Know Theatre & Madcap Puppets Present THE DRAGON, 4/2-5/7

Know Theatre of Cincinnati in collaboration with Madcap Puppets is very excited to announce: The Dragon. The production was conceived and will be directed by Irina Niculescu, known for her work combining actors, puppets, and opera. Local playwright and actor Alison Vodnoy has written a new adaptation of Eugene Schwarz's original 1943 play of the same name. Madcap Puppets has crafted hauntingly beautiful marionettes which play the bulk of the characters in the play. The Dragon will run April 2 - May 7, 2011 and is appropriate for ages 13 and above.

Lancelot arrives in a small town oppressively ruled for hundreds of years by the monstrous Dragon. His mission is to free the town from the Dragon's tyranny, but he struggles to convince the townspeople of the importance of their own freedom. They believe "the only way to be free of other dragons is to have one of your own." As it turns out, slaying the dragon is only the first small step to freeing the townspeople. This political fairytale examines the ideas of manipulation and the fragility of the human spirit.

"I am happy to have the opportunity to work with two unique Cincinnati theatres which like to take risks and explore new artistic forms," says Irina Niculescu. "It is a challenge and a pleasure for me to initiate actors to puppetry and bring together puppets and actors as partners on stage."

"We are taking the original text as the basis for our free adaptation," says Niculescu. "We intend to develop the comedic character of the original text and take it to the tragicomic and grotesque with the use of the fragile nature of puppets." The two main characters, Lancelot and the Dragon are played by actors, and all the remaining characters played by puppets built by Madcap Puppets. The action takes place in an imaginary 1930s town. The visual inspiration is drawn from the German Cinema Expressionism and cartoon style for space design, costumes, make-up, masks and puppets. The puppets used in the production represent the fragility of the townspeople and their manipulation by the dragon.

"This show is an entirely new experience for our production team to work on. I suspect the same will be true for our audiences and we're fortunate that they love a challenge as much as we do," says Eric Vosmeier, Producing Artistic Director of Know Theatre. "I'm very pleased that we've been able to put together a team of local artists with our playwright, director, actors and other collaborators. This production will be unlike anything Cincinnati has seen before."

All tickets to all Know Theatre productions this season are $12 in advance and $15 on the week of the performance thanks to a generous partnership with the Carol Ann & Ralph V. Haile, Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation. You can purchase online at www.knowtheatre.com or call the Know Theatre box office at (513) 300-KNOW (5669). Flexible subscriptions are also available for $48.

 

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