HERE's Dream Music Puppetry Program to Present MARCH OF THE PUPPETS, 3/11-19

HERE's Dream Music Puppetry Program proudly presents March of the Puppets, taking place March 11 - 19. March of the Puppets features three unique events: "Puppet Parlor 2016" (March 11 & 12), "The Joshua Show" (March 13) and "Steve of Tomorrow" (March 16 - 19). Performances, detailed below, take place in the Dorothy B. Williams Theater at HERE (145 Sixth Avenue).

General tickets for all shows in March of the Puppets are $20.00. Student Rush: FREE with valid Student ID at the box office. For tickets & info, call (212) 352-3101 or visit www.here.org. In-person sales at the Box Office after 5pm on show days only. For more info, please visit www.here.org.

"MARCH OF THE PUPPETS" PERFORMANCES & SCHEDULE:

"Puppet Parlor 2016": Friday, March 11 @ 7:00 & 10:30 PM; Saturday, March 12 @ 7:00 PM Hosted by Joshua Holden, featuring Jeb Colwell (Music), Great Small Works and Robin Frohardt. *On Friday, March 11, both performances, "Puppet Parlor 2016" features special guest performance by Basil Twist.

Puppet Parlor 2016 features two pieces: Man Killers of India and Three Graces. Man Killers of India, a two-part shadow puppet series, based on the adventures of real life hunter Kenneth Anderson, returns from the vaults a decade after its inception for a New York debut. Puppets by Robin Frohardt (HERE hit The Pigeoning), voices and music by Freddi Price (Drama Desk Award nominee, Outstanding Music in a Play, for The Pigeoning), script by Kirk Lombard. Featuring puppeteers Robin Frohardt, Andy Manjuck, Rowan Magee and Nick Lehane.

Three Graces, performed by Great Small Works, is a cantastoria in which three mythical graces - Harmony, Strategy and Splendor - float down to earth for an op-art romp inspired by Grace Paley, Grace Kelly, Grace Jones and Grace Lee Boggs. Recently performed in honor of Grace Lee Boggs as part of the Banners and Cranks Festival at Detroit Institute of Art. Performed by John Bell, Cassandra Burrows, Trudi Cohen, Stephen Kaplin, and Xavier, with text by Jenny Romaine and the company.

"The Joshua Show": Sunday, March 13 @ 7:00 PM Created & Hosted by Joshua Holden, with Music by Jeb Colwell (Guitalele)

A modern day Mr. Rogers with hipster appeal, Joshua Holden and his puppet sidekick, Mr. Nicholas, bring their award-winning production, The Joshua Show, to HERE. When Mr. Nichols makes an unnerving self-discovery that causes him to spiral down a path of loneliness and hopeless despair, it's up to Joshua and his cast of characters, including Larry the Lint and the Wonderbook, to show his best friend the joy in being yourself. With live music, tap dancing, physical comedy and multiple styles of puppetry, this whimsical show is sure to bring out everyone's joyful side. Discover why Joshua Holden was recently named one of "20 Theatre Workers You should Know" by American Theatre Magazine. Recommended for all ages (6+).

"Steve of Tomorrow": Wednesday, March 16 - Saturday, March 19 @ 7:00 PM Created by David Commander and Rob Ramirez

Steve of Tomorrow is a multi-media, technology based puppet performance about a science fiction enthusiast who posts an open invitation on his blog for time travelers to visit him. Soon after, a man from the future named Steve appears, but he is a lazy, uncommunicative disappointment. Is he a freeloading fake or is this what we become? Using cutting edge video puppetry and David Commander's signature style of toy theater, Steve of Tomorrow asks if humanity's well being is reflected in the recent explosion of technological advancements. Are we uniting as a populous to build the idealistic future that we portray in science fiction, or is our voice being drowned out in a cacophony of images and sound bites?

The OBIE-winning HERE (Kristin Marting, Artistic Director and Kim Whitener, Producing Director), named a Top Ten Off-Off Broadway Theatre by Time Out New York, is a leader in the field of producing and presenting new, hybrid performance viewed as a seamless integration of artistic disciplines-theater, dance, music and opera, puppetry, media, visual and installation, spoken word and performance art. Standout productions include Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues, Basil Twist's Symphonie Fantastique and Arias with a Twist, Hazelle Goodman's On Edge, Trey Lyford & Geoff Sobelle's all wear bowlers, Young Jean Lee's Songs of the Dragons Flying to Heaven, Corey Dargel's Removable Parts, Taylor Mac's The Lily's Revenge, Kamala Sankaram's Miranda, and Robin Frohardt's The Pigeoning, among many others. In 2008, following an extensive renovation, HERE re-opened the doors to its long-time downtown home for the arts, where it continues as a vibrant, welcoming haven for artists and audiences alike.

HERE's Dream Music Puppetry Program, under the artistic direction of Basil Twist, with producing direction from HERE co-founder Barbara Busackino, is one of few programs in the country to grow and commission contemporary adult puppet works, particularly works that feature live music as a collaborative element. Dream Music seeks to secure the future of puppetry by providing increased development and performance opportunities to puppet artists, and by collaborating with artists from other disciplines to develop new puppetry techniques. This program was inaugurated with the premiere of Basil Twist's OBIE-award winning Symphonie Fantastique in 1998 and the opening of the Dorothy B. Williams Theatre, an intimate space created specifically for intimate puppetry.

In addition to commissioning, developing and producing innovative new work from artists in the HERE Artist Residency Program (HARP), HERE co-produces the acclaimed PROTOTYPE festival of opera-theatre and music-theatre, with Beth Morrison Projects. Through its popular SubletSeries@HERE, HERE also proudly hosts adventurous artists, companies and productions - whether emerging or acclaimed - from New York and around the country. HERE is also home to original hybrid works created and directed by HERE Co-Founder and Artistic Director Kristin Marting.

In honoring HERE with the 2009 Ross Wetzsteon Award, the OBIE Committee noted, "it's become increasingly hard for artists to find a place to take risks, a safe haven where they can develop daring new work. One theater has regularly bucked the trend, making its mission to ensure that artists have a home for their research and development, and that theatregoers can sample the exciting results."

HERE's 2015-2016 producing season launched with Genet Porno, a HERE Resident Artist production by Yvan Greenberg/Laboratory Theater and continued with Chang(e), a Resident Artist production devised in collaboration by Soomi Kim and Suzi Takahashi. Following CULTUREMART, the season proceeds with Science Fair by Hai-Ting Chinn (April 13 - 24) and the Artistic Director production Idiot by Kristin Marting and Robert Lyons (April 27 - May 21). HERE's 2015-2016 Season also included the fourth annual PROTOTYPE: Opera/Theatre/Now festival in January 2016. HERE's annual CULTUREMART festival, delivering a first look at dynamic work in development from artists in the HERE Artist Residency Program (HARP), takes place March 2 - 12, 2016.

The Dream Music Puppetry Program and HERE's presentation of The March of the Puppets is made possible with support from The Jim Henson Foundation and public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. With additional support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation New York Theater Program; Howard Gilman Foundation; the Mental Insight Foundation; Mertz Gilmore Foundation; The Shubert Foundation; The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation; the Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts; Select Equity Group; Barbara Bell Cumming Foundation; the Leon Levy Foundation; and a generous community of individual donors.