PUPPET FESTIVAL (R)EVOLUTION Kicks Off Today

Single tickets are now on sale to the general public for performances taking place during Puppet Festival (r)Evolution, the 2013 National Festival of the Puppeteers of America, today, August 5 - 10 at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, PA. The six-day festival showcases hundreds of award-winning puppeteers presenting original works for diverse audiences. The Festival is an opportunity for area audiences to enjoy the best of modern puppetry with artists from across the country. Performances range from delightful family-friendly fare to thought-provoking explorations of the human condition.

Led by Philadelphia puppeteer and Mum Puppettheatre founder Robert Smythe, the Festival includes over two dozen performances during the week that are open to the public, along with talks and workshops. Festival highlights include a live Q&A and documentary screening of Beauty Is Embarrassing with Wayne White, award-winning Los Angeles puppeteer and best known as one of the creators of Pee-wee's Playhouse; the family-friendly re-creation of Dick Myers' Cinderella by University of Connecticut's Seth Nehemiah Shaffer, in tribute to the puppeteer proclaimed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz as "the genius of American Puppetry"; and a shadow puppet double feature with Ada/Ava by Chicago's Manual Cinema and The Silent Shadow Cinema by New York artist Tom McDonagh . On Saturday, August 10, the Festival will close with a parade, performances and events for the whole family through the Swarthmore Borough Town Center. Sponsored in part by the Swarthmore Co-op, all Saturday events will be free and open to the public.

"Puppet Festival (r)Evolution marks the first time the national Festival of the Puppeteers of America has made all events, including performances and workshops, open to the public," says Smythe. "Puppeteers are directors and actors - sometimes playing multiple roles - and often dancers and writers and musicians as well as sculptors, set designer and craft artists all in one. Our national Festival showcases the best of new technologies and revived traditional techniques - but most of all it is a celebration of storytelling, magic and experimentation in contemporary performance. We think this will be a very special opportunity for audiences that are familiar with puppets through film and television to experience in person the artistry and variety of modern puppetry."

All Puppet Festival (r)Evolution tickets are now available for purchase online at www.puppetfestivalrevolution.org through Brown Paper Tickets. Tickets and passes can also be purchased by calling (267) 240-3679. Puppet Festival (r)Evolution show prices vary and are listed with each show description on the Festival website.

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