In the Heart of the Beast...and Other Stories...

I'm off to Minneapolis this morning!!  So excited to visit In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre this weekend!  My host will be the amazing puppeteer, Mark Safford, who has kindly (squeeeee!!!) invited me to work with him in his studio on building MayDay puppets before I go to the theatre, itself.  I am over the moon!  If you look at imagery from the shows at this theatre, or read anything about it, you will find magic. Magic in their work, magic in the faces of the children they reach.  I've not even been there yet, and already, I love everything about this place.

 MayDay Parade participants

 
Also on this visit, and equally as exciting, is a visit to a wonderful establishment, Children's Theatre Company of Minneapolis.  I will start my day on Saturday viewing their production of The Snowy Day and Other Stories, take a tour of their theatre, and then whisk myself away to work on puppets and to see what else I can find in the area that pertains to children's theatre...

 Cinderella at Children's Theatre Company

Peter Pan the Musical at Children's Theatre Company

After this whirlwind day, it will be back to Heart of the Beast to see their "rock opera for older children," BASEMENT CREATURES--a piece that includes aerial artists, rock music, puppets and masks...and takes us on a trip with a subterranean explorer and his travels in the underworld.

Not gonna lie, this adventure has me ALL AGOG!!!

PS:  I have not forgotten that I owe you more information about BEND at Puppet Showplace Theatre.  Patience, my friends.  This is a journey that is still unwinding its yellow brick road...

 Alison is the recipient of a 2016 Creative Workforce Fellowship. This Fellowship is a program of the Community Partnership for Arts and Culture. Funding for the Fellowship program is made possible by the generous support of Cuyahoga County residents through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture.