Dream Delivery Service

Manual Cinema is an Emmy Award winning performance collective, design studio, and film/video production company founded in 2010 by Drew Dir, Sarah Fornace, Ben Kauffman, Julia Miller, and Kyle Vegter. Manual Cinema combines handmade shadow puppetry, cinematic techniques, and innovative sound and music to create immersive stories for stage and screen.

Using vintage overhead projectors, multiple screens, puppets, actors, live feed cameras, multi-channel sound design, and live music, Manual Cinema transforms the experience of attending the cinema and imbues it with liveness, ingenuity, and theatricality. The company was awarded an Emmy in 2017 for “The Forger,” a video created for The New York Times and named Chicago Artists of the Year in 2018 by the Chicago Tribune. Their shadow puppet animations are featured in the film remake of Candyman, directed by Nia DaCosta and produced by Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions. Recent productions include Leonardo! A Wonderful Show about a Terrible Monster, based on books by Mo Willems, an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and a revamped production of The Magic City, based on Edith Nesbit’s 1910 novel. In 2023, Manual Cinema completed production on their first self-produced short film, Future Feeling, and toured with folk rock band Iron & Wine the following year. Manual Cinema’s newest production, The 4th Witch, is an inversion of Shakespeare’s Macbeth and premiered at the Spoleto festival in June, 2025.

Manual Cinema has toured throughout North America and to four continents. Highlights include: Under The Radar/The Public Theater (NYC), Adelaide Festival (AUS), Santiago a mil (Chile), Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Singapore International Festival of the Arts, and the Tehran International Puppet Festival (Iran). The company has received commissioning for new performance works from Cal Performances (Berkeley), Metropolitan Museum of Art (NYC), The Kennedy Center, ArtsEmerson (Boston), Spoleto Festival (USA), The Poetry Foundation, and La Monnaie de Munt (Belgium). They have received grant support from the National Theater Project, US Artists International, and ArtsCONNECT.

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Nina Maxin / Dream Deliverer 1

NINA MAXIN explores storytelling through writing, acting, and filmmaking, to name a few. She is thrilled to be a part of this show, her first time working with puppetry! Nina is fascinated by the little moments that reveal and capture how people move through the world. Curious about what motivates us, what we carry close to our hearts, and how storytelling can be immersive, she creates in hope of helping people feel seen and connected. Next, she is excited to premiere her upcoming short film Ten Fingers, play with performance in business contexts, more mediums, and, increasingly, art as a means of both introspection and inter-spection amongst humanity. Nina is grateful to have recently performed in TAPS' Pro Shows, the opening piece in Sharing the Story and Happy Birthday Mars Rover (ensemble). Dream on!

Nevaeh Chen / Dream Deliverer 2

NEVAEH CHEN is a second year TAPS and Economics Major in the college. She has previously worked on musical Wonderful Wizard of Oz (casting as Dorothy), drama Macbeth (casting as Mrs. Macbeth) and involved in collegiate mock trial. She has also worked as FOH Manager since last fall quarter at the college.

Kaya Kei Lau / Dream Deliverer 3

Melanie (Mel) Azpeitia / Dream Deliverer 4

MELANIE AZPEITIA is a second-year majoring in Theater & Performance Studies (TAPS). Born and raised in the Bronx, New York City, she proudly represents the Latino community through her art and performance. A lifelong dancer who also loves musical theater, her passion for dance began at a young age and evolved into a powerful way to tell stories rooted in culture, identity, and emotion. This year, she choreographed a dance for UChicago's OLAS cultural showcase for the first time. Her passion has led her to explore acting and character work more deeply. She previously performed in 'On the Back of Before' in Winter 2025 and 'Happy Birthday Mars Rover' in Autumn 2025. She is thrilled to make this her third production. Melanie aspires to pursue a career in film and television, with the ultimate dream of one day hosting and delivering the opening monologue on Saturday Night Live!

Sarah Thau / Cyborg Dreamer

SARAH THAU is a fourth-year Chemistry and Biochemistry major and Art History minor. She is so excited for Dream Delivery Service to be her first TAPS production! She has previously worked on several dance shows, including winter dance showcases and Where Fun Comes to Dance, as the Tap That! president. She can also be found at late night practice jamming with her band Loud & Awful, for which she is the lead singer.

Daniel Olmo / Father Shadow/Puppeteer

DANIEL OLMO is a fourth year Computer Science major. He has previously worked on Troilus and Cressida (Assistant Production Manager), 35mm: A Musical Exhibition (Assistant Production Manager), Red Rex (Production Manager), and is on Arsenic and Old Lace (Production Manager) this quarter! This is Daniel's first show as a performer and he is so excited to work with Manual Cinema and company!

Asteria Mao / Romance Woman Dreamer

ASTERIA MAO is a graduate student in Masters of Arts Program in Humanities. She has previously worked on Coriolanus (Cast as Aufidius), and Pericles (Assistant Production Manager).

