Wallis Knot Theatre

WALLIS KNOT is a collection of artists centered around an experimental theatre company, founded in 2003 by Eileen Connolly. The theatre company is dedicated to producing new plays that celebrate the classics and combine multiple genres, performance styles, film projections, dance, musical underscoring, languages, and the occasional puppet. And the multi-disciplined artist company members are also busy making films, paintings/graphic arts, novels, photographs, clothing and crafts.

RECENT WORK:

BLUR

Andhy Mendez, Wallis Knot's Director of Film, gathered the team for a small film project last fall that aims to blur the line between theatre, film and dance. This short film project, shot in Brooklyn, features Andhy Mendez and Sophia Parra and is conceived as a series of film trailers. BLUR will also become a multi-media theatre performance, blending film footage with live acting and dance in a site-specific location, sometime later this year. Meanwhile, watch the Spanish-language film trailer (or is it more like a moody music video?!) featuring the music of one of our favorite singer-songwriters Lisa Hannigan on YouTube!

BLUR tracks the lives of two people emotionally and romantically linked, living in the same place, yet living in two different time streams.

In Spanish with English subtitles, the story is by Eileen Connolly, with script by Joseph Goodrich.

"Sometimes I think she's inside me.  I feel her bones in my hand, her tongue in my mouth, her breath in my lungs, her heart in my chest.  If she's not here, if I'm alone, then surely I am mad."
"Pienso que vive en mi. Siento sus huesos en mi mano, su lengua en mi boca, su respiro en mis pulmones, su corazon en mi pecho. Si ella no existe, si estoy solo, entonces me estoy volviendo loco."

Aedin Moloney reads at Ulysses Bar, NYC

MOLLY BLOOM

Eileen Connolly joins with Fallen Angel Theatre Company to adapt, design and direct a theatrical version of the final chapter from James Joyce's ULYSSES. The production will star the incredible Irish actress Aedin Moloney backed by an ensemble of actor-dancers and is slated for an off-Broadway run in 2012, after a workshop production in Dublin, Ireland. Aedin Moloney has become a NYC favorite every Bloomsday for her Molly Bloom soliloquy, performing at Bryant Park, Ulysses Bar, and Barnes and Noble.

CLICK PHOTO ABOVE FOR SHORT PREVIEW VIDEO!

BETWEEN TWO WORLDS

Eileen Connolly's new play was performed MAY 15-18, 2011at HERE in SoHo, NYC! visit www.here.org ...and see our film clips online at YouTube.

This production is a part of the Spring Artist's Lodge within HEREstay, HERE's curated rental program, which provides artists with subsidized space and equipment, as well as technical and administrative support.

Photos by: Silvia Saponaro; featuring Sarah Carradine and Connie Rotunda (top photo) and Sean Roschman and Annalisa Chamberline (bottom photo)

* * * * * * * * * *

MISCELLANEOUS MUSINGS:

For the last year and a half, WALLIS KNOT & ROSCHMAN DANCE (www.roschmandance.com) have been exploring an interdisciplinary collaboration and creating new theatrical works. Company members began cross-training during a stint as Resident Artists at NYU. Currently in development is an adaptation of Oliver Twist, and a dance theater presentation of the Irish legend of the Children of Lir.

We went to Dublin in the spring to do some research and to buy some fabulous new hats! Joe is sporting the Ellery Queen special and Eileen snatched up a great Cub Reporter cap. We were thrilled to hear Honor Molloy read from her new novel SMARTY GIRL at the National Library. Great trip! Much research was collected for upcoming novels and future theatrical productions.

Meanwhile, Wallis Knot ensemble has also been recording a Spoken Word CD that includes performances from the company's production history, original text by company members, and new performances of some of our favorite literary classics. See our "Recordings" page for more info. And stay tuned for news on the CD Release Party!

*************

NEED HEADSHOTS? Check out our favorite photographer: Silvia Saponaro silvia@wallisknot.org

(Above) Connie Rotunda's swinging headshot!