Pointless Workshops: a company-member driven incubator for new adventurous work.
Company Members pitch ideas for new work that gets greenlit by consensus. The artists selected by the group are given the time and resources to create on a flexible timeline. The work is presented when the artists are ready to present.
Showings are free and open to the public.
Current Showings
1km à Pied
Inspired by the true story of 17 year old Jeanne Gurtat, who bravely led a group of Jewish children over the French border into Switzerland during WWII. Designed and produced by a team of Pointless company members, this piece brings together five distinct digital shorts to explore Jeanne’s journey through various forms of puppetry and animation.
Directed by Jeanne’s granddaughter Rachel Menyuk, 1km à Pied makes use of family photographs and oral interviews to tell this universal story of courage in a way that can be shared with future generations.
CONTENT: Contains references concerning war. Appropriate for all ages.
RUNNING TIME: 30 minutes
Audio from an interview with Jeanne (Gurtat) Schwartz conducted on May 29, 1996 produced by the Shoah Foundation.
CREATIVE TEAM
Story Development: Mel Bieler, Sadie Leigh, Eric Swartz, Rachel Menyuk
RACHEL MENYUK Director
SADIE LEIGH Production Manager
Music & Sound:
MICHAEL WINCH, SADIE LEIGH, RACHEL MENYUK
Editing: SADIE LEIGH, RACHEL MENYUK
Puppeteering & Build Support:
SCOTT WHALEN, MATTHEW SPARACINO
Design Teams:
Section 1 - LEE GERSTENHABER, KYRA CORRADIN
Section 2 - MEL BIELER
Section 3 - RACHEL MENYUK, MICHAEL WINCH
with PATTI KALIL
Section 4 - ERIC SWARTZ, FRANK CERVARICH
Section 5 - NAVI
Framework - SADIE LEIGH, RACHEL MENYUK
Special Thanks: Claire Schwartz-Menyuk, Curtis Menyuk, Laura Menyuk, Mira Menyuk, Lex Davis, Owen McCusker, Erik Pearson, Charlie Pearson, Nora Pearson
“Jeanne’s experience tells us a beautiful story of survival and ingenuity. It’s unfortunate that her lived experience holds as much relevance today as it did almost eighty years ago. I want to live in a world where a tale of desperate, resilient humans persevering over fascism, nationalism, and xenophobia is a fairy tale, but we’re constantly reminded how that’s not the case.”
“Hearing the story for the first time gave me goosebumps. There is something special about hearing a true story wherein real people, facing a tremendous threat, can find courage and hope. Jeanne is a real life hero.”
workshop HISTORY
Famous Birds (2014 Workshop)
Artistic Experimentation has always been at the core of our identity. With roots in the Capital Fringe Festival, we pledged early that we would create original and exuberant puppet spectacles that were deep and personal to the artists involved. As the company’s grown, we’ve found the need to make more space for artistic development and the incubation of new ideas.
In 2014 Pointless embarked on a workshop process that split the company into teams that each devised short original pieces. Artists within the company were asked to take on production roles that were outside the scope of their normal position with Pointless. The outcome was a collection of work that met our mission of ‘smashing the traditional boundaries’ between artistic disciplines.
In 2020, we returned to the workshop process with a redesigned structure (see above).