventure Theatre. Helen Hayes Awards: Dreamgirls (Signature Theatre, 2013). Nominations: The Threepenny Opera (Signature Theatre, 2015), The Totalitarians (Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, 2015). Frank received his MFA in design from The University of Maryland (which might explain how he got dragged into all this Pointlessness).
RACHEL MENYUK (Co-Director/Co-Adapter) Select Pointless: King Ubu (Puppets), Hugo Ball: A Dada puppet AdveNTurE!!/?1!!?? (Assistant Director), Doctor Caligari (Jane), Sleeping Beauty: A Puppet Ballet (Ensemble), Canterbury (Nun). Other: Rachel has worked with Live Action Theater, Infinite Stage, Wit's end Puppets and is a dancer and acting coach with the Performing Arts Repertory Company (PARC). She couldn't have done this without Eri(c and K) and of course, Charlie.
HAYDEN MORRISSETT (Stage Manager) Pointless: .d0t:: a RotoPlastic Ballet and King Ubu (Assistant Stage Manager). Hayden is thrilled to be back in DC and back with these weirdos!
ANTONELLA PEREZ FERRERO (Assistant Stage Manager) Pointless Premiere! Nightfall with Edgar Allan Poe (SM/Rose of Athens), Casa Patas Flamenco Show (SM,LBO/Gala Hispanic Theatre), Bored of Education (SM/UMD Second Season). Antonella has her BA in Theatre and Performance Studies from the University of Maryland.
ERIC SWARTZ (Co-Director/Co-Adapter/Translator) Pointless: Doctor Caligari (Stage Manager). Other: Theater Alliance (select): Still Life with Rocket (Producer, Stage Manager), Mnemonic (Producer, Props Design), Black Nativity (Producer, Stage Manager, Props Design), Word Becomes Flesh (Producer), Going to a Place where you Already Are (Asst. Director, Producer), Occupied Territories (Stage Manager, Line Producer). Forum Theatre: Nat Turner in Jerusalem (Stage Manager). Eric was Associate Artistic Director at Theater Alliance from 2015-2017, and was a Creative Producing Fellow with the Latino Theater Company at the Los Angeles Theatre Center for the 2017 Encuentro de las Américas. He is a graduate of Amherst College and a proud DC native. Gracias, Mami, for insisting that I speak Spanish.
DONORS & SUPPORT
THANK YOU TO OUR DONORS
Join the team and get unlimited access to $15 tickets all season.
Berserk ($1K+)
James O'Leary, Victor Shargai and Craig Pascal, Robert Moossy and Kipp Rhoads, Design Foundry LLC, Scott Circle
Absurd ($500+)
Janet Barlett, Katie Golden, Laura Gross, Nelson Kalil and Maria Marques, Tom Mounteer, James Osteen, Leigh Smiley, Joanne and Mark Whalen
Crazy ($250+)
Lindsey Boyle, Cadie Chea, Tara and Pat Cox, Cory Frank, Ed Gramlich, Carol and Tim Herder, Adam Immerwahr, Robert Kimmins, David Kriebs, Carl and Undine Nash, Vickie and Paul Olson, Gary and Anna Marie Richmond, Jonah Richmond, Stephanie Rodriguez, Catherine Schuler, Allan Stevens, Allan Stevens, Peggy Whalen, Greg and Cindy Wilby, Caroline Wilkins, Bridget Woodbury, Jonathan Zucker
Wacky ($100+)
Ewing Miller and Donna Ari, Leigh Baltuch, Nancy Barnett, Alison Beyrle, Daniel Borinsky, Frank Cervarich, Rose Ann Cleveland, Timm and Patricia Curran, Rachel and Brian Dombroski, John Driscoll, Erik Gensler, David and Katrina Grusell, Alison Drucker and Thomas Holzman, Colin Hovde, Catheeja Ismail, Aysha Ismail, Robert Horton and Elisabeth Kaplan, James Keegan, Christopher Klug, David Kornreich, Michael Krass, Traute and James Langmesser, Brian Lieberman, Peter Loge, Joseph and Terry Mauceri, Sara Cormeny and Pete Miller, Nell Minow, Andrea Moore, James Murphy, Marc Okrand, David and Mairi Rothman, Claire Schwartz-Menyuk, Michael and Mayra Sparacino, John and Brenda Sparacino, Linda Stillman, Tanya Surtees, David Tannous, Roy and Joanne Whitehead, Susan Campbell and Terence Winch
Silly ($50+)
Rebecca Barish, Daniel Borinsky, Kevin Boteler, Elizabeth Carter, Margaret & Frank Cervarich, Ann Chismar, Annie Choudhury, Jacques Coughlin, Ursula David, Anne Eigeman, Marcy Gerstenhaber, Busy Graham, Hannah Hessel, Nancy House, Debbie Jackson, Todd Johanesen, Eileen Keefe, David Kessler, Jennifer Knight, Lisa Kokoszka, Michael Krass, Nancy Linden, Mike McKenna, Sandy McKenzie, Laura Menyuk, Marc Okrand, Stephen and Elizabeth Parks, Charles Pearson, Julia Przedworski, Korey Rothman, Juliet Sablosky, Lisa Saks, Karen Siatras, Maggie Ardiente and Roy Speckhardt, Carol Spring, Benjamin Stearn, Paul Turner, David and Karen Van Wyck, Laura Wood, Catherine Fry and David Yarmchuk, Mary Kay Zuravleff
Pointless Theatre Named 'One of the Best' Nonprofits by the Catalogue for Philanthropy
The Catalogue believes in the power of small nonprofits to spark big change. As the only locally-focused guide to giving, its goal is to create visibility for the best community-based charities, fuel their growth with philanthropic dollars, and create a movement for social good in the greater Washington region.
POINTLESS Staff
PATTI KALIL & MATT RECKEWEG, Co-Artistic Directors
DAVID LLOYD OLSON, Managing Director
ALISON BEYRLE, Director of Development
SCOTT WHALEN, Director of Public Relations
FRANK CERVARICH, Director of Audience Engagement
RACHEL PARKS, Director of Digital Marketing
NAVID AZEEZ, Director of Visual Communications
LEX DAVIS & JOSIE FELT, Co-Production Managers
SARAH WILBY, Special Events Manager
ALEX LEIDY, Resident Dramaturg
Board of Governors
David Lloyd Olson, Chair
James O'Leary, Vice-Chair
John A.J. Barkmeyer, Esq., Secretary
Katie Golden, Treasurer
Laura Gross, Patti Kalil, Matthew Reckeweg, Bridget Woodbury
Company Members. Mel Bieler, Aaron Bliden, Lee Gerstenhaber, Frank Labovitz, Devin Mahoney, Rachel Menyuk, Sadie Rothman
EMERETI: John Hamilton & Ruth Anne Watkins
Artistic Associates. Kyra Corradin, Mary Catherine Curran, Madeline Key, Owen McCusker, Robert Christopher Manzo, Stacy Musselman, Matthew Sparacino, Nick Wilby, Michael Winch