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Posted by: Stephen Winick
The American Folklife Center's 2021 Mummers play is about a zoom meeting that gets invaded by a hacker who won't let the participants leave until he gets a bitcoin ransom. 2021 has felt like a zoom meeting that wouldn't end, so we hope our audience can relate! Find a video of the play and the complete annotated script in this blog!
Posted in: christmas, Folk Drama, Holidays, Mumming, Uncategorized
Posted by: Stephen Winick
In the week or two before Christmas, staff members of the American Folklife Center engage in a dramatic, comedic, and musical performance that tours the halls of the Library of Congress. The performance is based on traditional mummers’ plays, and allows us to put our research skills into play alongside our more playful impulses. This year, we realized we couldn't perform our mummers’ play live, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We didn't want to let the pandemic defeat us, though, so we decided to do our play anyway--just in a different way. We've been recording our podcast, Folklife Today, remotely throughout the pandemic, we reasoned. So why not do the mummers' play as a podcast episode, sort of like an old-time radio play? The audio, play script, and photos are all here in this blog!
Posted in: christmas, Folk Drama, Mumming
Posted by: Stephen Winick
Read the text and see the photos of the American Folklife Center's holiday play! It's 1814 and the U.S. Capitol has been burned by the British. President James Madison throws Library of Congress collections in a sleigh and seeks help from Father Christmas and the preservation specialists at the North Pole Library! The latest version of our play, which tours the halls of the Library of Congress. Each year, dressed in costumes that range from striking to silly, we sing, act, rhyme, and dance for other Library staff members and for members of the public. Our performances are based on the ancient tradition of mumming, which has come down to our archive in the form of play scripts, songs, photos, and other items collected in the early twentieth century.
Posted in: christmas, Folk Drama, Mumming
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
Puppeteer Professor Horn, also known as Mark Walker, gave a talk on the history and art of Punch and Judy and puppet shows at the Library of Congress on May 2, 2018. He also talked about his art with folklorist Michelle Stefano. For professional reasons, Walker preferred not to have the puppet shows video recorded. But …
Posted in: Folk Drama, Material Culture
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
Come and see Professor Horn’s Punch & Judy Show on May 2! There will be two shows, a children’s show from 10:30-11:00 am (co-sponsored with the Young Readers’s Center) and a talk and show for adults from noon to 1:00. Have you ever played with dolls or action figures, making them move and talk? How about wearing a …
Posted in: Folk Drama, Material Culture
Posted by: Stephen Winick
Every year, in the week of the Library’s holiday party, staff members of the American Folklife Center put on a play based on ancient traditions, dressed up with a modern twist. Dressed in costumes that range from striking to silly, we sing, act, rhyme, and dance for other Library staff members and for members of the …
Posted in: christmas, Folk Drama, Holidays, Mumming, Uncategorized
Posted by: Stephen Winick
In our last post, we presented the text and photos of our 2016 mummers play, St. George and the Arrearage Monster: A Mumming in Process. Below, see a video of the play, shot on AFC’s trusty tablet by Jonathan Gold, our audio engineer. The acoustics in the Library’s Great Hall make it rather difficult to …
Posted in: christmas, Dance, Drama, Folk Drama, Folk Music, Folklorists, Folksong, Holidays, Mumming
Posted by: Stephen Winick
Note: Every year, in the week of the Library’s holiday party, staff members of the American Folklife Center put our research and performance skills into play, bringing collections to life in a dramatic performance that tours the halls of the Library of Congress. Dressed in costumes that range from striking to silly, we sing, act, …
Posted in: christmas, Dance, England, Folk Drama, Folk Music, Folklorists, Folksong, James Madison Carpenter, Mumming
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
The Library of Congress has created its own Mannequin Challenge video featuring many staff members and Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. The American Folklife Center’s Jennifer Cutting, Valda Morris, and Kelly Revak were among the participants. Here it is (it can also be found on Library of Congress YouTube at the link). The Mannequin Challenge …
Posted in: Folk Drama, Popular Culture