Endurance

June 13, Paris, France
June 24, Long Island, New York
Jan. 28 - Feb. 1 2014, St. Johns University, Minnesota
Wells College – November 19-22
St Johns University – January 28-31
Tulsa Performing Arts Center – April 23-26

Be sure to take a look at this trailer!


The Curious Case of Phineas Gage

A 19th century railroad worker, Gage, was injured when an explosion drove a three foot irion spike through his brain. Miraculously, he survived and recovered. But somehow, he was no longer himself. Who, then, had he become?

June 6, 7, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22 7:00pm
June 23 2:00pm

Tank Theater
151 w. 46th St. (b/t 6th and 7th Ave)
8th Floor
New York, NY 10036

For tickets thetanknyc.org
Phone: 212.563.6269

Cafe Goma coming in the spring of 2014!

A fun filled glimpse into the life, love, food, and Tango! A show for the whole family.

Click on the image to view the trailer!

The Scotsman
5 stars

The five performers work in impeccable harmony, bringing every moment of the story into perfect focus..an elegant, humorous and tremendously moving drama. Click for whole review.

Nytheatre.com Review
5 stars

These four amazing men create a dozen distinct characters, a dozen particular situations and locales out of thin air, including cracking pack ice, a ship at sea, a singing shower, a packed bus, comically terrifying garbage-can-clad powers-that-be, all impeccably executed. Click for whole review.

Edinburg Guide
5 stars

The production captivates…a very talented company…Split Knuckle's polished production is physical and atmospheric…brings us back to the roots of storytelling. Click for whole review.

...as featured in American Theater Magazine May/June 2011

One strategy is to bypass traditional presenters entirely. Split Knuckle gained the favor of a multinational business with its show Endurance. Based on the story of explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, who kept 27 men alive for two years in the Antarctic, Endurance proved to be just the kind of artistic entertainment, complete with leadership themes, that resonated with Korn/Ferry International, a Los Angeles–based global executive recruiting firm. Click for whole review.





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Endurance

Trapped in Antartica with no hope of rescue, the great British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton kept 27 men alive for two years in the most inhospitable climate on earth.

Ninety-five years later, in the worst economic meltdown since the Great Depression, Hartford insurance man Walter Spivey, struggling to justify his recent promotion and save his employees jobs, relives Shackleton's story.

Can one of the greatest leaders in human history inspire him to conquer the corporate world?

Upcoming Performances:

June 13, Paris, France
June 24, Long Island, New York
Jan. 28 - Feb. 1 2014, St. Johns University, Minnesota
Wells College – November 19-22
St Johns University – January 28-31
Tulsa Performing Arts Center – April 23-26

Be sure to take a look at this trailer!

PHINEAS GAGE

The Curious Case of Phineas Gage is a new devised theater piece by Split Knuckle inspired by the life and times of Phineas Gage, one of the most famous cases of traumatic brain injury in all of neuroscience. The history ofPhineas is told by contrasting a grounded, modern day reality with a steam punk vision of the future depicted in comic book, weaving two disparate narratives into one story of self discovery.

Show Dates
June 6, 7, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22 7:00pm, NYC
June 23 2:00pm, NYC

The Pearl

A classic story with unconventional storytelling. Five performers create a potent world of characters and images. Deep and witty, humorous and tragic, The Pearl is an emotional trip through the deep waters of humanity.

Be sure to take a look at this trailer!

CAFE GOMA

Enter the mysterious world of oversized full-masks, larger than life and elegantly comic. Wild comedy smashes into tender moments as these three serve coffee, dance the tango, butcher a chicken, and accidentally fall in love. And there's a mouse...

Set in a poor cafe, the feisty neighborhood characters are rooted in the rough carvings of Juan de Dios Mena, an Argentine sculptor and social activist of the 1930's and 40's

Mission

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Split Knuckle is a critically acclaimed company that creates dynamic, physical, visually striking theatre from simple materials.

Through imagination, text, and movement, we create vast landscapes, vivid characters, and epic stories.

We make powerful theatre engaging the audience and performers in collective acts of imagination. Using the expressive power of the human voice and body, we tell stories confronting the wonders and challenges of life in our world.

