PUTNEY-Sandglass Theater's "A Rafter of Crankies" returns to Green Mountain Orchards, 130 West Hill Rd., for the fourth consecutive year. This year, Sandglass is also celebrating the 10th anniversary of the festival. As part of the Putney Craft Tour during Thanksgiving Weekend, performances will take place at 5 and 7:30 p.m. on both Friday, Nov. 29, and Saturday, Nov. 30.
"Crankies" are panoramic scrolls advanced through a frame by cranking handles. The effect "is like watching the analog ancestor of a movie, or a comic strip that combines with a song or story," say organizers. Together they create a performance that "is charming, and often wildly funny or strikingly haunting." Although they are often associated with Appalachian folk tradition, today's crankies embrace cultural, musical, and artistic expressions that are contemporary "and as unpredictable as the weather."
Heating will run before and between shows; the temperature in the building should be somewhere between outdoors and cozy. Bring layers! Cider and baked snacks will be available by donation.
This year's performing artists include "Rafter" founders Eric Bass and Ines Zeller Bass, with two crankie performances: "Big Pig Jig," an older comic favorite, and "Rooftops," a brand new crankie created especially for this event with words by Eric Bass and music by Keith Murphy.
In addition Sandglass welcomes these returning artists:
• Emily Schubert and Ian Mansfield, based in northern Vermont. Schubert has enriched the national crankie scene as co-organizer of the famed Baltimore Crankie Fest. Mansfield is Emily's partner in life and puppets. He is a cider maker and all-around apple enthusiast. The duo will present two crankie performances: "The Muddle," a show involving mad scientists, traveling seeds, and the interconnectedness of all things, and a second surprise crankie.
• Anna Patton and Fynn Crooks, based in the Brattleboro area. Patton has toured internationally as a clarinetist and is known locally as a musician and arranger for Zara Bode's Little Big Band and the director of the Soubrette Jazz Choir. Crooks is a teacher, advocate, organizer, and storyteller who dreams of answering the highly scientific question, "So, what is the opposite of moss?" This duo will present a curious crankie titled "What a Doozie, What a Gem," a work that explores the tireless subconscious, romping across a scroll of Tyvek. Also, in a not-quite-crankie, Patton will be debuting her new song "Stone's Door," joined by singers Haley Anderson and Julie Reed.
And why a Rafter of Crankies? Rafter is the group name for turkeys, just as fish group in schools or geese in gaggles. Audience members need only to look at the ceiling of Green Mountain Orchards and they'll see why the name fits for a group of crankies as well.
This year Sandglass is offering a tiered ticketing system, allowing audiences to self-select their ticket price: $15 discounted ticket, $20 general ticket, and $25 supporter ticket. Tickets can be purchased online or at the door (cash or check preferred for walk-ups). No one will be turned away from this event for lack of funds. For more information, visit sandglasstheater.org/shows/current/crankies.
Green Mountain Orchards has a wheelchair accessible side entrance and accessible parking will be available and clearly marked during the event.
This Arts item was submitted to The Commons.