More Animal Adventures at Puppet Showplace!

"Animal April"

Series of puppet shows featuring animal characters and nature themes continues with...

“Raccoon Tales” 

by Paul Vincent Davis, Artist in Residence Emeritus

performed by Brad Shur, Artist in Residence
Apr 10 & 11 (Thu & Fri) | 10:30am
Apr 12 & 13 (Sat & Sun) | 1 pm & 3pm

BUY TICKETS

If you look carefully among the trees and bushes of the forest, you might see a creature peeking from behind the leaves! Meet a trickster raccoon, red coat bushy-tail fox, timber wolf, and brown bear in "Raccoon Tales," a collection of Native American tales from the Seneca tribe of New York. Join us for an exciting week of trickster tales staring the cleverest raccoon around!

Red Coat Bushy-Tail Fox

About the Show:

Get transported into the forest with the trickster Ring-Around-His-Tail Raccoon as your guide! The animals in the forest are always getting into trouble playing tricks on each other. Will they ever learn their lessons? "Raccoon Tales" features three humorous vignettes inspired by the Native American just-so-stories of the Seneca tribe: "How the Fox and the Raccoon Trick Each Other," "Why the Blue Jay is Blue and the Gray Wolf Isn’t" and "Why the Bear has a Stumpy Tail." The show is performed with hand-crafted glove puppets made by Paul Vincent Davis.

About the Seneca tribe:

Seneca is pronounced "SEH-neh-kah." It comes from the name of one of their villages, Osininka. In their own language, the Senecas call themselves Onandowaga, which means "people of the mountain." The Senecas originally lived in New York state.  Many Seneca people still live in New York today, but others were forced to migrate to Oklahoma or Canada.

There are lots of traditional Seneca legends and fairy tales. Storytelling is very important to the Seneca Indian culture.

Click for more info!

About the performer:

Brad Shur is a versatile puppeteer who has created and performed characters made of everything from pixels to papier mache. As the Artist in Residence at Puppet Showplace Theatre he performs different shows each year in multiple puppetry styles. He also teaches puppetry classes to students of all ages, Pre-K to adult. As protégé of master puppeteer Paul Vincent Davis, Shur trained extensively in the art of glove puppetry and currently performs two of Davis’ classic shows, "Raccoon Tales" and "Clown Circus," at venues across New England.

Prior to becoming the Artist in Residence at Puppet Showplace, Brad toured the country as a performer with Big Nazo (Rhode Island), Wood & Strings Theatre (Tennessee) and The PuppeTree (Vermont). As a builder, Brad has designed and fabricated puppets for American Idol, Dollywood, Avenue Q, and the U.S.S. Constitution Museum. Brad is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design.

Paul Vincent Davis with Brad Shur, and Robin character from Brad's new glove puppet show, "Robin Hood"

Here Come the Clowns!

CIRCUS SPECTACULAR!

Nov 7-24: VIEW FULL PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

UP NEXT: "Clown Circus"

by Paul Vincent Davis, 
performed by Brad Shur, artist in residence 

Sat & Sun, November 16-17 @ 1 & 3 pm

BUY TICKETS

From silly characters to not-so-ferocious lions, "Clown Circus" features a high energy cast of clowns in hilarious vaudeville bits that will have audiences in stitches! The show was created by award-winning puppeteer, Paul Vincent Davis, Puppet Showplace Theatre's artist in residence emeritus.

Our current artist in residence, Brad Shur performs "Clown Circus," passing on the traditions from the artist in residence before him. As protégé of master puppeteer Paul Vincent Davis, Shur trained extensively in glove puppetry and currently performs many of Paul's classic shows at venues across New England.

About the show: Clowns come in all shapes and sizes, but everything about them is larger-than-life. Join Dusty and his friends Pierrot, Zany and Guffaw for this fun, interactive variety show that features circus-inspired singing, dancing, storytelling, lion-taming, and more.

This colorful performance, originally created by master puppeteer Paul Vincent Davis, is a favorite for young audiences (and their grown-ups).

About the show's creator: Master Puppeteer Paul Vincent Davis is widely recognized as one of America's foremost glove puppeteers. For over 30 years he served as Artist in Residence at Puppet Showplace Theatre where he and founder Mary Churchill worked tirelessly to establish a home for puppetry in New England. Throughout his career, Paul was a dedicated member of the Boston Area Guild of Puppetry.

Davis created over a dozen full-length puppetry productions and received four prestigious UNIMA Citations of Excellence for his work. He was honored with the President's Award for Lifetime Achievement by the Puppeteers of America. Now retired from performing, Davis remains active as a teacher and mentor in the New England puppetry community. He is the subject of the bookPuppeteer by Kathryn Lasky and is currently writing his own book about the art and philosophy of glove puppetry.

