When we were little, puppets were amazing things. Our television was filled with them. How many hours did we spend watching shows like Sesame Street, Mr. Dress-Up, Mr. Rogers and The Muppets? They taught us right from wrong, how to spell and even about how it’s really not very easy to be green.
Even movies were full of puppets when we were kids (that would now be totally replaced by animation). Big screen features like Gremlins, Labyrinth, E.T., The Muppet Movie, The Neverending Story, and even Star Wars (Yoda was the best puppet ever in our books). From them, we learned never to feed pets after midnight, all about The Force and of course, to be careful what you wish for.
But where did the puppets of our youth go? Kids these days are so into electronics and animation that we were starting to fear that puppetry was a dying art. But alas, our fear was in vain, thank goodness. Puppetry is neither dead, nor is it going away anytime soon.
The Toronto Puppetry Collective was started in 2012 as a performance series (The Puppet Allsorts Performance Series), dedicated to the art of puppetry. They provide an opportunity for audiences to see puppetry on a regular basis and to foster community for performers and puppet builders in Ontario. The series is comprised of 5 all-ages performances, one adult-only performance and ends with an Allsorts Puppet Slam.
Don’t miss the Puppet Slam, coming up on June 17th. This show is to push boundaries and introduce performers of all kinds to each other…who knows what will happen?
Thank goodness puppets seem to belong in everyone’s childhood (even this electronic generation). They remind us all of a kinder, simpler, slightly more understanding world.
The Puppetry Collective
puppetallsorts.com
For tickets to Puppet Slam click here.
