Explore mysterious dimensions and witness feats of cardboard manipulation as you embark on a voyage into a hidden universe with the String and Shadow Puppet Theater! Various puppetry styles and circus arts are mixed with live, original music to create an enchanting, entertaining show.
The String and Shadow Puppet Theater was formed in Olympia, WA, in the summer of 2020 with a mission to bring a drive-in puppet show to their community during lock-down. With copious amounts of creativity, cardboard, fabric, papier-mâché and glue, they created an original, full-length show filled with colossal creatures. After performing to hometown crowds, they took the show on the road, performing in communities across Washington, Oregon, California, Montana and Utah. They collaborated with parks departments, libraries, nonprofits and schools to bring their unique performances to the public.
String and Shadow Puppet Theater presents their 5th annual giant puppet show, “Or So It Would Seam: a Giant Puppet Voyage into the Hidden Universe.” Equal parts whimsical fairy tale, outer-space odyssey, and slap-stick clown show, the story follows Space-Way Assistance Driver Captain Z (think, tow-truck driver in outer-space) as a mysterious distress signal prompts him to enter a mystical dimension. With interdimensional subway cars, expanding black-holes and giants who weave the fabric of space-time, Or So It Would Seam will take audiences out of this galaxy to contemplate the intricate and unexpected ways we are all connected to one another. Filled to the brim with giant puppets, original storytelling, and live music, the show features a cast of 13 performers/musicians – and you, the audience!
Catch a performance of String and Shadow Puppet Theater’s colossal show:
In Missoula – Tuesday, July 30 at 7pm, and Sunday, Aug. 4 at 7pm at Free Cycles. Visit https://www.freecycles.org/calendar or call (406) 541-7284 for more information.
In Polebridge – Wednesday, July 31 at 6pm at the Northern Lights Saloon in Polebridge. Visit https://www.thenorthernlightssaloon.com/ or call (406) 888-5952 for more information.
In Helena – Thursday, August 1 at 7pm at Anchor Park in Helena. Visit https://themyrnaloy.com/happenings/string-and-shadow/ or call (406) 443-0287 for more information on this event, co-hosted by The Myrna Loy and The Lewis and Clark Library.
String and Shadow is committed to bringing high-quality, accessible live theater to their communities. Admission to all of their shows is free or by suggested donation so that no one is turned away for lack of funds.
String and Shadow believes that “in this technological time, live theater is a necessary and life-giving practice, providing an opportunity for people to come together in the public square and engage with each other through story and art.”
Holding the Strings:
Emily McHugh, Co-founder and Director, is a puppet-maker, performer, paper-cutter and print-maker. Since falling in love with puppetry in 2015 as an apprentice with Paperhand Puppet Intervention, she has suffered innumerable paper-cuts and countless hot-glue burns, been compelled to learn the pick-up times of all local cardboard dumpsters, and was once lost in a sea of fabric scraps for three days. Despite all this, she is deeply grateful for the opportunity to make art with her community. In addition to all the sketching, sculpting, painting, sewing, cutting, gluing, stapling, and drilling that goes into making a puppet show, she also teaches workshops on her craft to a variety of audiences and teaches puppetry camps at The Olympia Family Theater.
Co-founder and Director Donald Palardy III is a street performer with a B.S. in Computer Science. Palardy has been fusing art and technology for live performances in Olympia, WA, since 2016: developing immersive light and sound experiences for puppet shows, variety acts, burlesque and experimental theater. He has used his passion for programming and hobby electronics to build fully automated puppet worlds out of 3D printed gears, microcontrollers, motors and corn starch. Since co-founding String and Shadow Puppet Theater, he has developed and managed their mobile theater infrastructure – setting up and breaking down an entire small theater’s worth of sound and light equipment every performance in order to deliver an entirely unique theater experience directly to the people. He can often be found on the streets of Olympia disguised as an animal playing folk music.