“The world is wide and full of wonders…and with nothing ventured, nothing is gained!”
Young Vasilisa must get the light back for her family. But she has to get it from Baba Yaga—the mysterious witch who lives in the woods in a house on chicken legs. Will Baba help Vasilisa—or will she EAT HER?
This brand-new production is brought to you by the team that created last season’s Cherry hit, Peter and the Wolf, woven from the tapestry of Slavic folktales, using physical theatre, aerial performance, and shadow puppetry. For audiences aged 7-97.
Directed by Jen Pearcy-Edwards; devised by the Company, in collaboration with Russian theater artist Arthur Groys, in residency in Ithaca thanks to the Artists’ Protection Fund and Ithaca City of Asylum.
Show Times:
Fri Feb 21, 7:30 PM | Sat Feb 22, 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM | Sun Feb 23, 2:00 PM
Fri Feb 28, 7:30 PM | Sat Mar 1, 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM | Sun Mar 2, 2:00 PM
Livestreamed Shows:
Sun Feb 23, 2:00 PM | Fri Feb 28, 7:30 PM |Sat Mar 1, 2:00 PM
Baba Yaga Artist Bios
Barbara Geary (stepmother/bear/ensemble) Recently: Dr. Diana Greene-Foster in The Turnaway Play and MacBeth in Macbeth. Barbara 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 (father/crow/ensemble & story consultant) 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.
Mara Neimanis (baba yaga) 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.
Lucy Purnine (vasilisa) 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 (musician & shadow puppet designer) 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.
Sylvie Yntema (mother/wolf/ensemble) Previous Cherry: Rosa and Blanca, Peter and the Wolf, As You Like It, Voices of Ukraine, The Wetsuitman, Pursuit, An Odyssey, Trap Door, A Day, Felt Sad Posted a Frog. She has performed locally with Kitchen Theatre, Hangar Theatre, Civic Ensemble, House of Ithaqua, Homecoming Players, and Fitz&Startz Productions. Sylvie studied BFA Acting at The Mason Gross School at Rutgers University and is a graduate of the Actors Workshop of Ithaca, a Pilates instructor, and a massage therapist.
Jen Pearcy-Edwards (director) joined the Cherry team as General Manager in April 2023, and this is the second production she is directing for the Cherry (the first was last season’s family hit, Peter and the Wolf). An MFA graduate from the London International School of Performing Arts (LISPA), Jen arrived in Ithaca following almost two decades of working in puppetry, devising, and physical theater in the UK.
Claire Chesne (lighting designer) is a lighting designer from Chicago, studying Theatre Production and Design at Ithaca College. She has worked at the Hangar and Kitchen, and is making her debut at the Cherry with Baba Yaga.
Norm Scott (projection designer) is Ithaca-based inventor, sound designer, and video editor. He builds wacky contraptions and audio-visual installations both functional and imaginary. A childhood penchant for documenting life with a handheld tape recorder led him to a career in audio recording and production and a handful of albums, including “H2so4” and “Bone Music.” Norm has collaborated locally with House of Ithaqua, the Cherry, Arhanta Studio, and the Beyond Art Collective, lending his talents in videography, sound design, music composition, plastic art, and motion graphics. He divides his time between work at PhotoSynthesis Productions, Cornell University, his own venture Scott Mediaworks, and being a dad.
Rosalina Maassen (sound designer & production electrician) Rosa is a Wells College alum, who is super grateful to continue to be working on Cherry Arts productions. Recent works include Rosa and Blanca and La Cerise Noire. Rosa can also be found at The Hangar just up the street!
Mo Dransoff (costume designer) is an Ithaca-based artist.
Robin Guiver (movement director) is an actor and movement artist, who relocated to Ithaca after nearly two decades working in theatre and film in the UK. He has appeared as the lead in a number of award winning short films, and was a member of the original West End cast of the Royal National Theater’s production of War Horse, as both human characters and a horse puppeteer, before going on to take over the movement associate role on the production. He’s toured the UK and Europe, and performed at the prestigious London International Mime Festival, and was both professional cast and movement assistant in the 2012 London Olympic Opening Ceremony. Some of his best know projects include Creature work on the recent Star Wars films, the Wicked film, Jurrassic World Fallen Kingdom, an appearance in season 12 of Dr Who, and being the on set performer for Flounder and lead puppeteer in Disney’s live action film of The Little Mermaid. Robin originally trained in Lecoq’s style of actor created physical theatre at the London International School of Performing arts, specializing in mask work and animal movement. Find out more about Robin at www.robinguiver.co.uk.
Karen Rodriguez (livestream design) is an Ithaca-based filmmaker and cinematographer. She is the owner of Wind-Up Productions. She has co-designed the Cherry Livestreams since the 2021 including And What Happens If I Don’t by Iva Brda, The Wetsuitman by Freek Mariën, E-Motion by Saviana Stănescu and Daniel Gwirtzman, and Carbon by Pier Lorenzo Pisano. A 2017 Fulbright Scholar, Karen holds an MFA in Film and Video Production from the University of Iowa Graduate College. Instagram: @winduppics.
Greg Levins (associate livestream design) graduated NYU with an emphasis in film directing, screenplay writing and video editing. Greg worked for a number of casting houses in NYC, auditioning actors in commercials, industrials, music videos and films. He’s directed two indie features, wrote a handful of screenplays and dabbled in music video and commercial production. Since moving to Ithaca he’s made a few promotional videos for Ecovillage, filmed a weekly Gayogohó:nǫ’ language class taught by one of the few remaining native speakers, along with working for the Cherry Arts in numerous productions over the past three seasons. He’s thrilled to be a part of Baba Yaga, helping to expand the audience to include viewers at home with a live stream feed.
Emily Pugh (production stage manager & assistant director) is an actor, director, and stage manager, hailing from Atlanta, Georgia. She recently graduated from Cornell University with a BA in Performing & Media Arts and Literatures in English. She has trained with the Juilliard School, the Prague Shakespeare Company, and the British American Drama Academy. Some of her recent stage credits include acting in Orlando’s Gift by David Feldshuh and directing Sarah Ruhl’s Eurydice. She has thoroughly enjoyed working on this magical production and hopes you enjoy the show!