About the performer: Brad Shur is a versatile puppeteer who has created and performed characters made of everything from pixels to papier mache. As the Artist in Residence at Puppet Showplace Theatre he performs regularly and teaches puppetry classes to students of all ages, Pre-K to adult.

Brad with a character from "Clown Circus"

Shur’s original works include "The Carrot Salesman," "Dr. Doohickey and the Monster Machine," "The Yankee Peddler: Stories and Songs from Old New England" and "The Magic Soup and Other Stories," recently featured at the Puppeteers of America National Festival 2013.

Brad with a character from "Clown Circus"

Shur is currently working on a new adaptation of "Robin Hood," set to open in January 2014. Prior to becoming the Artist in Residence at Puppet Showplace, Shur toured the country as a performer with Big Nazo (Rhode Island), Wood & Strings Theatre (Tennessee) and The PuppeTree (Vermont). As a builder Shur has designed and fabricated puppets for American Idol, Dollywood, Avenue Q, and the U.S.S. Constitution Museum. Shur is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design.

For more shows by Brad Shur, CLICK HERE

The Magical Month of May at PST!

Happy Spring, Puppet Fans!


A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing
by Spring Valley Puppet Theater
Thurs & Fri, May 2 & 3 at 10:30am
Sat & Sun, May 4 & 5 at 1 & 3pm

BUY TICKETS

With fond memories of ANIMAL APRIL at PST, we wave farewell to to our fabulous furry friends from Aesops's Fables, and cute critters that graced our puppet stage like Anansi the spider, and Mr. Bunni from the Carrot Salesman. Up next this spring at PST is MAGICAL MAY: a series of magic-filled tales that is sure to enchant audiences! To kick-off the month, PST presents, "A Wolf In Sheep's Clothing" by Spring Valley Puppets which is paired with the classic tale of "The Three Wishes", a story about a wood cutter who meets a magical elf in the forest!  Join us this week for two delightful stories performed by the award-winning PST long-time favorite, Spring Valley Puppet Theater of New Haven Connecticut!

"The Three Wishes"

About the show: A hungry Wolf tries to outwit a savvy Shepherd and make a meal of the helpless, little Lamb. Helpless? Maybe not! Adapted from the Aesop fable, this popular story is enlivened with a colorful Mexican setting, a humorous communication gap and a surprise ending! This presentation also includes "The Three Wishes," a spring valley favorite! Hand Puppets. Recommended for ages 3 and up.

Puppeteer, Michael Graham

About the performer: Michael Graham, puppeteer and director of Spring Valley Puppet Theater, has been performing since 1966 throughout New England, primarily for schools and libraries. He has performed at regional and national festivals of the Puppeteers of America. He designs and makes his puppets, writes his own scripts, creates the scenery, and does a number of the voices.

He graduated from Western Connecticut State College, and studied with the renowned puppeteer Albrecht Roser from Stuttgart, Germany, at the University of Connecticut.

For more info about Michael Graham and Spring Valley Puppet Theater: Visit www.springvalleypuppets.com

The Clown Circus - only at PST!

THIS WEEK AT PST!

Wed	July 25	10:30am & 1pm
Thu	July 26	10:30am & 1pm
Fri	July 27	10:30am & 1pm
Sat	July 28	10:30am & 1pm

Step right up, and join us for a Circus this summer at PST! This isn't just an ordinary circus - it's a clown circus with beautiful and colorful hand crafted glove puppets made by PST's Artist in Residence Emeritus, Paul Vincent Davis.

BUY TICKETS

About the show: Clowns come in all shapes and sizes, but everything about them is larger-than-life. Join Dusty and his friends Pierrot, Zany and Guffaw for this fun, interactive variety show that features circus-inspired singing, dancing, storytelling and more!

Recommended for ages 3 & up.

About the performer: Brad has been professionally involved in puppetry for nearly 10 years. He first began as a performer with the Providence puppet and mask company Big Nazo while a student at the Rhode Island School of Design and has toured nationally with Wood & Strings Theatre, a marionette company out of Tennessee. Brad recently finished working with the Vermont PuppetTree as a freelance puppet designer and performer.

He has experience in teaching workshops and classes for students of all ages and hopes to be known in the future as an Arts Educator. Brad has a passion for performance and describes his style as “carnival barker” driven by interactive audience dialogue.

He is thrilled to join the Puppet Showplace Theatre as its Artist in Residence!