Puppeteers
LIZI BREIT (Witch, Puppeteer) is a Chicago-based artist. She has been performing and designing with Manual Cinema since 2011.
LEAH CASEY (Witch, Puppeteer) is a Chicago-based actress, dancer, and writer. When not on stage, she can be found lending her voice to all manner of audiobooks, or with the cast of Project STELLAR, a science fiction podcast about a group of crazy kids who have close encounters of the awesome kind. Chicago credits: Murder on the Orient Express, Grease, Cinderella (Drury Lane), A Christmas Carol (Writers Theatre/Manual Cinema), Leonardo and Sam (Chicago Children’s Theatre/Manual Cinema), Frankenstein (Court Theatre/Manual Cinema), For Colored Girls… (Court Theatre), Romeo and Juliet (Teatro Vista), STORM (Walkabout/Moonfool). Leah is represented by the dedicated team at Shirley Hamilton.
SARAH FORNACE (Girl, Puppeteer, Co-Deviser, Co-Artistic Director) is a director, puppeteer, choreographer, and narrative designer based in Chicago. She is a co-Artistic Director of Manual Cinema. Outside of Manual Cinema, Sarah has worked as a performer or choreographer with Redmoon Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre Company, Court Theatre, Steppenwolf Garage, and Blair Thomas and Co. Most recently, Sarah wrote the story mode for the video game Rivals of Aether. In 2017, she directed and edited the first episode of the web series, The Doula is IN. In 2016, she directed and devised an “animotion” production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet with Rokoko Studios for HamletScen at Kromborg Castle in Elsinore, Denmark.
JULIA MILLER (Lead Witch, Puppeteer, Co-Deviser, Silhouette Masks, Co-Artistic Director) is a director, puppeteer, and designer. With Manual Cinema she has directed Mementos Mori and The End of TV as well as created original roles in Frankenstein (The Creature/Elizabeth), Ada/Ava (Ada), Lula del Ray (Lula’s Mother), The Magic City (Helen), Hansel und Gretel (Hansel), and Leonardo! (Sam). In Chicago, she has worked as a performer and puppeteer with Redmoon Theatre and Blair Thomas and Co. She spent several years training in devised theatre, clown and mask with Double Edge Theatre, Carlos García Estevez and at the Accademia dell’Arte in Arezzo, Italy.
JEFFREY PASCHAL (Macbeth, Puppeteer) is originally from a town called Corning in Upstate New York. In 2012 Jeff moved to Chicago to go to school at Northwestern University where he majored in Theatre. At Northwestern Jeff was involved with several theatre productions including Fabulation directed by Jerrell Henderson and Anna in the Tropics directed by Henry Godinez as well as directing and producing several short films through the school’s RTVF program. Jeff graduated from Northwestern with a B.S. in Theatre in 2016. He currently lives in Chicago and is represented by Gray Talent Group.
Musicians
CAROLINE JESALVA (Violin, Vocals – Understudy 11/7, 11/8, 11/9) is a Chicago-based musician, improviser, multidisciplinary artist, and curator. She studied music at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, MA where she developed a practice centered on contemporary, improvised and experimental music composition and performance. Her work intersects many disciplines including experimental theater, songwriting, performance art, classical music, and free jazz. Caroline is a member of the improvising collective BananaAcid, and performs regularly with musicians and artists, such as cellist Katinka Kleijn and saxophonist Sarah Clausen. She has performed on violin as a soloist, in duos, and with ensembles such as Bang on a Can, ECCE Arts Ensemble, and Crossing Borders Music, appearing at venues across the U.S. including Jordan Hall, MASS MoCA, Compound Yellow, Oracle Egg, Elastic Arts Foundation, Moeser Auditorium, The Hideout, Hungry Brain, BOMBYX Center for Arts, Rosehill Cemetery, and the International Museum of Surgical Science.
LIA KOHL (Cello, Vocals) is a cellist, composer, and multidisciplinary artist based in Chicago. She creates and performs music and multimedia performance that incorporates sound, video, movement, theater, and sculptural objects. She has presented work and performed at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Walker Art Center, Chicago Symphony Center, and Eckhart Park Pool, and held residencies at Mana Contemporary Chicago, High Concept Labs, dfbrl8r Performance Art Gallery, Mills College and Stanford University.
LUCY LITTLE (Violin, Vocals) is a musician, improvisor, composer, and audio producer currently based in NYC, but with deep and loving roots in Chicago, where she lived for 10 years. As a composer, Lucy has written and recorded scores for theatrical productions and podcasts, including for the Audible Original plays Daddies (2022) and Marrow (2023). As a performer, Lucy plays violin with the Chicago-based indie rock and folk project Half Gringa, has an electroacoustic solo project, and has performed with musicians from around the world, including with singer/songwriters Aisha Burns, Dani Larkin, MICHA Música, Afarin Nazarijou, and more. Lucy holds a Master’s degree from the New England Conservatory, a Bachelor’s from the University of Chicago, is an U.S. Fulbright alum and a 2022 OneBeat Fellow.
ALICIA WALTER (Keys, Guitar, Vocals) is a singer-songwriter, composer, and pianist from Chicago. Known for her “near-cosmic voice” (WIRED) and “stratosphere of songwriting all her own” (Consequence of Sound), Walter has released two celebrated albums under her own name: Right Noise (BIG EGO Records 2023) and I Am Alicia (Sooper Records 2021). In 2024, she performed in venues across the US and Europe, most recently alongside artists Veronica Swift and Danielle Ponder. Her music has been featured in nationally syndicated TV shows, including NBC hit drama, “This Is Us,” and “All Rise.” Walter rose to acclaim as bandleader of beloved Chicago-based art rock group, Oshwa.
Staff & Creative Team Bios
LAURA COLBY (Creative Producer) Recipient of NAPAMA’s 2016 Liz Silverstein Award, Colby secures funds to create new work via Elsie Management (which she founded in 1995). In 2020, Colby served as Creative Producer in the creation and delivery of Manual Cinema’s Christmas Carol – a show that was live-streamed for 24 performances in December 2020, during the height of the pandemic closures. She served as Managing Producer for LaTasha Barnes’ The Jazz Continuum and Monique Martin’s Minty Fresh Circus. Colby’s podcast, The Middle Woman, a roadmap to managing the performing arts, is available on all podcast platforms. www.elsieman.org
DREW DIR (Concept, Director, Storyboards and Puppet Design, Co-Deviser, Co-Artistic Director) is a writer, director, and puppet designer. Previously, he served as the Resident Dramaturg of Court Theatre and a lecturer in theater and performance studies at the University of Chicago. He holds a master’s degree in Text and Performance Studies from King’s College London and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
GRIFFIN DISTASI (Costume Assistant) (they/he) is an illustrator, maker, voice actor, and circus artist who has been spending the years since graduating University of Illinois with a degree in mechanical engineering working to marry engineering and art any way they can. Their work spans from poster design and comic illustration to rigging and puppet design, and they are thrilled to be working with Manual Cinema for the first time.
DAVID GOODMAN-EDBERG (Lighting Designer) is a Chicago based lighting designer working in the realms of dance, theatrical, and architectural design. He has designed and toured with such companies as Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, Eisenhower Dance Detroit, Visceral Dance Chicago, and Water Street Dance Milwaukee, and lit works set on companies such as Chicago Repertory Ballet, Chicago Tap Theater, Joel Hall Dancers, and Thodos Dance Chicago. Theatrically, he has designed with puppet & object oriented companies such as Rough House and Cabinet of Curiosity as well as with such companies as Adventure Stage, Akvavit Theatre, Factory Theater, The Gift Theater, Organic Theater, Red Tape Theater, The Syndicate, and Trap Door Theatre. Architecturally, he has lit pieces at the art space 6018|North and worked as an assistant/associate designer for projects at various Universal Studios theme parks (in Beijing, Hollywood, Orlando, and Osaka), Disney Shanghai, and several Margaritaville restaurants. dglxdesign.com
RYN HARDIMAN (Stage Manager and Board Operator Oct 30 – Nov 02) is a Chicago-based artist, technician, designer, and stage manager. In addition to touring as a Stage Manager with Manual Cinema, Ryn also works as an AV Technician at The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Humanities Festival, Blue Man Group Chicago, The Second City, and is currently the Technical Director at The Neo-Futurists.
