Puppets Take Manhattan In August For First-Ever PUPPET WEEK NYC

The inaugural Puppet Week NYC, highlighting New York's rich and diverse puppetry communities, will take place during the second week of August 2021 with a full roster of events and activities.

The International Puppet Fringe Festival, New York's only international fringe festival dedicated to puppetry, returns August 11 with 40+ performances by some of the leading puppet makers and troupes from around the world. Organized by Teatro SEA, Grupo Morán (The Morán Group) and The Clemente Soto Velez Cultural & Education Center, the festival will include live performances held at La Plaza at The Clemente Center in the Lower East Side, as well as virtual performances, workshops and film screenings. During Puppet Week NYC, Puppets of New York companion exhibitions will open downtown at The Clemente Center and uptown at the Museum of the City of New York.

"With the arts and entertainment industries bringing back live performances, as New York City reopens, we're thrilled to support the Puppet Fringe Festival and the first-ever Puppet Week NYC," said the Commissioner of the NYC Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, Anne del Castillo. "The festival celebrates the diversity and rich cultural experiences that define our city. Thanks to the ingenuity of our small and independent theatres and organizations, festivals like this can continue to thrive!"

Rich puppetry traditions from around the world converge in New York, where talented puppeteers and troupes have developed an artform that is distinct to the city. As the city brings back live events and performances, Puppet Week NYC will kick off with the International Puppet Fringe Festival's puppet celebrity red carpet. Beloved puppets and iconic puppeteers will make their entrance along with members of the audience. The festival will also honor Center for Puppetry Arts founder Vincent Anthony, and will include appearances by Lamb Chop, Mallory Lewis and Leslee Asch.

Many of the live Puppet Fringe events are free, outdoors, and open to the public, welcoming New Yorkers back to the world of live puppet performance.

"Puppetry channels the joy, the energy and the artistry of New Yorkers, and Puppet Week NYC brings this talent to the international stage," said Dr. Manuel Morán, founder and producer of the International Puppet Fringe Festival. "During the pandemic, when our curtains couldn't go up, our roster of puppet makers and puppeteers were eagerly preparing to enthrall audiences with their creative talents, and we can't wait to finally share their work with you."

Additional events, panel discussions, and exhibitions will round out the week of performances, highlighting New Yorkers' contributions to the international puppet community, and bringing new audiences into the fold. Partners for the festival include the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment (MOME), Museum of the City of New York, LATEA Theater and The Center for Puppetry Arts. The full program listing is available at puppetfringenyc.com.

"The Clemente is a fitting home for the festival's events, as puppetry found an early home here in the 1990s and we continue to foster diverse puppet performances in our theater spaces," said Libertad Guerra, executive director of The Clemente. "Our hope is that Puppet Week NYC draws attention to this thriving and evolving art form uniting theater with all the visual arts, and attracting people of all ages, backgrounds, and cultural identities."