No Strings Attached Fun! (Sorta)

Puppets have arrived in downtown Raleigh with an array of shows and events scheduled today through Saturday at the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts. The event is dubbed Puppet Fusion and is brought to us all, young and old, by Artsplosure. While all events take a young audience into account, and though several of the events have been listed as PG, puppets are not necessarily kid’s play. Australia’s playwright David Logan has this perspective:

“Puppetry is a highly effective and dynamically creative means of exploring the richness of interpersonal communication. By its very nature, puppetry concentrates on the puppet rather than the puppeteer. This provides a safety zone for the puppeteer and allows for exploration of unlimited themes through a safe and non-threatening environment for communication.”

Paperhand Puppet Intervention

Last year I saw the Triangle’s very own Paperhand Puppet Intervention at Chapel Hill’s Forest Theater. Moved by the fluid content and amazed by the scale of the puppets, I saw the same show again when it came to the NC Museum of Art. Paperhand’s mission statement is geared toward social change and inspiration, going as far to say: “Our will is set on undermining, and eventually, eradicating the institutions of greed, hate, and fear that plague the world in myriad forms.” It is clear that there is a worthy message here for adults and children, beautifully presented through live music, shadow puppets, stick puppets, stilt dancing, and larger than life puppets, which like Paperhand, have roots in political protests.

In the same vein as Paperhand, Bread & Puppet Theater from Vermont will be performing as well. This troupe is established, having launched the Cheap Art Movement in 1982 as a response to the growing appropriation of art by the corporate sector. Their website states: “Cheap Art hopes to reestablish the appreciation of artistic creation by making it available to a wider audience and inspire anyone to revel in an art making process that is not subject to academic approval or curatorial acceptance.” It should be noted that the group’s director, Clare Dolan, is teaching a 2-week course on puppetry this summer at NC’s Penland School of Crafts.

Boxcutter Caberet Puppet Tour, an assemblage in and of itself, is set to perform tonight. This group features the puppets of the Modern Times Theater which “take on the fallacy of modern convenience, advocating instead a return to the raw-knuckled days of old-timey difficulty.” Also featured are The Dolly Wagglers, known for lowbrow puppet humor, and the R.P.M. Puppet Conspiracy, which “addresses the apocalyptic vision that is global capitalism’s belief in the disposable planet.” At only $5, the performance tonight should be a real steal with a message geared for an older audience.

While you may have to skip work to catch tomorrow morning’s show, who can forget Mally Lewis and Lambchop? Actually I had, but seriously, what a childhood icon.

Also performing this weekend will be New York’s Chinese Theater Works, a non-profit theatre with the mission to “preserve and promote the traditional Chinese performing arts (including opera, shadow theatre, puppetry, dance and music); to create new works that bridge Eastern and Western aesthetics and forms; and to foster understanding and appreciation of Chinese culture in audiences, students, artists and educators around the globe.”

This morning, Michael Cooper from Maine and Hobey Ford’s Golden Rod Puppets from NC performed. I regret to say that these were their only scheduled appearances, but I suspect they will be present throughout the weekend with their finely crafted artistic creations.

So try something different this weekend and support this incredible assemblage of performers, each with their own unique approach to an ancient art form.

Full Schedule HERE.

Video from Thursday’s Early Morning Show.