Festivities Include New “Puppets Around the World” Series and Promotion of Childhood Arts Advocacy
Puppet Showplace Theater will celebrate World Puppetry Day on March 21, 2015 with special programs for children and adults. “World Puppetry Day” is a celebration of the contributions made by puppeteers across the world. Locally, Puppet Showplace Theater, New England’s premier presenter of puppetry arts, is pleased to present a globally-inspired series “Puppets Around the World: Stories and Puppetry Styles from Across the Globe,” featuring shows highlighting Chinese folklore, Turkish shadow puppetry, and international guest performers from Quebec. The celebration also encourages children to become arts advocates with a letter writing campaign.
World Puppetry Day is the creation of Union Internationale de la Marionnette (UNIMA-USA) in order to recognize puppetry as a global art form. UNIMA is the international organization that unites puppeteers across cultural, political, racial, and religious differences.
Roxanna Myhrum, artistic director of Puppet Showplace Theater said, “In the planning of the ‘Puppets Around the World Series’ and the World Day of Puppetry celebration, I wanted our young audiences to experience puppetry as a global art form. In some cases, that means encountering unfamiliar stories and artistic styles. In other cases, it means seeing how puppetry is a common language that unites us with cultures all over the world.”
As part of the World Day of Puppetry celebration, throughout the entire month of March, Puppet Showplace Theater invites kids to participate in a letter-writing campaign to Governor Baker demonstrating the importance of the arts and asking for his support. Letters and children’s artwork can be dropped off at Puppet Showplace Theater or sent directly to: Governor Charles Baker, Massachusetts State House, Office of the Governor, Room 360, Boston, MA 02133.
About Puppet Showplace Theater
Puppet Showplace Theater is wheelchair accessible and located at the Brookline Village T station on the Green D Line at 32 Station Street, Brookline MA, 02445. The theater is barrier free and accessible to all children and adults. Call the Puppet Showplace Box Office for more information and to purchase tickets: 617-731-6400 x 101 or online at www.puppetshowplace.org.
Puppet Showplace Theater is New England’s only professional year-round theater dedicated to presenting outstanding professional puppetry to diverse audiences through performances, workshops, and community outreach activities. After 40 years of operations, the theater has become a treasured cultural institution.
Puppet Showplace is funded in part by grants from the Massachusetts Cultural Council and the New England Foundation for the Arts.
