The Allegheny Playshop Theatre will present “An Afternoon of Crankies” on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 2 p.m. in the Montgomery Performance Space.
Not a series of monologues about the passionate political beliefs of old men, the show foregrounds a little-known form of theatrical technology.
The performance is directed by and starring Beth Watkins, professor of communication arts/theatre. The cast of the show consists of family and friends of Watkins as well as numerous alumni.
This production of an “Afternoon of Crankies” is a spiritual successor to an “Evening of Crankies,” which was produced last spring at Hatch Hollow in downtown Meadville.
This production contains an additional story and involves a Master of Ceremonies.
For those unfamiliar with crankies — “panoramic scrolls that are ‘cranked’ on the handles of a box that the scrolls wind through,” according to a Playshop press release — Watkins expounded on them in a phone interview this week.
Crankies have become popular over the last 30 to 40 years as a means of storytelling, Watkins said.
She described the handmade qualities that the crankies have, with some being made of meat grinders, trunks and other household items that have cranks on them.
Watkins has been involved with crankies with since the pandemic.
“I first heard about them when I was taking online classes during lockdown at the Little Angel Theatre in London,” Watkins said.
Crankies have been growing in popularity over the last ten years especially, with a crankie festival taking place in Pittsburgh in 2016 and several times since then.
In the Playshop performance, “an intergenerational troupe of local performers explores Crankie storytelling through visual images, music, songs and puppetry,” according to the press release.
The age diversity of the troupe was a conscious decision, according to Watkins.
“We have people in their 70s, their 30s, 40s and 20s,” Watkins said. “We also have a 13-year-old.”
The majority of the troupe came together a few years ago to develop “Light in Odd Spaces,” a production that focused on the history of Oddfellows Hall and that was also directed by Watkins.
A crankie that was utilized in that production will make a return in this upcoming performance.
The themes of the performance will vary from funny and entertaining to some that are more serious and somber.
“A couple of the crankies look at the loss of language and climate change,” Watkins said. “There’s some serious themes woven into some of them.”
Ahmaya Andrews, ’27, takes on a variety of roles in the show, playing a bodhran drum for one crankie, controls the crankie in another and helps with the set in a third vignette.
Andrews described the performances in a similar vein.
“We can expect to see a good variety of shows. Some of them are funny,” Andrews said. “Some of them are sad.”
Andrews described the production as multiple stories that run about five minutes on average.
Andrews has worked with Watkins since 2022, when Andrews appeared in “Light in Odd Spaces.”
“She is excellent. I like her style of directing,” Andrews said. “It’s really about the process and having fun during the process.”
Andrews spoke about the work that goes into producing a performance involving crankies.
“I hope that people just take away an appreciation for crankies, because it’s not something that you really see that often but it’s something that’s really cool,” Andrews said. “A lot of artistic effort goes into, not just making the scroll, but the crankie box and the song or the story that goes along with it.”
Watkins hopes that people will not only be entertained but will also be able to take something away from the performance.
“It’s a way of encouraging people to think about creativity,” Watkins said. “There’s a tremendous amount of creativity in this group of performers. Hopefully it will inspire other people to make a crankie.”
Admission is pay-what-you-will for “An Afternoon of Crankies”; seating is unreserved. The performance runs about 65 minutes and is appropriate for all ages. For more information, please call the Playshop Theatre Box Office at (814) 332-3414.