2024 CDTPS Alumni Show: I Am the Village: A Puppet Celebration of Life and Art of Marc Chagall

I Am the Village is a puppet spectacle, a play, and a parade celebrating the life and art of Marc Chagall. Written in verse, the play follows Chagall's life from a materially poor child in a shtetl in the Pale of Settlement to world famous artist. Chagall briefly worked in the Moscow Yiddish Theatre, where the luftmenschen were born. The word is Yiddish and refers to men who are more interested in dreams and intellectual pursuits than the practical world. They became stock characters of the Yiddish theatre, carrying umbrellas to show their futures were always up in the air. I Am the Village features four of Chagall's works on umbrellas used as performance objects, four large masks of Chagall that float through space, and several characters from his paintings come to life as colourful, cardboard puppets, The piece is being scored by Nat Seelan of transcendental American klezmer group Ezekiel's Wheels. 

Writer/Performer: Alyson Doyle
Performers: James Hyett and Tuhi Sen
Stage Manager: Qilin Yu

Performances:
Friday, April 26 at 7pm
Saturday, April 27 at 2pm & 7pm
Sunday, April 28 at 2pm

Reserve your ticket on Eventbrite.

NB: The Playhouse (second floor) is currently only accessible by stairs, as the elevator is being repaired. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Alyson Doyle

Alyson Doyle graduated from the University of Toronto in 2019. She created I Am the Village in partial fulfillment of her MFA in Dramatic Arts at the University of Connecticut, and will tour the show this fall. 

James Hyett 

James Hyett is a performer who graduated from the Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies in 2018, having completed an undergraduate thesis on the history and uses of circle games. He went on to study classical acting at LAMDA. He creates audio plays about fantastical creatures for young audiences with First Ditch Collective, has appeared in The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui with the BMO Lab, and is currently working on a translation of the 1665 tragi-comedy Le Favori, the first play written by a woman to be performed at French court.

Tuhi Sen

As a fellow U of T Alumna, I'm mildly surprised to be back for another show in this familiar space! (In a good way). Puppetry is a new area of exploration for me, but Alyson, my friend and creator of this show, has a natural ability to make everything seem like the funniest, kookiest, most splendid thing you've ever done. My five-year-old self in fact had a gnawing urge to set up a sock puppet stall and put on a show (never happened), so this is a delightful full circle moment. Older and more current me is teacher training in a somatic education modality called the Mitzvah Technique, making her own films, and doing random but meaningful projects like this whenever possible. If you'd like to connect with me further regarding a project or even to say hello, the best way is to email me at tuhisen@outlook.com. 

Qilin Yu

Qilin (he/him) just finished his undergraduate studies in drama, psychology, and education. He will start his Master of Teaching degree at OISE this fall. This summer, Qilin is producing at the Aranya Theater Festival back home in China, and continuing his third season at the St. Michael’s College Troubadours. He has worked on many shows at CDTPS including The Trials, The Most Massive Woman Wins, Oskar, and He Said Yes / He Said No. Qilin is excited to show this fun and magical piece of work!