P R E S S R E L E A S E S 2001
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June 1, 2001

Alloy Orchestra Returns to MASS MoCA to Add Live Music to Classic Silent Films

Films Will Show on Oversized Screen
(North Adams, MA)-- The Alloy Orchestra will return to MASS MoCA to accompany three silent film shorts starring Laurel and Hardy, Buster Keaton, and Charlie Chaplin with live original music on Saturday, June 30, at 8:30 pm. Working with an ensemble of unusual objects like horseshoes, truck springs, radiator pipes, sheet metal, air-conditioning ducts and vacuum cleaner canisters for instruments, The Alloy Orchestra generates music in a spectacular variety of styles.

The Alloy Orchestra has appeared in North Adams annually since MASS MoCA opened with sold-out performances of Strike in 1999 and Metropolis in 2000. While their unusual instrumentation attracts attention, it is their unique sensitivity to the films themselves that makes Alloy performances emotionally satisfying. According to the New York Post, "Those who have heard Alloy Orchestra's accompaniments are consistently left in awe."

Probably the best-known silent comedians, Chaplin, Keaton, and Laurel and Hardy each started their film careers with shorts. The short film proved a perfect vehicle for the fast-paced gags that catapulted their careers into the public eye. This selection of shorts among the very best of the era, is a perfect way to compare the distinct styles of these three clowns. According to CD Reviews "Masters of Slapstick is a gem! A wonderfully moving experience and companion document for those who revere and cherish these great films of yesteryear while the overall scope and congeniality of the music should enjoy widespread appeal to young and old alike."

The Alloy Orchestra is a three-man musical group, writing and performing live accompaniment to classic silent films with Terry Donahue playing percussion, accordion, and vocals; Ken Winokur on percussion and clarinet; and Roger C. Miller on synthesizer. An unusual combination of found percussion and state-of-the-art electronics gives the Orchestra the ability to create any sound imaginable.

The Screenplay series of silent films with live music, sponsored by First Massachusetts Bank, also includes Foolish Wives accompanied by Donald Sosin and the Salisbury Society Orchestra on August 4, and The Blue Angel with The BQE Project on August 18.

Full dinners or snacks from Lickety Split will be available for sale starting at 7:30 pm when the doors open.

Tickets for Masters of Slapstick with The Alloy Orchestra on June 30 are $12 for adults and $6 for children under 12. MASS MoCA members receive a 10% discount. Tickets are available through the MASS MoCA Box Office at 1040 MASS MoCA Way in North Adams from 11 am until 5 pm every day but Tuesdays. Tickets can also be charged by phone by calling 413.662.2111 during box office hours or purchased on line at www.massmoca.org.

MASS MoCA, the largest center for contemporary visual and performing arts in the United States, is located off Marshall Street in North Adams on a 13-acre campus of renovated 19th-century factory buildings.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Katherine Myers
(413) 664-4481 x8113
katherine@massmoca.org



MASS MoCA 87 Marshall Street North Adams, Mass. 01247 413.MOCA.111