This summer, we're bringing puppetry outside!
Location: One Brookline Place, right across the T tracks from our theater
Sat Sept 9:
10:00 - 11:00 am: Make your own puppet
11:00 - 11:45 am: The show!
The Summer Outdoor Series is Pay-What-You-Can! Please RSVP so we can plan for seating space. You will be invited to make a Pay-What-You-Can contribution of $0-20 per person.
About the September Show
Mr. Twister and the Tale of Tornado Alley by Marc Hoffeditz and Brenda Huggins
Tornadoes! Puppets! A magic telescope! Mr. Twister and the Tale of Tornado Alley follows meteorologist Mr. Twister and his grandson Bobby on a journey around the globe, from the chilly arctic to the sizzling warmth of the Gulf of Mexico. Through the power of his magic telescope, Mr. Twister can see just about everything — except the family reunion of the North and South winds that’s about to create a cyclone in Tornado Alley! Join Bobby and his grandfather in an operatic adventure of global proportion.
Come at 10:00 am for a puppet-making workshop, and then bring your puppet to the show at 11:00 am. You’ll be invited to perform along with the show from your seat!
All ages welcome, recommended for 3+
Giant rod puppets & original music
This event is outdoors on a grassy lawn! Bring a blanket or low chairs to sit comfortably.
In the event of rain, the performance will be held indoors at our theater at 32 Station Street, and the puppet-making activity will take place tents outside the theater. The first 100 people to arrive will be seated for the 11:00 am performance.
About the Artists
Marc Hoffeditz (Composer, Librettist, Co-producer) is a librarian and occasional composer of dramatic vocal music living in Boston, Massachusetts. He has been fortunate to work with numerous operatic and vocal organizations, including the New York Opera Festival, NANOWorks Opera (Delaware, OH), Hartford Opera Theater, Opera Elect (Boise, ID), and One Ounce Opera (Austin, TX). Most recently, he was the winner of Poptart Punk Opera’s 1st Call for Scores for his chamber opera Non Motus. The same work was recently nominated at the 2020 B. Iden Payne Awards for Outstanding Production of Music Theater and Outstanding Original Score. Marc is currently completing his Masters of Library and Information Science at San José State University. In the future, he’d like to explore writing more children’s operas, as the process of creating and seeing Mr. Twister come to life has been incredibly rewarding.
Brenda Huggins (Stage Director, Puppetry Design, Co-producer) is a puppetry artist, stage director, dramaturg, and opera producer with an MFA in Theatre Education and Applied Theatre from Emerson College. With co-creator Phil Berman, she was commissioned by Puppet Showplace Theater in 2012 to develop a series of interactive puppetry performances with live music for the very young. They performed Puppet Playtime in residence from 2013-2016 and on tour, including at the Cambridge River Fest, Outside the Box Festival, Lawn on D, Boston Children's Museum, Boston First Night, Brookline First Light, Boston Public Library, and many schools and private venues. Brenda served as the Communications Director and teaching artist at Puppet Showplace Theater from 2011 to 2016, has taught puppetry and arts education pedagogy at the Urban College of Boston, and is currently the Director of Performing Arts at the Colleges of the Fenway.
Sonja DuToit Tengblad Co-Producer and Climate Activist, Mothers Out Front East Boston
Eve Budnick Music Director and Pianist
Marcus Schenck (Baritone) as Mr. Twister
Leo Balkovets (Tenor) as Bobby
Isabelle Zeledón (Mezzo Soprano) as South Wind
Marsé Alaundra (Soprano) as North Wind
Costume Design by Nancy Ishihara
Props Design by Maria Laird
Sound design by Denver Nickolls
Production Stage Management by Jess Brennan, with additional support from Assistant Music Director and Répétiteur, Carrie Ishihara Zinky
This project is made possible in part by a Live Arts Boston grant from the Boston Foundation, the Brookline Arts Commission, and Massachusetts Cultural Council.
About the summer outdoor series
This summer, we're bringing puppetry outside! Join us at One Brookline Place, right across the T tracks from our theater, for Pay-What-You-Can outdoor puppetry experiences.
July: Magnificent Monster Circus
Encounter magnificent creatures from the wilds of your imagination as their quirky human caretaker tries to teach them new tricks in this colorful show from CactusHead Puppets!
August: Tholpavakoothu: Shadow Puppet Play of Kerala, India
Experience shadow puppetry by firelight! Witness scenes from the dramatic epic Ramayana, complete with scenes of battles, trickery, and the natural world, performed by masters of Tholpavakoothu, a traditional form of shadow puppetry from Kerala, India.
September: Mr. Twister and the Tale of Tornado Alley
Be part of the show with Mr. Twister — a family-friendly opera, with puppets! Come early to make your own puppet and be a part of the action as Mr. Twister uses his magic telescope in this adventure about science, climate, and weather.
The Summer Outdoor Series is supported in part by the Brookline Community Foundation Youth Development Grant program.
