Ballard Institute Presents International Paper Theater Performances Tonight

The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at Storrs Center will present an exciting evening program of three family-friendly works for paper theater--also known as toy theater--tonight, September 3 at 7:30 p.m. This travelling paper theater mini-festival features puppeteers from Mexico City's Facto Teatro, Berlin-based graphic artist and puppeteer Barbara Steinetz, and John Bell and Trudi Cohen of New York City's Great Small Works company. Tickets for these family-friendly performances are $12.

The program of international paper theater performances includes three shows. Facto Teatro's Don Chico with Wings is a funny tale of a man who decides he needs to fly. Based on a story by Mexican writer Eraclio Zepeda, it speaks of ingenuity, creativity, surrealism and human adventure and shows that, for some, the sky is the limit. Trudi Cohen and Ballard Institute director John Bell will perform Living Newspaper, Episode Two: Sidewalk Ballet, in which Jane Jacobs, Robert Moses and a burning bush battle over the right to public space. And Facto Teatro teams up with Barbara Steinitz for Duraznos Azules (Blue Peaches), a story about a boy who wants to find out why the peach tree in his grandmother's garden is producing blue peaches.

Paper Theater, also known as Toy Theater, is a unique form of puppetry. Flat paper figures evoke grand worlds, as they did centuries ago in the living rooms of European homes. Through international Toy Theater Festivals in New York and Mexico City, performances around the world, and workshops for people of all ages and persuasions, Great Small Works and Facto Teatro have been responsible for a resurgence of interest in this accessible, inexpensive form. The grandest of tales with the simplest of means! And-you can do it yourself!

Tickets for this program of International Paper Theater Performances can be purchased with cash only at the Ballard Institute one hour before the performances. For more information contact Emily Wicks at bimp@uconn.edu or 860-486-8585.

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