A full week of the best puppet shows in the country is just around the corner!
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PuppetFest MidWest, an annual puppetry festival, will be held once again in Trenton, at North Central Missouri College on July 10-15. Festival Directors Peter Allen and Debbie Lutzky Allen from Jamesport are pleased to announce the slate of performers for this season. This event is funded by the Rumpelstiltskin Society, a not-for-profit corporation created to inspire, strengthen and renew commitment to good puppet theatre.
Puppet enthusiasts from all over the U.S. and Canada attend PuppetFest MidWest. Festival registrants stay in the NCMC dorms and attend an entire week of puppetry workshops taught by some of the best puppeteers in North America.
If you have talked to anyone who attended performances at any of the last four PuppetFest MidWests, you will find converts to the philosophy that puppets are not just for children. The skill of the puppeteer is to help the audience into the belief that the puppet they see before them is actually thinking, feeling, moving and living at that very moment.
This year PuppetFest MidWest presents six remarkable performers. All performances will be held in Trenton at the Hoover Theater on the third floor of the Grundy County Jewett Norris Library. General Admission is $5. These puppet performances are for family audiences.
On Tuesday, July 10 at 7:30 p.m., The Paul Mesner Puppets from Kansas City will perform “Anansi The Spider” A lively retelling of four classic folk tales from Africa and the Caribbean, this show features live musical accompaniment by drummer Patrick Conway. It is suitable for adults and children 6 years of age and older.
On Wednesday, July 11 at 7:30 p.m., The Cashore Marionettes from Pennsylvania present “Life In Motion”, a series of original marionette pieces exploring a wide range of themes from everyday life. It is suitable for adults and children 12 years of age and older.
On Thursday, July 12, at 7:30 p.m., three favorite folk tales from around the world come to life as Grey Seal Puppets from North Carolina presents “Tangle of Tales”. These are “The Frog Prince” from Germany, “Three Billy Goats Gruff” from Scandinavia and “The Three Little Pigs” from England. It is suitable for adults and children 6 years of age and older.
Friday, July 13 is Family Friday, with two wonderful shows for the whole family. At 4 p.m., Nappy’s Puppets from Connecticut will perform “Shadows Around the World,” a terrific show for younger children. Jim Napolitano takes an ancient and extremely challenging form of puppetry and comes up with shows that are hysterically funny and amazingly skillful.
At 7:30 p.m., ventriloquist Randel McGee, a gifted and imaginative storyteller, writer, musician and performer, enthusiastically performs with his adorable puppet pal, Groark the Dragon in Randel McGee and Groark. These two also make beautiful music together. With Groark being the only guitar-playing dragon that we know of, this musical duo has people cheering for more and singing for days. For adults and children 6 years of age and older.
On Saturday, July 14 at 7:30 p.m., Coad Canada Puppets from North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada presents “The Box? A Show of Feelings”. In seven story-sequences the principal characters, a child and a dog, recreate in mime the eight emotions of Curiosity, Sadness, Frustration, Fear, Happiness, Anger, Loneliness, and Love. Each sequence is complete within itself yet the performance builds to a unified theatrical experience where each emotion is not just observed but is felt by the audience. For adults and children 6 years of age and older.
These talented performers make up the roster of performances at PuppetFest MidWest for this year. We hope that you will be able to attend at least one of these wonderful shows. Then you too, will be able to say, at next year’s PuppetFest MidWest “They were right. Puppets aren’t just for kids”.
There will also be an exhibit of puppets at the Dorris Rider Art Gallery at North Central Missouri College in Trenton. Admission is free but donations will be accepted. Large groups such as church/fraternal organizations, Scouts or Red Hat Ladies are encouraged to reserve a guided tour. Please contact Vicki Weaver at NCMC at (660) 359-6948 ext. 403. During the Grand Opening of the Puppet Exhibit on Wednesday, July 11 at 4:30 p.m., the exhibitors will be on hand to answer questions and maybe even demonstrate their creations. The exhibit will be open to the public on Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Saturday, July 14 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Volunteers will be there to answer your questions about the puppet exhibit.
Tickets for the performances may be reserved but must be picked up at the box office at least 15 minutes before the performance. For reservations or more information about PuppetFest MidWest, please call (660) 684-6825 or go online to www.puppetfestival.org.