Monthly Archives: October 2012

Sell out hit at the 2012 Cincinnati Fringe Festival returns for three encore performances

Know Theatre of Cincinnati is very excited to announce the return of the 2012 Artists’ Pick of the Fringe, GRIM AND FISCHER from The WONDERHEADS November 9 & 10, 2012. Hailing from Portland, Oregon, the WONDERHEADS perform in full-face mask, a wordless form that mixes European larval mask traditions with character mask styles, resulting in a craft rarely seen on North American stages. The production is family friendly, suitable for ages 10 and up.

“We tried to have the Wonderheads back for our Fall Mini-Fringe Festival, but they couldn’t quite fit it into their schedules for that week,” says Producing Artistic Director Eric Vosmeier. “We are thrilled to be able to present GRIM AND FISCHER to Cincinnati audiences again. There is not a great deal of mask work like this on local stages and this is beautiful example of how a simple story can be made into an extraordinary piece of theatre.”

Death meets his match in Mrs. Fischer, a tenacious granny not ready to breathe her last. An aging grandmother is pit against none other than the Grim Reaper and confronts the inevitable question: what is it to know your end is nigh? Can you ignore death? Can you escape death? Can you hit death in the face with a frying pan? A tender telling of an absurdly epic journey; one woman’s fight for survival takes fantastical flight in a showdown with Grim himself.

GRIM AND FISCHER is a new dish made of old ingredients. It is performed in full-face mask, a wordless, whimsical form rarely seen on North American stages which audiences have described as watching a living cartoon, or ‘live-action Pixar’. And like a cartoon, the power of GRIM AND FISCHER lies in its ability to step away from the sharpness of reality and offer a different lens though which to examine a deeper, darker universal struggle: our fear of death. In this distinct style of storytelling, with a rich soundscape, timeless slapstick and masterful physical performances, GRIM AND FISCHER takes its audience on a profound journey that is at turns both hilarious and heart-breaking.

All tickets for this performance are $12. Tickets can be purchased by visiting knowtheatre.com or by calling the box office at 513.300.KNOW (5669).

About The Wonderheads
WONDERHEADS Theatre is a multi-award winning physical theatre company specializing in mask performance and exquisite visual storytelling. Their work is performed in full-face mask, a wordless form that mixes European larval mask traditions with character mask styles, resulting in a craft rarely seen on North American stages. Audiences have described the experience as watching a living cartoon – the whimsy and imagination of Pixar or Jim Henson in theatrical form. In this distinct style of storytelling, with rich soundscapes, fantastical puppetry, timeless slapstick and masterful physical performances, WONDERHEADS make it their business to evoke a spirit of awe in even the most serious and respectable of adults.

Know Theatre of Cincinnati is supported, in part, by the generosity of community contributions to the ArtsWave Campaign. The Ohio Arts Council helps fund Know Theatre with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans. Know Theatre is supported by the National Theatre Company Grant from The American Theatre Wing, dedicated to supporting the most promising emerging theatre companies from around the country. Know Theatre of Cincinnati also receives support from The Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation, helping to change our communities for the better through collaboration and innovation..

Our mission is to create evocative and explosive live entertainment.
Our vision is a world awakened to its collective possibility.
We value a playful artistic community where artists can collaborate and grow.