Photo Flash: GEPPETTO by Concrete Templete Theatre Comes to Bridge Street Theatre

Concrete Temple Theatre brings their one-man puppet theatre spectacle, "Geppetto: Extraordinary Extremities" to Catskill's Bridge Street Theatre for three performances November 11-13, 2016. A tale of resilience and adaptation for audiences of all ages, it tells the story of a puppet-maker and recent widower, Geppetto, as he attempts to perform the mythical love story of Perseus and Andromeda without his wife for the first time. During the performance things begin to go haywire, and Geppetto finds himself desperately improvising to overcome the challenges of performing alone while at the same time scrambling to devise new storylines, new characters, and even new limbs for his puppet hero.

Inspired by an NPR story on Hugh Herr, whose legs were amputated after a climbing accident and who now designs technologically advanced artificial limbs, "Extraordinary Extremities" began life as "Peculiar Extremities" in June 2012 when a 20-minute-excerpt was presented as part of St. Ann's Warehouse's Puppet Lab's "Labapalooza!" In March 2013, an in-process version of "Geppetto" was performed at Hudson Opera House, Hudson, NY, and in June 2013, "Geppetto" premiered as part of HERE's Sublet Series, generously supported by The Jim Henson Foundation. In November 2013, the play enjoyed a seven-city tour in Northern Italy where it was performed in Italian, and in January 2014, it was performed at Teatro Jaco in Jaco, Costa Rica in Spanish. "Geppetto: Extraordinary Extremities" has also been presented Off-Broadway at SoHo Playhouse, April-May 2014; November 2014 at Pontine Theatre, New Hampshire; January 2015 at The Mint Theater, NYC and Rowan University, NJ; March 2015 at Creative Aging Conference, NYC; June 2015 at Diana Jones Innovative Senior Center, Brooklyn, NY; September 2015 at The Dairy Center for the Arts, CO.

The production can be enjoyed by audiences of all ages and cuts across cultural divides. It has been successfully performed for adults, young adults, and children, as well as for people with disabilities. One parent who brought her son to see the show in January 2015 wrote: "Thank you for a lovely afternoon. My friend recommended "Geppetto" to me after my son expressed interest in seeing a play. Like the best of art, we both enjoyed it on different levels. Afterward my son described the performance as "awesome" and now he wants to spend every Sunday attending different performances. Thanks again for a wonderful, thought-provoking piece and an ideal introduction to the theatre for my son. All without the assistance of an iPad, I might add."

"Geppetto: Extraordinary Extremities" plays Friday November 11 and Saturday November 12 at 7:30pm and Sunday November 13 at 2:00pm at Bridge Street Theatre, located at 44 West Bridge Street in the Village of Catskill, NY. Tickets are $20, $10 for patrons age 21 and under, and can be purchased at the door before each performance 45-minutes before showtime. For more information, visit Bridge Street Theatre online atBridgeSt.org.

Carlo Adinolfi (Creator, Designer, Performer) is Artistic Director of Concrete Temple Theatre with Renee Philippi. He was born in Italy and received a BSc in Mathematics, Warwick University UK. Carlo studied dance at Goldsmith College London and Dance Notation Bureau NYC. He has danced with Laura Pawel Dance Company, Sara Pearson/Patrik Widrig and Dancers, The Corner Store, and Spoke the Hub. His experience in acting and stagecraft began as master carpenter at Pace Downtown University, then as TD at Sarah Lawrence College where he also studied acting, lighting design, Alexander technique, and puppetry. He has worked as a TD for countless theatre companies in NYC and has been teaching set design at Simon's Rock and Sarah Lawrence College. Carlo's credits include: (Co-Creator/Set and Puppet Designer/Performer) BIRD MACHINE: Orlando Puppet Festival, Istanbul International Puppetry Festival, Ataturk Cultural Center, Bursa, Turkey; PIERROT, Stara Zagora and Small City Theatre, Sofia, Bulgaria; (Co-Creator/Set and Puppet Designer/ Performer) THE WHALE: toured 7 major cities of India and Sri Lanka, Assembly Rooms, Edinburgh, and Off-Broadway, Barrow Street Theatre; (Co-Creator/Set & Puppet Designer/Performer) HUDSON TO CHINA: Great Small Works 9th Toy Theater Festival, St. Ann's Warehouse; (Co-Creator/Set and Puppet Designer/Performer) GEPPETTO: performing in Italian for a 7-city tour of Northern Italy and then performing in Spanish at Teatro Jaco, Costa Rico. Carlo recently designed Concrete Temple's ALONE IN TRIPTYCH. He is Designer and Performer for Concrete Temple's THE BELLAGIO FOUNTAIN HAS BEEN KNOWN TO MAKE ME CRY, November-December 2015, HERE, NYC.

