Crabgrass Puppet Theatre
awarded grants from Jim Henson Foundation and Puppeteers of America!
We are delighted and honored to have been chosen to receive financial support from the Jim Henson Foundation and the Puppeteers of America Endowment Fund to help fund the creation of our newest production,
Opening in October 2010!
We're excited to explore the union of two art forms we love dearly: puppetry and poetry. Haiku, HipHop and Hotdogs will use puppetry to explore different poetry traditions and will introduce school-age children and their families to some of our favorite poems. The show will use rod, hand, tabletop and shadow puppets, as well as human actors. Imagine a symphony composed entirely by goldfish! Thrill to the adventures of “Fearless Flying Hotdogs!” Dance with the “Funky Snowman!” This exciting new fusion of poetry and puppetry includes Jack Prelutsky's "The Goblin" (these goblins just want to have fun!) as well as poems by Nikki Giovanni, David McCord, Calef Brown and others. Remember to “Keep a Poem in Your Pocket,” and – above all – “Do Not Approach an Emu!”
The state of Vermont (and Crabgrass) honors Sandglass Theater
On February 11, 2010 Sandglass Theater founders Eric Bass and Ines Zeller Bass were awarded the Governor's Award for the Arts, Vermont's highest arts honor, and Crabgrass Puppet Theatre was honored to be asked to participate in the ceremony. Eric and Ines have done a huge amount to bolster the image and awareness of puppetry in Vermont, with their biennial Puppets in the Green Mountains International Festival, with the touring performers and shows they bring into their theater in Putney each year, and with the unique and exciting work they create together as Sandglass Theater. We were delighted to join Governor Jim Douglas, Vermont Arts Council Executive Director Alex Aldrich, speakers Richard Edelman, Finn Campman, Mara Williams and John Burt, and fellow performers Rob Mermin and Larry Hunt in a special ceremony in the Vermont State House honoring Eric and Ines. Our contribution to the affair was the world premier of "Up on the Roof," a short piece about the perils of home ownership in winter.
 |
 |
 |
||
|
Eric & Ines
|
|
"Up on the Roof"
|
Governor Douglas and Alex Aldrich |
I love Crabgrass in the Springtime. . .
Crabgrass will be travelling from Vermont to Virginia in the next few months. In January, we open the Midwinter Sunshine series of family performances at Sandglass Theater in Putney, VT, an exciting new collaboration between Crabgrass, Sandglass and Puppetwork New England, Inc. In February we have four days of shows at Queens Theater in the Park in New York, and we'll be visiting a new venue for us, Penny Pretzel Playhouse in South Orange, New Jersey. We'll be at the Puppet Showplace Theater in Brookline, Massachusetts and at the Katherine Hepburn Theater in Old Saybrook, CT in March. April will find us at the Mariposa Museum in New Hampshire, the Scranton Cultural Center, the JFK Presidential Library in Boston, the Academy of Music in Northampton, and at the Alden Theater in McLean, Virginia. And in May, we'll be returning once more to Queens Theater in the Park. Please see our complete list of upcoming public performances for more information.
Crabgrass Featured in American Profile Magazine!
Crabgrass is proud to be one of two puppet companies featured in the cover article of the October 15th edition of American Profile, a national magazine that appears in newspapers across the country. The article, The Art of Puppetry by Nancy Henderson, is an overview of puppetry from ancient times to today, and features a photo and interview with Crabgrass Puppet Theatre founders Bonny Hall and Jamie Keithline, interviews with members of one of our favorite puppet troupes, the Frogtown Mountain Puppeteers, and pictures from the puppet exhibit at last summer's Puppeteers of America National Festival in Atlanta.
