Puppets Take Atlanta & Beyond

An International Festival of Magic and Wonder
July 6-31, 2009

This July, Atlantans won’t have to travel across an ocean to experience the work of some of the world’s premier puppet artists! The Center for Puppetry Arts and the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau are pleased to join together with over ten other leading arts, cultural, and government organizations to celebrate the international art of puppetry with Puppets Take Atlanta & Beyond. In association with this July’s Puppeteers of America’s National Festival and conference, venues from around Atlanta have invited innovative puppet companies from Canada, France, Spain, and the United States to share their craft with Atlanta audiences. With an exciting array of performances, artists-led workshops, and exhibits planned throughout the month, Puppets Take Atlanta & Beyond will have something for all ages to enjoy.

Opening the family events of the festival is Coad Canada Puppets, one of North America’s leading puppet theatres, with an award-winning theatrical experience that has entertained audiences in nearly twenty countries around the world. Mallory Lewis, daughter of beloved children's entertainer Shari Lewis, will headline the festival alongside her mother’s legendary television star, Lamb Chop. Los Titiriteros de Binéfar, one of Spain’s leading troupes, will present a charming story featuring puppets made from recycled materials that lyrically evoke the sights and sounds of the natural world. Teatro SEA presents a hilarious, bilingual spectacle featuring over 40 life-sized puppets in the style of a Spanish Operetta.

For adult audiences, Puppets Take Atlanta & Beyond offers two of France’s most innovative puppet theatres. Bob Théâtre uses an assortment of objects from light bulbs to coffee grinders in a fantastic, adults-only adaptation of the Dracula legend. Reviving one of the world’s oldest puppet traditions, the young artists of Compagnie La Pendue present what is arguably the best Punch and Judy show – ever.

Other opportunities include an array of workshops for children and adults, a film screening of Shadowlight Productions’ epic Mongolian fantasy In Xanadu, and three exhibits dedicated to the life and work of Jim Henson. There is truly something for everyone.

What makes this festival truly exciting are the partners who have joined together to make it possible. This grand collaborative effort builds on the success of the 2002 festival, which attracted over 25,000 attendees. Joining the Center for Puppetry Arts and the Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau are Puppeteers of America, Union International de la Marionette (UNIMA), The Arts Council, Inc. (Gainesville), City of Atlanta Office of Cultural Affairs, Fulton County Arts Council, Georgia Council for the Arts, Georgia Department of Economic Development, Georgia Tourism Foundation, Roswell Cultural Arts Center, Roswell Convention & Visitors Bureau, Southern Arts Federation, Southwest Arts Center, and the Woodruff Arts Center.

For more information, please see attached Fact Sheet. Beginning April 20, 2009, information about Puppets Take Atlanta and Beyond can be found at www.atlanta.net/puppets.
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