Split Knuckle is actively developing innovative theatre and we perform, direct, teach, and lead workshops in the USA, UK, Argentina, and other communities around the globe.

Our company members trained at the London International School of Performing Arts in the methods of Jacques Lecoq. We also bring our individual experiences from Shakespeare & Company, MFA acting programs around the USA, and many years professionally treading the boards.

We have two shows in rep and are actively devising new work.

Company

Seth Bloom
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Seth Bloom is a street performer, mask-player, juggler, and mask-maker. His specialty, non-verbal slapstick comedy, has enabled him to perform around the world without a language barrier. He is the rare entertainer who performs in the street, creates critically acclaimed theatre, and develops social circus projects for children and adults in Afghanistan. He is the co-creator of The Acrobuffos, co-founder of Split Knuckle Theatre, and a long-time collaborator with the Mobile Mini Circus for Children, headquartered in Kabul, Afghanistan. Seth brings to his expertise his education at the London International School of Performing Arts (MFA), the Dell' Arte School of Physical Theatre, Wesleyan University, and the Ringling Brothers Clown College. He has worked--performing, directing, and/or teaching in over 16 countries.

Jason Bohon
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Jason Bohon is a New York-based actor and director. He became a member of Split Knuckle in 2009, helping to create and perform in ENDURANCE. He was a Founder and Producing Artistic Director of 3 Sticks Theatre Company in Minneapolis from 2005-2009. He has also worked with the Tony-award winning Theatre de la Jeune Lune, Minneapolis Children's Theatre, Theater Latte Da, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, and Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey. He holds an M.F.A. in Physical Theatre from the London International School of Performing Arts and a B.F.A. in Acting from the University of Central Missouri. He is a member of Actors Equity Association, Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab, the Society of American Fight Directors, and an associate member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society.

Andrew Grusetskie
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Andrew Grusetskieis a founding member of Split Knuckle Theatre and has created and performed in both Endurance and John Steinbeck's The Pearl. An Associate Artist with the New York-based ACTIVE EYE Theater Company, Andrew has appeared in its productions of Hard Lovin' Ever After, Woyzeck and Senjo, and wrote its adaptation of Dojoji, which premiered at the Cleveland Public Theater in 2004. Other New York credits include Billy Budd (Metropolitan Playhouse), Voyage of the Carcass (Stage 13), Corporate Carnival (Women's Project), and Life is a Dream (Edge Theater Company). Regional work includes Around the World in 80 Days (Westport Country Playhouse), The Mousetrap (Olney Theatre), Arabian Nights (Connecticut Repertory Theatre), School for Scandal and The Odyssey (McCarter Theatre), Proof, Stones in His Pockets and Rough Crossing (Northern Stage). TV: Law & Order. Andrew is a graduate of Yale University and the London International School of Performing Arts.

Juan Mora

Juan is a founding member of Split Knuckle Theatre and co-creator and original director of The Pearl. He's been performing and creating movement theatre since 1992. Past appearances include THE RIDE ACROSS LAKE CONSTANCE which premiered in the Philadelphia Fringe Festival in 2002 and NOTHING, an adaptation of Samuel Beckett's TEXTS FOR NOTHING, performed at Pennsylvania's Eastern State Penitentiary. He has been translating plays into Spanish since 1997. Juan currently lives in Buenos Aires, where he is co-founder of a Research Laboratory on Movement Theatre. He is also a volunteer for the Art of Living Foundation and a certified teacher of The Art of Living Course.

Michael Toomey
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Michael is a founding member of Split Knuckle Theatre and co-creator and performer of The Pearl. Michael has been a member of the Nationally Acclaimed Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA since 1998 playing in such roles as: Macbeth (title role), Julius Caesar (Caesar/Octavious), Coriolanus (Brutus), Twelfth Night (Fabian) Hamlet New England Tour 2000(Polonius/Horatio), Henry V (Bardolph), Taming of the Shrew (Bianca) Merchant of Venice (Salerio) Triumph of Darkness (Grisben), Henry V New England Tour (French King/Nym) Michael has also appeared on PBS' Brush Up Your Shakespeare an Evening at the Pops (Mercutio) and BBC4 Radio American Heavy (Hank). Michael is a fight choreographer/teacher for the company and is Senior Education Artist for Shakespeare & Company's Education Department This program reaches over fifty thousand students a year. Michael has recently written/directed an adaptation of Shakespeare's long poem Venus and Adonis with an all female cast and is currently working on a clown show called Francis goes to War (this ain't the boy scouts anymore) Michael is a graduate from LISPA and holds an MFA in Lecoq based actor created theatre from Naropa University.

