On February 17th, I curated and hosted Blood from a Turnip, an evening of short-form puppetry for adults with Vanessa Gilbert at Perishable Theater in downtown Providence. Blood from a Turnip was Rhode Island’s only late night puppetry salon.
The evening – the first part of a two city (Providence, Brookline weekend tour) that included puppet and object theatre from Jonny Clockworks, Ceili Clemens, Emmy Bean, Dramaton Theatre, Kristen McClean, Sara Frechette, and Jim Sedgwick.
From the press release:
PROVIDENCE, RI – – Hold onto your seats! Rhode Island’s Only Late-night Puppet Salon’s takes off on its first ever SLAMTASTIC PUPPET MINI-TOUR!!!
In a startling and unprecedented Turnip first, Blood from a Turnip has joined forces with The Puppet Showplace in Brookline to bring you the first ever Slamtastic Puppet Mini-Tour! “Two cities in two nights!” exclaimed Turnip visionary, Vanessa Gilbert, “It was more than even I could have ever dreamed of!”
As for how this arrangement came about, plaything and Turnip spokes-kweer, Marsian explained, “After sold out shows and with an audience that has been fatigued by reality television, I believe that these late night puppet slams are becoming the next wave in American vaudeville. . .so much so that I predict puppeteers will be the next rock stars!” Added the furry co-hostess, “It was only natural we went on tour.”
Boston puppet mogul, Carl Wieting joins the Turnip gang, as does alpha-male, Matt Kandarian, filling in for Ms. Gilbert while she is off on assignment. “I haven’t been this excited to host a pupet show since Ms. Doucette’s kindergarden class”, admited Kandarian, candidly.
ACTS INCLUDE:
* Emmy Bean with “War Bride”, an exploration of longing, loss, and absent love at a 2am kitchen table in 1946.
*Jonny Clockworks with his small-scale piece, “minutia”.
* Ken Berman, Frankie Cordero, and Sara Frechette of Dramaton Theater performing The Traveler.
* Sara Frechette performing her marrionette piece, Man on the Burning Tightrope.
* Kristen Mclean performing The Story of Bird Girl in an Overture and Three Acts about the trials & tribulations of being a sensitive soul in a cruel, cruel world.
* Jim Sedgwick performing The Pope Wears Bozo Shoes, a manic multimedia adventure on the high seas, with generous helpings of intrigue, non-stop carnage, cross-dressing, memorized lines, and a brief excursion down Memory Lane.
* Ceili Clemens with Remember Me about finding hope after loss.
SEE what the Providence Phoenix is calling:
“a wildly diverse and thoroughly entertaining showcase”FIND OUT what the Providence Journal deems:
“wacky and funny. . intelligent, insightful and a little bit edgy”EXPERIENCE. . . The Slamtastic Puppet Mini-Tour!
1st Stop: PROVIDENCE, RI
Friday, February 175h at 10:00PM
Blood From a Turnip
Perishable Theatre..2nd Stop: Brookline, MA
Saturday, February 18th at 8:00PM
Puppet Showplace Theater