NYPL Celebrates National Day of Puppetry by Julia Chang, Supervising Librarian, New Amsterdam LibraryApril 26, 2011

The 13th Annual National Day of Puppetry was celebrated by The New York Public Library on Saturday, April 23, 2011. The Puppetry Guild of Greater New York participated as part of the traditional event.

Puppetry in America is older than the country itself but, until the beginning of the 20th century, puppet shows were rare. Puppeteers kept their art a closely guarded secret, certainly not shared with the public. In the first half of the 20th century, some puppeteers began sharing information about their work, which lead to the formation of the Puppeteers of America in 1937.
  

At the celebration, children and their families were treated to a variety of puppet specialties – including a story book show, pieces of varying lengths, and a performance of "The Gingerbread Boy.”  Demonstrating the range of visiting puppets, the day’s event included hand puppets, rod puppets, marionettes, and shadow puppets. Children explored the different styles of puppetry and some even had the opportunity to try out the craft on stage by working with the marionettes.


Special thanks go to Puppet Master Peter Lewis for organizing the event and to Bruce Cannon, the Artistic Director of the Swedish House Marionette Theater in Central Park, who acted as MC. Further congratulations go to the performers: Penny Jones & Co. Puppets, "Mother Goose."; Marshall Katzman, Fantasy Puppet Theater, "Mortal Danger"; Spica Wobbe & Margot Fitzsimmons, Double Image Theater Lab, "I Laid an Egg"; Eric Wright, The Puppet Kitchen, "A Single Lady"; Barry Weil, Tanya Khordoc and Edward Einhorn, Evolve Company, "Becoming"; Donna Cantillo, Little Feet Productions, "Little Red Riding Hood";  Ronny Wasserstrom, Playdate Puppets, "Humpty and Friends present the Silly SkareKid"; Artie Poore: Stop Motion Animations; and one of the founding members of the Puppetry Guild, Bernice Silver, Bernice Silver Puppets, "A Puppet Hootenanny."
 

For more information on upcoming events for children scheduled throughout all of our 90 neighborhood libraries visit our calendar of events.

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two thumbs up for Puppet Master Peter Lewis

Submitted by roppets (not verified) on July 25, 2011 - 10:09am

Hi all, We just wanna say that PM Peter Lewis did a good job in organizing this event. I always wish that we could participate in this kind of gathering so we can also share our art in puppetry.