Eva Sirp

Eva is a founding member of Split Knuckle Theatre and co-creator and performer of The Pearl. Eva has appeared in productions in London, including An Enemy of the People, by Ibsen, (Union Theatre), King John, by Shakespeare (Grange Court Theatre) and Exit the King, by Ionesco, (Lion and Unicorn). She is a graduate of both Drama Studio Londonand the London International School of Performing Arts. She lives in London and apart from creating theatre teaches movement and improvisation.

Greg Webster
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Greg Webster serves as the Artistic Director of Split Knuckle Theater Company and is also one of the company's founding members. Greg has worked as a performer, teacher, and choreographer from Broadway to the West End and has worked extensively in regional theaters throughout the United States as well as internationally. He is an Assistant Professor of Movement Theater at the professional actor training program at University of Connecticut and is responsible for teaching the pedagogy of the French theater master Jacques Lecoq. He is also the resident movement coach and fight Choreographer for the Connecticut Repertory Theater. Previously to his appointment at UCONN he was an instructor at the London International School of Performing Arts, of which he was also a graduate. He holds a B.A. in theater from Columbia College of Chicago and an M.F.A. in acting from the University of Missouri Kansas City. Among Greg's other interestest he is an accomplished Martial artist, Authentic Pilates instructor, Gyrotonic ® teacher and Personal trainer. He holds a black belt in Aikido and is a former Golden Gloves boxer.

Tour

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Upcoming

  • June 6, 7, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22 7:00pm, NYC
  • June 23 2:00pm, NYC
  • June 13, Paris, France
  • June 24, Long Island, New York
  • Jan. 28 - Feb. 1 2014, St. Johns University, Minnesota
  • Wells College – November 19-22
  • St Johns University – January 28-31
  • Tulsa Performing Arts Center – April 23-26

Past

  • New York, NY, January 2013
  • Texas A & M, November 2012
  • University of Connecticut Storrs, April 27 2012
  • Athens, Greece, May 2012
  • Paris, France, Jun. 2012
  • Shakespeare and Company, Jun. 28 - Jul. 15 2012
  • Frankfurt, Germany, Sept. 2012
  • London, England Mar. 2012
  • Thailand Feb. 2012
  • Maastricht, Netherlands, Jan. 2012
  • New York, New York 2011
  • Brussels, Belgium, 2011
  • University of Connecticut, Storrs 2010
  • Ars Nova – ANT Fest, 2010
  • Shakespeare & Company, 2009
  • University of Connecticut, Storrs 2009
  • University of Connectictut, Storrs 2008
  • New Jersey State Theater, New Jersey 2008
  • Bucharest Romania B-FIT 2007
  • Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Scotland 2006
  • Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2006

Press

The Scotsman
5 stars

The five performers work in impeccable harmony, bringing every moment of the story into perfect focus..an elegant, humorous and tremendously moving drama. Click for whole review.

The Boston Globe

In a play whose bare-bones reality opens into grand imaginings, the cast of four — which also includes Jason Bohon and Andrew Grusetskie — become dozens of characters. A few pieces of office furniture double as ice floes and ship’s decks.

Click for whole review.

American Theater Magazine

One strategy is to bypass traditional presenters entirely. Split Knuckle gained the favor of a multinational business with its show Endurance. Based on the story of explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, who kept 27 men alive for two years in the Antarctic, Endurance proved to be just the kind of artistic entertainment, complete with leadership themes, that resonated with Korn/Ferry International, a Los Angeles–based global executive recruiting firm. Click for whole review.

Edinburg Guide
5 stars

The production captivates…a very talented company…Split Knuckle's polished production is physical and atmospheric…brings us back to the roots of storytelling. Click for whole review.

