POSTPONED: Interactive Bunraku Puppetry with Figures of Speech Theatre

***This event has been postponed until Saturday, June 8th from 10am-12pm. Sadly, it’s too rainy and chilly for the puppets!***

Try your hand at bunraku puppetry in a free playshop with Figures of Speech Theatre! Participants will work in groups of 2-3 puppeteers to animate a single puppet and create short, non-verbal performances, which we’ll share with each other. Along with noh and kabuki, bunraku is one of the “high forms” of theater in Japan. We’ll make it easy & accessible for people of all ages and abilities!

Figures of Speech Theatre creates and tours visionary works of performance forged at the intersection of poetry, music, sculpture and dance.

Our vision for our educational programing—which takes place in all 16 Maine counties and beyond—is to engage imaginations, impart skill-based training, awaken consciousness regarding world cultures, and expand students’ sense of life’s possibilities. We offer a range of programming and touring productions in service of that vision.

Founded in 1982, Figures of Speech Theatre is a four-time recipient of the UNIMA Citation of Excellence in Puppet Theater, as well as grants from organizations including the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Maine Humanities Council, and the New England Foundation for the Arts. Honors include a six-month fellowship from the Japan-U.S. Friendship Commission, the New England Theater Conference’s award for Outstanding Achievement, and a Maine Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowship for artistic director John Farrell.