Pontine Theatre to Present A TRAVELING TOY THEATRE FESTIVAL, Today

Tuesday 8 September at 7pm, Pontine Theatre presents A TRAVELING TOY THEATRE FESTIVAL at it's West End Studio Theatre. Three countries meet on one small stage: Trudi Cohen and John Bell, members of the NYC-based collective Great Small Works, team up with Facto Teatro from Mexico City and Barbara Steinitz from Berlin to share a program of Toy Theater in venues across New England. Tickets are $18 and may be purchased in advance online at www.pontine.org. Tickets may also be purchased at the door a half-hour prior to the performance, based on availability. Pontine's West End Studio Theatre (WEST) is located at 959 Islington Street in Portsmouth NH. The theatre is not visible from the street, look for the big 959 on the signpost at the head of the drive. Contact Pontine for more information: info@pontine.org / 603-436-6660.

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 John Bell bringLiving 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.

Toy Theater, also known as Paper 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 form. The grandest of tales with the simplest of means!

This performance is funded in part by the New England States Touring program of the New England Foundation for the Arts made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts Regional Touring Program and the six New England state arts agencies.