Nytheatre.com Review
5 stars

These four amazing men create a dozen distinct characters, a dozen particular situations and locales out of thin air, including cracking pack ice, a ship at sea, a singing shower, a packed bus, comically terrifying garbage-can-clad powers-that-be, all impeccably executed. Click for whole review.

Curtain Up

Though the play’s humor, music and hopeful ending belies its more serious overtones, the audience is sent home after an enchanting evening in the theatre tricked by Split Knuckle into strong political and moral soul-searching.

Click for whole review.

Berkshire on Stage

Endurance is far more subtle, filled with thousands of small details that jump out at you if you focus closely, or flow as naturally as water if you let the story flow over you...highly entertaining and yet helping to redefine theatre. Its source of creativity is the same tool box that actors have always used, the human imagination.

Click for whole review.

Gailsez

the collective imagination of the Split Knuckle Theatre and its founder Michael F. Toomey. Endurance, starring Toomey, transcends time and space to make a larger statement about human desperation and the will to survive as it parallels Shakelton’s adventures with contemporary business world.

Click for whole review.

Times Union

..it succeeds as a highly-entertaining, occasionally thought-provoking program.

Click for whole review.

Workshops

Theater Workshops

KNOCK 'EM DEAD!

Split Knuckles' Approach to Theatre Creation

Saturday, April 9, 2011
6 hour workshop, 10-5 pm (1 hour lunch between 1-2 pm)
Please join us at The Tank Theater 354 W. 45th Street between 8th and 9th.

Based on our hit show Endurance, and inspired by the teachings of Jacques Lecoq, Split Knuckle introduces you to our unique approach for devising new work. Through physical exploration of imagery, characters, props, space, movement, and text, we will take you through an inventive, collaborative process for storytelling. We provide everything. Open to all levels of theatre practitioners--actors, directors, playwrights, dancers, and singers. Min 10/ Max 20. Brought to you by popular demand--register early!

Instructors | Seth Bloom and Jason Bohon
Come Get Your Knuckle's Bloody with Split Knuckle Theatre!
$65 bucks!

Neutral Mask

There are 3 masks: the one we think we are, the one we really are, and the one we hold in common. Jacques Lecoq

The Neutral Mask allows us to uncover universal truths of the body and storytelling. This full face mask does not permit speech. The performer must discover the dramatic action of the body: how passion travels through us as human beings. The Neutral Mask demands that you truly live in your environment and expand your awareness of what surrounds you. It is a mask that reveals what is truly human about all of us and what we share in common. The Neutral Mask has a strong base in the natural world and shows us our own personal neuroses so that we can become aware of who we are Only with a strong grounding in who we are may we honestly and convincingly take on the life of other characters. Working with the Neutral Mask helps to:

  • Develop a free, open and expressive body
  • Allow passion to enter the body in a dynamic way
  • Uncover universal human gestures
  • Heighten a sense of spatial awareness
  • Create a malleable and transformative body to construct the physical life of a character
Animals and Elements

In this work shop, we explore the greatest teachers of storytelling the natural world has to offer.

Actors and performers need to be great alchemists, and there is no greater resource for the study of transformation than the world of Elements and Animals. Many art forms reference animal or elemental states in relation to their creation. In life we often describe people in these ways: someone is "full of fire" or "cold as ice;" has "the heart of a lion" is "as " a She wolf". In this workshop we physicalize and take on the characteristics of these forms to help us to give a basis and departure point for creating the physicality and psychology of character.
This workshop will help you to:

  • Develop bold, physical and emotional characters
  • Teach how to charge characters and engage the space between them
  • Create dynamic bodies and spaces on stage
  • Develop voices and presences for different characters
Red Nose Clown

"The little mask of humanity reveals what is profoundly stupid and funny about you."

