May 26-June 1, 2005

mixpicks

String Us Along

by Tami Fertig

puppet performance and slam

You can't tie a good puppeteer down: Sooner or later, he or she's gonna hit the road. But West Philly's Puppet Uprising always snags some well-traveled troupes for its quarterly cabaret. "We know puppeteers from all over the country," says PU artistic ambassador Morgan FitzPatrick Andrews. This Saturday's extremely affordable, "seat-of-the-pants operation," he says, offers acts to leave you both laughing and stroking your chin: Eric Ruin, Minneapolis-based shadow puppeteer, brings "How Can You Own?", a two-part piece concerning private property and Black Sabbath. Chip Molloy works the marionettes alongside audio and video interviews with children, conducted during his recent trip to the Middle East. The Urgent Insurgents (Portland's Beth Nixon and Philly's Kelly Nesbitt) come with material from a women's clown festival in Andorra, and Spiral Q's Michelle Posadas performs the Filipino fable, "Day by Day." FitzPatrick Andrews, as DJ ShoddyPuppet, works the turntables and electronic toys in preparation for an upcoming toy theater festival and New England tour. Musical clowns from Maine run around between acts. Come early to spend pocket change on local art. And on Sunday, perform your own five-minute puppet show to win a puppet-related prize. As shown by Chris Hartshorne, whose untitled puppets (pictured) appeared last year, anything goes: "You can make something very simple and have it be more effective than something that took years of schooling," says FitzPatrick Andrews. "This is your thing."

Puppet Uprising's May Cabaret, Sat., May 28, 8 p.m., (with Cheap Art Bazaar, 7:30 p.m.) free; B.Y.O.P., Puppet Uprising's Second Annual Slam, Sun., May 29, 8 p.m. (sign-up, 7 p.m.), free; The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut St., www.puppetuprising.org.

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