Puppet slam comes to Pine Plains

Puppeteer Adam Izen, one of the performers at the Puppet Slam, with his creation Dorris

Provided

Puppet slam comes to Pine Plains

On Saturday, April 26, the Stissing Center in Pine Plains will open its doors to a puppetry cabaret of the surreal, the sublime, and the slightly scandalous.

The Hudson Valley Puppet Slam — strictly for those 21 and over — returns after a sold-out debut in Newburgh with what Brad Shur, founder and lead artist of Paper Heart Puppets based in Poughkeepsie calls, “one of my favorite programs I’ve ever been a part of.”

Shur, a veteran puppeteer with credits ranging from Dolly Parton’s Dollywood to “American Idol,” has curated this evening of miniature drama. “We’ve been trying to have a slam in the Hudson Valley for years,” he said, “and then suddenly it all came together.” A slam, in this case, is less “slam poetry” and more “slamming together nine wildly different puppet acts,” from the hilarious to the haunting. Think of it as a tasting menu of short-form puppetry for grownups: intimate, at times intense, and perhaps liberating.

The lineup includes an Emmy-nominated Disney alum — Chris Palmieri — a handful of local stars — Michelle Finston, Cabot Parsons — and even Shur himself. “We’ve got everything,” said Shur, “from funny to profound to ridiculous … pieces with depth, pieces with abstraction, pieces with adult themes and pieces that are just plain weird.”

If your last puppet encounter involved a trash can-dwelling Muppet or a sock on your hand, prepare for a reeducation. “We’re the best-kept secret in performance,” Shur said. “But we shouldn’t be.” With puppets that range in size, material, and artistic approach — and a venue that Shur calls “a great space for building something even bigger” — this isn’t child’s play. It’s art, it’s theater. It’s for anyone curious enough to watch what happens when fabric is given a voice and an adult storyline.

Tickets are available at thestissingcenter.org.

Latest News

Webutuck defeats Housatonic softball team on the road in Falls Village

Webutuck's Olivia Lopane-Wickwire, no. 2, eyeing a pitch as she steps off first base.

Photo by Riley Klein

FALLS VILLAGE, Conn. — Webutuck High School softball defeated Housatonic Valley Regional High School 14-9 on Thursday, May 15.

The non-league game was played in Falls Village, Connecticut, in what is a becoming an interstate rivalry. When these teams met last year, Housatonic won 16-3.

Keep ReadingShow less
Hillsdale flea market returns May 24
to Hamlet Park

The annual Columbia County event draws hundreds of bargain hunters to Hillsdale’s Hamlet Park.

Provided

HILLSDALE —The town of Hillsdale’s flea market returns Saturday, May 24.

Dozens of vendors will be selling things at Hillsdale Hamlet Park, southwest of the intersection of routes 22 and 23 in Columbia County.

Keep ReadingShow less
Webutuck Community Day — indoor and outdoor fun festival

Producing a blizzard of bubbles, the Bubble Bus delighted visitors to the annual Webutuck Community Day at the high school on Saturday, May 17.

Photo by Leila Hawken

AMENIA — Outdoor and indoor fun activities awaited area families who attended the Webutuck Community Day at the high school on Saturday, May 17. The popular annual event was co-sponsored by the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation and the Webutuck PTA.

In addition to outdoor displays including a car show, large trucks, a helicopter, a state police water rescue vehicle and a bubble bus producing blizzards of bubbles, the indoor displays numbered more than 60 local and area organizations, vendors, demonstrations and volunteer opportunities, nearly all giving things away for free.

Keep ReadingShow less
$125K grant funds NorthEast-Millerton Library repairs

Funding for repairs to the NorthEast-Millerton Library were secured Assemblymember Didi Barrett (D-106).

Photo by Aly Morrissey

MILLERTON — The NorthEast-Millerton Library is set to receive a facelift thanks to a $125,000 grant to support overdue repairs and necessary upgrades to the library’s Annex.

NorthEast-Millerton Library Director Rhiannon Leo-Jameson said the repairs are scheduled to begin around mid-June and conclude in early August. The grant will be used to repair structural and cosmetic damage, including rotting wood, chipping paint and damaged siding. Leo-Jameson said if there is any budget remaining, the library will replace an exterior door and window.

Keep ReadingShow less