Xperimental Puppetry Theater to Take the Stage at the Center for Puppetry Arts

Xperimental Puppetry Theater (XPT) will take the stage at the Center for Puppetry Arts, May 11-14. XPT is the Center's platform for new, innovative works for puppet theater, allowing artists from all disciplines to present original pieces conceived and designed for adult audiences. This year's featured artists will present a variety of puppetry styles, including live performances, short films and an art installation.

The exploratory mission of XPT results in work that is imaginative, bold, avant-garde and adult by nature. The stories can be personal, mythical or allegorical, fantastical and thought provoking. The intention is to invite the audience to see their world through a lens of unlimited visual possibility. Some of the works in this year's lineup include a time-lapse opera, a tale of friendship between a squirrel and butterfly, a mystical journey through a ring of fire and a robot wanted by the government.

The 2017 lineup includes:

FILMS

• "Black and Bays" - By Paulette Richardson

  • A world where "blacks and bays" are chattel traded like "all the pretty little horses" dehumanizes master and slave alike

• "Thad's Shadow" - By Wade Tilton

  • A boy and his shadow, or a shadow and her boy

• "Air (Opera for Yeast in One Act)" - By Steve Morrison

  • A film that uses time-lapse photography and bread dough to stage an unusual opera

• "Timmy-Tommy" - By Spencer Vidich

  • Timmy discovers a Rock bot, and the government wants him and the robot-dead or alive

LIVE PERFORMANCES

• ON TIPTOE: An Exploration of Acrobats by Israel Horovitz- By Aretta Baumgartner

  • Introducing He and She: two vaudeville-inspired puppet performers struggling to figure out their roles on the stage and in their relationship

• Helix of Fire - By Carole D'Agostino

  • An abstract theatrical journey through a swirl of mystical elements and flying beasts, performed under a flaming geodesic dome

• AcroCloud - By Ashley Laramore

  • Sandy the Squirrel tries to befriend a butterfly and has an adventure through a landscape featuring acro-yoga poses

• Coyote Love - By Michael Harrison

  • A straight soldier finds himself with a difficult decision when he goes home with another man after a wild party

• Farm First: Making Animals Great Again! - By T. Anthony Marotta

  • A socialist pig inspires a revolution that incites a populist upset on The Farm. Farm First! examines characters and events in America today through the lens of Orwell's 1945 novella "Animal Farm," an allegory for the Russian Revolution.

• Rebirth - By Spencer Murrill

• • A teddy bear has a strange encounter that forever changes it

HOW: Tickets $10 (Members) and $15 (nonmembers) and include admission to the Worlds of Puppetry Museum (with the largest collection of Jim Henson puppets and artifacts in the world as well as a Global Gallery) one hour before the show. Tickets can be purchased online at www.puppet.org or by calling 404.873.3391.

ABOUT XPT: For more than 30 years, XPT has allowed the Center for Puppetry Arts to invite theater newcomers and seasoned professionals alike to collaborate and showcase their talents by writing, directing, constructing and performing experimental works for the puppet stage. At its essence, XPT is a lab or incubator for new ideas and works for puppetry from artists of every discipline, some of whom may never have worked in puppetry. Once the artist is chosen, he or she receives a small stipend. The real benefit for the artist is freedom to experiment and collaborate with fellow artists under the guidance of Center staff. This alchemy is what moves ideas from conception to execution. All accepted submissions will be archived in the Center's puppet film library for guests to enjoy for years to come.

Recommended for ages 18 and older, XPT demonstrates that puppets can energize adults as much as children. A beer and wine cash bar will be open before the show and during intermission.