Cultural Asheville: Puppeteering

A good friend of mine and long-time Asheville resident, Don, had a love of puppets in his youth.  Recently, while rekindling this long-neglected interest, he began to search the Asheville community for others who shared his interest.  Both of us were surprised at the acclaimed community of puppeteers he discovered in our midst.   This article is about what my friend discovered.

Most Asheville residents are probably unaware of the Asheville Puppetry Alliance.  According to its website, "Asheville Puppetry Alliance was founded to bring puppetry in all its forms to Western North Carolina. The organization emerged when several nationally known puppeteers settled in this area."  This non-profit organization has sponsored or hosted several puppetry events in the area.  One of the Alliance's most recent events was the Grand Puppet Gala it presented in Asheville on 9 May 2009.

(Mountain Marionettes)

Among the puppeteers belonging to the Alliance are Red Herring Puppets, Mountain Marionettes, p oconnor puppets, and Golden Rod Puppets.  Don made contact with Red Herring Puppets and arranged a meeting with that organization's artistic Director, Lisa Sturz.  What he learned about this company did indeed pique his interest.  He was also surprised by the high caliber art of puppetry present in our area.  As Don met with Lisa, I will showcase Red Herring in this artice but I invite you to explore all of the puppeteering talent our area offers.

According to its website, Red Herring Puppets has:

"..been designing, building, and performing puppets and specialty costumes for more than thirty years. Artistic Director, Lisa Sturz has worked with Walt Disney Imagineering, Jim Henson Productions, Lucasfilm, PBS, NBC, ABC, UNC-TV, The Ice Capades, the Field Museum, the Shedd Aquarium, the Asheville Symphony and the Lyric Opera of Chicago."

 

 

 
The Company:

".. specializes in creative collaborations with museums, symphonies, theaters, schools, film and television projects, and community and corporate events. Red Herring has been awarded an UNIMA citation of excellence (the highest honor in American puppetry) and is also the recipient of a California Emmy and several grants from the Jim Henson Foundation and the Puppeteers of America."

I'll bet most of you didn't know Asheville was home to such an acclaimed puppeteer!  Don really enjoyed meeting Lisa at the Grove Park Inn and found her world of puppetry fascinating.  He is currently on her e-mail notification list for upcoming puppetry events in the area.  If you share Don's interest in puppetry, I suggest you contact Lisa, the Asheville Puppetry Alliance, or one of the other Alliance members to find out more about puppetry and performances in our area.  World renowned puppetry - just one more entertainment option available to you when Living in Asheville, North Carolina.