On Friday, March 11, Wit’s End Puppets will kick off a spring outreach tour of its immigration-themed play Saudade with a public performance at GALA Hispanic Theater in the Columbia Heights neighborhood. A second public performance on Thursday, March 24 at President Lincoln’s Cottage will be presented in partnership with the American Immigration Council. The outreach tour continues throughout the month of March with performances for ESL teachers and students across the DC area.
Set in Washington, DC, the 45-minute Saudade uses shadow and light to portray three stories of immigrant families. Nearly wordless (with a meticulously-designed ambient noise soundtrack by Patrick Calhoun), the piece depicts moments when its characters feel “saudade” – a Portuguese term referring to a feeling of melancholy and nostalgia for places left behind. The play’s fictitious characters grew out a series of more than 50 interviews that Cecilia Cackley, Artistic Director of Wit’s End Puppets, conducted with immigrants to the Washington, DC area. “In developing this work,” says Cackley, “I wanted to emphasize the diversity of the immigrant experience here in DC. Our piece tells stories of people of different ages and different walks of life, and who moved here from different countries.”
Saudade made its debut at the 2015 Atlas INTERSECTIONS Festival. It was presented in May 2015 by the Winnipeg International Storytelling Festival, where the company performed at aid organizations and community centers for newcomers. The spring 2016 outreach tour is supported by the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. Initial funding for the piece was provided in part by The Puffin Foundation
Wit’s End Puppets is an innovative and experimental puppet theater in the national capital region. The company produces original work for adventurous audiences, collaborates with local partners to bring quality puppetry into contemporary performance, and educates both children and adults about the craft of puppetry. Learn more at www.witsendpuppets.com.
“Saudade” by Wit’s End Puppets
Written by Cecilia Cackley
Featuring the work of puppet designer Katherine Fahey, sound designer Patrick Calhoun, and Wit’s End artists Genna Davidson, Amy Kellett, and Emily Marsh
Website: www.witsendpuppets.com
Kickoff performance: Friday, March 11, 8:00pm
Location: GALA Hispanic Theatre
Address: 3333 14th Street NW, Washington, DC (Metro: Columbia Heights)
Tickets: By donation ($10 suggested donation). Seating is limited – Reservations suggested.
Reservations at https://www.artful.ly/store/events/8480
Public performance: Thursday, March 24, 7:00pm
Location: President Lincoln’s Cottage
Address: 140 Rock Creek Church Rd NW Washington DC 20011
Tickets: By donation. Seating is limited – Reservations required.
Reservations at http://www.lincolncottage.org/saudade-shadow-puppet-show/
Press contact: Cecilia Cackley, Artistic Director: Cecilia@witsendpuppets.com
Beech Tree Puppets (2016)
Ingrid and Ole Hass will be performing “The Hollow Stump,” an adaptation of The Mitten, on Sunday, March 13, 3pm, at the College Park Arts Exchange. Free admission, but the Arts Exchange invites donations. The show is for children and adults age 4 and up.
Their website is www.beechtreepuppets.com, and they are also on Facebook: www.facebook.com/beechtreepuppets
Len Piper’s Pinocchio at the Puppet Co.
Head out to Glen Echo Park this weekend to catch Pinocchio’s final weekend.
Make sure you don’t miss what DC Theatre Scene is calling “a one of a kind experience” here at the Puppet Co! Len Piper’s Pinocchio runs through February 21st, and we’d love to see you here! Visit www.thepuppetco.orgfor information and fee free online ticketing.
Reverse Cascade in Baltimore
Creative Alliance has a puppet show coming up that we think you would be interested in! Through music and object puppetry, Reverse Cascade tells a story about the remarkable life of Judy Finelli, a renowned juggler and circus performer whose life changed completely after she was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis.
Reverse Cascade was created by Baltimore puppeteer Anna Fitzgerald and is performed by puppeteers Emily Hall, Sophie Hinderberger, Sarah Nolen, Jeanine Padgett, Anna Fitzgerald, and Moira Horowitz. For this performance, a live musical score will be provided by Baltimore based multi-instrumentalist ellen cherry.
Reverse Cascade
Creative Alliance at The Patterson, 3134 Eastern Ave, Baltimore, MD 21224
Thursday, February 18 @ 8:00 pm
MORE INFO: http://www.creativealliance.org/events/2015/reverse-cascade
Please join us and help spread the word to your fellow colleagues, family, and friends!
We hope to see you on February 18!
Join us for an amazing program of DC and Baltimore puppeteers performing original short puppet works for kids roughly 2 – 9 years old.
We will have shows at 1:00 and 3:00. We will add a show at 4:30pm if the early shows sell out.
The shows will be at BloomBars, our wonderful community art center in Columbia Heights. Bloombars is at 3222 11th St NW, 20010, near the Columbia Heights metro station.
This puppet hour will be different from our other ones in that you will need to buy tickets in advance. BloomBars is smaller than our usual location, so it is very likely that the shows will sell out.
Tickets can be bought through Brown Paper Tickets:
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2501384
Tickets are $8 per person – plus a $1 fee to Brown Paper Tickets.
Half of the admission price will go to help support BloomBars. The other half will go to our performers to thank them for all of the time, work, and creativity they are bringing to this event.
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Speaking of performers, here is our incredible line-up!
•Straight from the Amazing Life Games preschool, DC’s own Ollie and Elana Puppet Company will present their shadow projector show “The Bad Guy Broke the Bathtub”, a thrilling tale of ninjas, dragons, and bathtubs!
•Down from Baltimore we have Kevin Sherry presenting his crankie “The Frog and the Butterfly”. Along with being a performer of hilarious puppet shows for kids and adults, Kevin is also the author and illustrator of many children’s picture books including “I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean”, “I’m the Scariest Thing in the Castle”, and the hilarious chapter books series “The Yeti Files”. http://www.kevinsherryonline.com
•Also from Baltimore we have renowned artist and puppeteer Dirk Joseph keeping it in the family with his daughters Sequoia and Azaria as String Theory. They will present the puppet interview show “Kitty’s Corner”. http://www.dirkjart.com
•It keeps on coming! Washington native Schroeder Cherry is bringing some of his famous hand-and-rod puppets out to sing the blues. Schroeder and his puppets have performed in schools, libraries and art centers all across America.
•And, finally, Dave “Mister Dave” Greenfieldboyce will perform his poignant, yet hopeful, puppet tale “The Reluctant Acorn”.
So come out and join your friends, your neighbors, and your community at BloomBars on Sunday, February 28th, for the Mount Pleasant Children’s Puppet Hour!
Tickets: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2501384
Questions? Email puppet_hour@yahoo.com
Beech Tree Puppets (2016)
Ingrid and Ole Hass will be performing “The Hollow Stump,” an adaptation of The Mitten, this Saturday (2/13) at 3pm at the Maryland Library in Takoma Park, MD, 101 Philadelphia Ave. They will be repeating the show a month later, on Sunday, March 13, 3pm, at the College Park Arts Exchange. Both venues are free admission, but the Arts Exchange invites donations. The show is for children and adults age 4 and up.
Their website is www.beechtreepuppets.com, and they are also on Facebook: www.facebook.com/beechtreepuppets
Los Dos Burritos (2016)
Check out Pocket Change Theatre’s new show.
At the Colony Club
3118 Georgia Ave NW
Washington, DC 20010
The Cashore Marionettes (2016)
Joseph Cashore will be performing at the Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center on February 13th, 2016.
Click here for ticket information click here
Tickets are limited so get your tickets soon to this amazing performer.
