Birdie – a theater/dance piece by Lorraine Chapman
Dancers: Anthony Bounphakhom, Jenna Gross, Maya Infascelli, Jill MacLaughlin, Janelle Abbott Staley, Lisa Travis
Location: Canterbury Shaker Village’s Merry, Merry Canterbury celebration
Date: December 2021
Conceived of and choreographed by Lorraine Chapman, Birdie honors the story of Alberta Kirkpatrick, the last orphan accepted by the Canterbury Shakers. In collaboration with Canterbury Shaker Village’s archivist, Renee Fox, Lorraine not only researched Kirkpatrick’s personal story while at The Village but also, the Canterbury Shaker’s unique tradition of creating theater productions that they “the Entertainments”. Birdie combines dance, song and acting, using first person letters that Kirkpatrick wrote to her father during her stay. He struggled to find employment in a changing landscape of growing industrialization and placed her permanently with The Shakers.
The Shakers got their name from their use of dance in worship. Dance was a defining aspect of the Shaker’s deep expression of their faith. Dance is an authentic and powerful story telling tool that expresses a range of human emotions for which words can only hint at.