BEN KAUFFMAN (Original Score and Sound Design, Co-Artistic Director) is a composer, director, interactive media artist and co-Artistic Director of Manual Cinema. His film and interactive work has been shown at The Jay Pritzker Pavilion (Chicago), The Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum (Chicago), and CUNY’s Baruch College (NYC). He has lectured and given workshops at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York University and Parsons the New School of Design. His past Composer/ Sound Designer credits with Manual Cinema include Ada/ Ava, The End of TV, and the New York Times documentary The Forger. He holds a Master’s degree from New York University’s Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP).
CAITLIN MCLEOD (Puppet Build Assistant) is a Chicago based costume, scenic, and puppet designer. Recent design credits include: Romeo and Zooliet (St. Louis Shakespeare); Fat Ham (Virginia Stage Co); The Little Mermaid (Drury Lane); Lavender Men (About Face); Blues for an Alabama Sky (Virginia Stage Co);The Dream King (Teatro Vista); Trouble in Mind (Timeline); The Seagull (Steppenwolf); Exquisite Corpse (Rough House). Craftwork credits include The Goodman, The Kennedy Center, Lookingglass, and Northlight. Caitlin is a co-curator of NBS: Chicago’s Puppet Slam, company member of Rough House, and project manager of the Chicago Puppet Studio. Instagram @CaitlinMcLeodDesign
SULLY RATKE (Costume and Wig Design) is a multi-disciplinary visual story-telling artist with an appetite for compelling language, mystery, whimsy, and spiritual philosophy.
MIKE USREY (Audio Engineer) “That may be the most important thing to understand about humans. It is the unknown that defines our existence. We are constantly searching, not just for answers to our questions, but for new questions. We are explorers. We explore our lives day by day, and we explore the galaxy trying to expand the boundaries of our knowledge. And that is why I am here: not to conquer you with weapons or ideas, but to coexist and learn.” – Benjamin Lafayette Sisko
KYLE VEGTER (Stage Manager and Board Operator Nov 03 – Nov 09, Original Score and Sound Design, Co-Artistic Director) is a composer, producer, sound designer, and Managing Artistic Director of Manual Cinema. As a composer of concert music he’s been commissioned by such groups as The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNOW series, The Pacific Northwest Ballet, and TIGUE. His music and sound design for theater and film has been performed worldwide and commissioned by the New York Times, NPR’s Invisibilia, Topic (First Look Media), the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, StoryCorps, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Poetry Foundation, Hubbard Street Dance, the O, Miami Poetry Festival, and others. His past Composer/ Sound Designer credits with Manual Cinema include Lula Del Ray, Ada/ Ava, FJORDS, Mementos Mori, The End of TV and various other performance and video projects. He has been an artist in residence at High Concept Laboratories, and co-founded Chicago’s only contemporary classical music cassette label Parlour Tapes+.
Presents
LIZI BREIT (
LEAH CASEY (
SARAH FORNACE (Girl, Puppeteer, Co-Deviser, Co-Artistic Director) is a director, puppeteer, choreographer, and narrative designer based in Chicago. She is a co-Artistic Director of Manual Cinema. Outside of Manual Cinema, Sarah has worked as a performer or choreographer with Redmoon Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre Company, Court Theatre, Steppenwolf Garage, and Blair Thomas and Co. Most recently, Sarah wrote the story mode for the video game Rivals of Aether. In 2017, she directed and edited the first episode of the web series, The Doula is IN. In 2016, she directed and devised an “animotion” production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet with Rokoko Studios for HamletScen at Kromborg Castle in Elsinore, Denmark. 
JULIA MILLER 
JEFFREY PASCHAL (Macbeth, Puppeteer) is originally from a town called Corning in Upstate New York. In 2012 Jeff moved to Chicago to go to school at Northwestern University where he majored in Theatre. At Northwestern Jeff was involved with several theatre productions including 
CAROLINE JESALVA (Violin, Vocals – Understudy 11/7, 11/8, 11/9) 
LIA KOHL (Cello, Vocals) is a cellist, composer, and multidisciplinary artist based in Chicago. She creates and performs music and multimedia performance that incorporates sound, video, movement, theater, and sculptural objects. She has presented work and performed at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, the Walker Art Center, Chicago Symphony Center, and Eckhart Park Pool, and held residencies at Mana Contemporary Chicago, High Concept Labs, dfbrl8r Performance Art Gallery, Mills College and Stanford University.
LUCY LITTLE 
