Baba Yaga

Mara Neimanis creates theatre in the air using suspended and mounted steel sculpture. Her work comprises writing, performing, and producing solo and ensemble aerial plays as well site specific aerial installations and performances. Last season, she performed her hit solo aerial show Air Heart at the Cherry. Based in Baltimore from 2006-2018, Mara was awarded commissions from the Robert F Deutsch Foundation, Maryland State Arts Council, California Institute for the Arts, The Baltimore Community Foundation, Gallaudet University, Teatro Abya Yala/ Costa Rica, and Pixar Studio’s development of It’s a Bugs Life. Mara is a graduate of the Dell’Arte School of Physical Theatre where she served as an instructor and company member for 8 years and is a guild certified Feldenkrais practitioner. Presently, Mara has a private Feldenkrais practice in Buffalo and teaches Physical Theatre/ Aerials at Niagara University.

Barb Geary Recently: Stepmother/Bear/Ensemble in the Cherry’s Baba Yaga, Dr. Diana Greene-Foster in The Turnaway Play and MacBeth in Macbeth. Barb has had a lively theatrical and film career spanning over 40 years. A graduate of the Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre, she has been performing and directing as well as teaching movement, mask, and devised ensemble theatre around the US and Canada since 1982.

Arthur Groys is an actor, puppeteer, as well as a film director, scriptwriter, and literary writer from Moscow, Russia. He is currently in Ithaca as an Artist Protection Fund Fellow in residence at Ithaca College and Ithaca City of Asylum (ICOA). Arthur studied classical Russian drama and puppetry and has written plays for children and teenagers, which have been staged in Russia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, and Israel. He has also written books of comedic and fantastic poetry, sketches, stories, and novels for children and teenagers. Arthur speaks several languages and has performed in English, Russian, and French.

Lucy Purnine is excited to be performing with The Cherry for the first time. A Syracuse-based actor, she always enjoys the chance to work in the Ithaca theater community. Other Ithaca credits include The Comedy of Errors with Ithaca Shakespeare Company and Extended Stay with Walking on Water Productions. In Syracuse, she has also worked with Building Company Theater and Syracuse Shakespeare Festival. She holds a BA in Drama from Vassar College, where she spent a semester abroad studying physical theater at Accademia Dell’Arte in Arezzo, Italy.

Among octopi, izaq charp was by far the most distinguished octo-harp player in the ocean until an unfortunate incident involving a disgruntled sea-witch left izaq transformed into an orangutan. Finding octo-harp utterly impossible with a measly four limbs, izaq decided to pick up the quadra-phone, which he quickly mastered. But after another incident, this time with a jungle-wizard, izaq was transformed again, this time into a human. Without dexterous toes, quadra-phone too was out of the question, so izaq tried a guitar. Despite being neither as melodious as the octo-harp nor as sonorous as the quadra-phone, izaq enjoyed the guitar and practiced enough to become moderately good, by human standards. More (mostly true, moderately interesting) information about izaq can be found on this website: isaacsharp.art. And information about puppet happening (of which izaq is often a part) can be gleaned hither: lilypadpuppettheatre.org.