A Clown Workshop exploring the smallest mask in the world. We are all born funny. We come into the world with something unique, something off-balance. It's what drives our loved ones mad or makes them fall in love with us. It is the most intimate part of ourselves; it is why we get back up when we fall down. It's what makes us most human. It's what makes us poetic: physically, emotionally, spiritually, ecumenically. It is the Clown. The question is not "do we each have a clown?" or "can you find your clown?" The question is how much of yourself are you willing to reveal today--and celebrate in a very big way? Throughout history, the Clown has played a vital role in our communities. Cross-culturally, the Clown has been looked to in order to reveal what is most human about us all and to allow us to laugh about it. In these workshops, actors will explore what is most human about themselves--revealing it and celebrating it This workshop will help to:

  • Develop a strong sense of humor and play
  • Reveal what is uniquely stupid and funny about you
  • Explore the boundaries of the actor's comfort zone
  • Celebrate the glory of failure and the rebound therein
Character Masks, Comedia Del Arte, Larval Masks

"Explore one or many major masks of western Drama with us."

Masks have been used throughout the history of man. In theater training we use them to amplify and focus the body and the state of Play and to awaken our theatrical ancestors.

The Larval Mask comes from the ancient Carnival of Basel Switzerland this mask teaches us sensitivity, the art of listening and playfulness with your whole body.

The Character Mask does not speak and yet is a strong state of being. This allows us to focus on movements and predominant style of our time, which we call psychological realism

Comedia Del Arte
These magical half masks of the 17th and 18th century are the Mazirati of the Mask world. They demand great Comic timing and exploring the darker side of the Human sprit. These masks teach the skills of great improvisation and introduce the actor to major characters that repeat over and over again in the great texts of history.

Theatrical Creation

Based on our hit show ENDURANCE, and inspired by the teachings of Jacques Lecoq, Split Knuckle introduces you to our unique approach for devising new work.

Knock Em' Dead! Through physical exploration of imagery, characters, props, space, movement, and text, we will take you through an inventive, collaborative process for storytelling. We provide everything. Open to all levels of theatre practitioners--actors, directors, playwrights, dancers, and singers.

Corporate Workshops

We can adapt and customize any of our programs for use in corporate settings. We also partner with other organizations for corporate and leadership training and events.

Please contact us for further information.

Support

Split Knuckle Theatre is a 501(c)(3) registered not-for profit theatre company. All donations are tax deductible.

If you would like to support our company please contact us and/or send a check to Split Knuckle Theatre Company P.O. Box 121, Storrs, CT 06268 You may also donate via PayPal.

You can also donate to our kickstarter!

Our Contributors

Angels | $1000 and above donation
  • Margaret Brown
  • Kate Webber
  • Connecticut Bureau of Culture and Tourism
  • University of Connecticut
  • Jane Nichols
  • John and Pat Toomey
  • Greg and Teresa Neff-Webster
  • Sarah Hancock
Friends | $100 donation to SKTC
  • Elizabeth Aspenlieder
  • Lyn and Nathan Towne-Smith
  • Andrea Nouryeh
  • Kate Glidden
  • Jenny and David Jadow
  • Peter Webster
  • Peggy Brown
  • Mary E Gillespie
  • Douglas West Seldin
  • Maryann Billington
  • Kate Webber
  • Gilbert Torres
  • Ellen Eisenberg
  • Amy M. Geiger
  • Margaret Schaefer
  • Stephen Katter
  • Philip Hollister
  • Marc Maurino
  • Rob Issen
  • Norma Van Zile
  • John Toomey
  • Mair Hill
  • Victoria Rhoades
Contributors | Give what you can
  • Emily Spiegelman
  • Thomas Berger
  • Steven and Beth Cope
  • Robert Biggs
  • David Demke
  • William Cope
  • James Rice
  • Kathryn Webster
  • Andrea Nouryeh
  • Maureen Mines
  • Tyler Haulenbeek
  • Iam Coulter
  • Sarah Shippobotham
  • Kathy and Steve Bernhard
  • Bobby Daglio
  • Ondria Torres
  • Rachel Easterly Gagen
  • Mark Ryan
  • Peter and Jeanne Prostowich
  • Jyana Browne
  • Christopher Skiest
  • Tim Boomer
  • Clark Carmichael
  • Arminelle Flemming
  • James Lynes
  • Angie Flanagan

Contact

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Join our mailing list!

+1 347 868 7582
P.O. Box 121, Storrs, CT 06268
info@splitknuckletheatre.org

Site designed by Rebecca Brayman, Lilian Chen (Design Center). Updated by Sarah Lafferty.