Applied Mechanics

Three months after the close of THIS IS ON RECORD, and still so much to be proud of.   We pushed ourselves to create: The most technically ambitious Applied Mechanics show to date, which has earned Maria Shaplin a well-deserved Barrymore nomination for Outstanding Projection Design A album’s worth of songs in the style of […]

By Mary Tuomanen A friendly young man in a distinctly 1980s mustache speaks to an unmanned, distinctly 1980s camera. He is smiling, vulnerable. He sings a goodbye song to someone he loved, someone who was taken by the AIDS epidemic. He rescues his love from being a statistic by telling stories about him, making him

By Mary Tuomanen Haverford students shuffle into a small movie theater, confronted with a disheveled figure with half-purple hair (the inimitable Annie Wilson). She murmurs her deadpan into the microphone, thanking the college for having her in residence to work on a documentary on “Selfie Culture”. She reflects on her career as a documentarian, which

Mary Tuomanen was on the radio!!! Check out the entire interview here: Philly-based playwright puts the audience to work to create space for multiple narratives By Kimberly Haas April 11, 2018 At Haverford College, the Friend in Residence program brings Quaker thinkers to campus for extended stays, working with students and faculty in different contexts, to

  This week, Nadya Tolokonnikova of Pussy Riot came to Philadelphia. We were totally starstruck. Applied Mechanics was so inspired by the actions of Nadya and her comrades in 2012 that we made a whole show inspired by them, called We Are Bandits. This show was about an imaginary band. We took our name from the

By Mary Tuomanen How do we make political theatre for this charged moment in history? How can art manifest our desires for a more just society? How can we get an audience to imagine a better world? These are some questions that Applied Mechanics has been wrestling with for years. Little by little, we started

Applied Mechanics, as always, is busy making and seeing art.  The fall is full of wonders, and here are some of our projects, thoughts, and picks.  What’s the last show you worked on? Maria: I just opened Cabaret at the Arden. Its one of the larger designs I’ve done in my career, and I’m pretty

By Mary Tuomanen My candle burns at both ends;    It will not last the night; But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—    It gives a lovely light! –Edna St. Vincent Millay This summer, Applied Mechanics received the honor of a residency at the prestigious Millay Colony, an artist’s retreat in the Berkshire

By Rebecca Wright Back in December, Applied Mechanics received an incredibly generous donation in memory of a fascinating and much-loved woman, Lois Nolan Alley. On Mother’s Day, we gathered for a celebratory thank you dinner with Lois’s daughter, Marta, and granddaughter, Applied Mechanics Associated Artist Maura Krause, to show our gratitude and learn a little

By Maria Shaplin Tonight, Peaceable Kingdom opens at Christ Church Neighborhood House in Old City. Written by Mary Tuomanen and produced by Orbiter 3, the show’s collaborators include 4 Mechanicians, including me- so I kinda had to write a blog post about it. Here follows an interview I did with Mary, Becky and Thomas. But first, some

  By Maria Shaplin On Sunday evening lots of lovely folks gathered at Christ Church Neighborhood House for the Spring 2017 Community Dinner. It was a lovely affair. We ate Peanut Stew, Savory Spinach Pastry and Lemon Cake. The large windows of the Great Hall were wide open, allowing the gorgeous weather to pour in.

By Thomas Choinacky Between Applied Mechanics’ residency weeks at UMS (University Musical Society) in Ann Arbor, I wandered over to Detroit for a few days to get to know that town a little better and then flew down to Austin, Texas to work on a collaboration with my sister, Lisa Choinacky. DETROIT I was wonderfully

By Maria Shaplin A few weeks ago, Applied Mechanics completed our research residency at the University of Michigan. It was a very productive week of interviews, workshops, pitch-meetings, and laughs. Check out the pics and vid below:                       [Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”49″ gal_title=”U of M: The Wrap Up”]  

By Maria Shaplin A few weeks ago Applied Mechanics visited Christ Church Neighborhood House with our historical feminist costumes in hand, to entertain captivated participants at The Memory Café.  A worldwide, loosely affiliated network of programs which facilitates gatherings of Alzheimers and dementia patients, The Memory Cafe provides a space for individuals and their caretakers to socialize, relax,

Last month, Applied Mechanics travelled to Ann Arbor, Michigan to continue our research residency at U of M. Our task was to uncover some of the hidden histories of the University of Michigan; the first step towards the development of a performance piece in honor of its upcoming Bicentennial. We had an awesome week. Our hosts, UMS (University Musical Society),