Faer Son / AI Woman

Ian Hopkins / Man/AI Man

Julia Morales / Monk Dreamer

Julia Miller⁺ / Abbott

Spencer Roh / Claude

LEGEND

⁺ Manual Cinema Co-Artistic Director
⏷ University of Chicago Alum

Sarah Fornace⁺ ⏷ / Concept & Direction; Co-Deviser

SARAH FORNACE is a director, puppeteer, choreographer, and narrative designer based in Chicago. She is a co-Artistic Director of Manual Cinema. Outside of Manual Cinema, Sarah has worked as a performer or choreographer with Redmoon Theatre, Lookingglass Theatre Company, Court Theatre, Steppenwolf Garage, and Blair Thomas and Co. Most recently, Sarah wrote the story mode for the video game Rivals of Aether. In 2017, she directed and edited the first episode of the web series, The Doula is IN. In 2016, she directed and devised an "animotion" production of Shakespeare's Hamlet with Rokoko Studios for HamletScen at Kromborg Castle in Elsinore, Denmark.

Drew Dir⁺ ⏷ / Storyboards, Puppet Design & Construction; Co-Deviser

DREW DIR is a writer, director, and puppet designer. Previously, he served as the Resident Dramaturg of Court Theatre and a lecturer in theater and performance studies at the University of Chicago. He holds a master’s degree in Text and Performance Studies from King’s College London and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Julia Miller⁺ / Co-Deviser

JULIA MILLER is a director, puppeteer, and designer. With Manual Cinema she has directed Mementos Mori and The End of TV as well as created original roles in The 4th Witch (Lead Witch), Frankenstein (The Creature/Elizabeth), Ada/Ava (Ada), Lula del Ray (Lula's Mother), The Magic City (Helen), Hansel und Gretel (Hansel), and Leonardo! (Sam). In Chicago, she has worked as a performer and puppeteer with Redmoon Theatre and Blair Thomas and Co. She spent several years training in devised theatre, clown and mask with Double Edge Theatre, Carlos García Estevez and at the Accademia dell'Arte in Arezzo, Italy.

Ben Kauffman⁺ ⏷ / Original Music & Sound Design

BEN KAUFFMAN is a Chicago-based composer, director, interactive media artist and co-Artistic Director of Manual Cinema. His film and interactive work has been shown at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion (Chicago), the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum (Chicago), the University of Wisconsin and CUNY’s Baruch College (NYC). He has lectured at The Metropolitan Museum of Art's MediaLab, New York University and Parsons the New School of Design. His past composer credits with Manual Cinema include Ada/Ava, The End of TV and the New York Times documentary The Forger. He holds a Master’s degree from New York University’s Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP).

Kyle Vegter⁺ / Original Music & Sound Design

KYLE VEGTER is a composer, producer, sound designer, and Managing Artistic Director of Manual Cinema. As a composer of concert music he’s been commissioned by such groups as The Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s MusicNOW series, The Pacific Northwest Ballet, and TIGUE. His music and sound design for theater and film has been performed worldwide and commissioned by the New York Times, NPR’s Invisibilia, Topic (First Look Media), the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, StoryCorps, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Poetry Foundation, Hubbard Street Dance, the O, Miami Poetry Festival, and others. His past Composer/ Sound Designer credits with Manual Cinema include Lula Del Ray, Ada/ Ava, FJORDS, Mementos Mori, The End of TV and various other performance and video projects. He has been an artist in residence at High Concept Laboratories, and co-founded Chicago’s only contemporary classical music cassette label Parlour Tapes+.

Mieka van der Ploeg ⏷ / Costume and Wig Design

MIEKA VAN DER PLOEG (Costume and Wig Designer) Theatre credits include designs with Steppenwolf, Goodman Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Soho Playhouse, Great Lakes Theater, Idaho Shakespeare Festival, American Players Theatre, Court Theater, People’s Light, Writers Theatre, Lyric Opera Unlimited, Lookingglass Theatre, Paramount Theatre, Marriott Theatre, Florentine Opera, Remy Bumppo, Second City, Chicago Children’s Theatre, Redmoon, The Hypocrites, Children's Theatre of Charlotte, About Face Theatre, Steep Theatre, Theater Wit, Theatre Squared, Albany Park Theater Project, Manual Cinema, and the Under the Radar Festival at The Public Theatre. She won a Joseph Jefferson Award in 2020 for First Love is the Revolution, at Steep Theatre. She is a proud union member of both USA829 and IATSE Local 764.

David Goodman-Edberg ⏷ / Lighting Design

Rasean Davonté Johnson / Projection Design

Rooke Hyde / Additional Puppet Construction

Maydi Díaz / Stage Manager

MAYDI DÍAZ is a Chicago based tour and stage manager. Since completing her BA in Arts Management from Columbia College Chicago and a MA in Theatre Production from the University of Galway, Maydi has worked on multiple areas of technical theater. Her recent stage management credits include Leonardo!, A Christmas Carol, and No Blue Memories (Manual Cinema), Memorabilia and Aquí o Allá (La Vuelta Ensemble), Kiev (Aguijón Theater Co), The Delicate Tears of the Waning Moon and La Peor de Todas (Water People Theater), as well as various shows with PlayMaker's Laboratory, Underbelly LTD, and Chicago Shakespeare Theater. When she's not at the theater, you can find Maydi folk dancing or doing calligraphy.

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