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.

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