He has been a resident artist at Wildroot Arts, Nantucket Historical Association, The Yard, Workspace for Choreographers, The Flea Theater, Hudson Opera House. He's a recipient of the Independent Artists Challenge Program Award, Jim Henson Foundation Grants, EST/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science and Technology Project Commission and a member of Ensemble Studio Theatre. He was recently awarded the Bel Geddes Design Enhancement for his BELLAGIO design.

Renee Philippi (Director/Writer), Artistic Director of Concrete Temple Theatre with Carlo Adinolfi, holds a BA from UofM-Flint (ClassValedictorian), MA (Creative Writing/English) and MFA (Theatre/Directing) from CUNY. Her education includes assistant directing with Frank Castorf, Deutsches Theater, East Berlin as well as with Michael Rudman and Steven Berkoff, Public Theatre, NYC. For over 25 years, Renee has been writing and directing in NYC, nationally and internationally. Most recent favorites: GEPPETTO (Writer/Director) toured 7 cities in Northern Italy (shows in Italian); Jaco and Playa Hermosa, Costa Rica (shows in Spanish), HERE, NYC; Off-Broadway at SoHo Playhouse; Bard Summerscape; Pontine Theatre, NH; Rowan University, NJ; Dairy Center for the Arts, CO. ALONE IN TRIPTYCH (Writer/CoDirector), which began fall 2012 as part of Concrete Temple's Artists' Residency at Dixon Place, premiered at HERE, March 2014. THE BELLAGIO FOUNTAIN HAS BEEN KNOWN TO MAKE ME CRY (Writer/Co-Director) workshop presentation, Studio 301, Brooklyn, April 2015 and premiering at HERE, NYC, November-December 2015. BIRD MACHINE (CoCreator/Director/Writer) presented at 14th Istanbul International Puppetry FestiVal May 2011 and Bursa, Turkey; September 2011 at PIERROT, Stara Zagora and Small City Theatre, Sofia, Bulgaria, and Orlando Puppet Festival 2010. THE BYSTANDER PROJECT (Adapter/Director) premiered November 2011 and has been touring NYS since. THE WHALE (Director/Adapter) made its Off-Broadway debut at Barrow Street Theatre and was seen in the seven major cities of India and Sri Lanka as well as nationally.

Renee is an alumna of the Women's Project Directors Forum, Spiderwoman Theatre, and Ice Factory Festival. She is a member of Lincoln Center's Directors Lab, New Georges, The League of Professional Theatre Woman and has been Artist-in-Residence with Mabou Mines, Playwrights Center Minneapolis, St. Ann's Warehouse, Directors Company, Nantucket Historical Association, Workspace for Choreographers, The Flea Theater, Hudson Opera House, The Yard, Dixon Place, and Directing Fellow at Williamstown Theatre Festival.

CONCRETE TEMPLE THEATRE is a multi-disciplinary company that emphasizes the creation of compelling new theatre works, incorporating drama, dance, devising, puppetry, music, and the visual arts, which focus on the individual's struggle for identity and society's struggle for cohesion. Through touring their shows and presenting workshops in New York City, nationally, and internationally, Concrete Temple strives to bring myth and ritual back to the center of dialogue, while making connections and opportunities for diverse audiences to question and examine their place in the world. http://concretetempletheatre.com/

Geppetto by Concrete Templete Theatre comes to Bridge Street Theatre

Bridge Street Theatre presents
The Concrete Temple Theatre Production of
GEPPETTO: EXTRAORDINARY EXTREMITIES
Written & Directed by Renee Philippi
Created, Designed, & Performed by Carlo Adonolfi
Friday & Saturday November 11th & 12th @ 7:30pm
Sunday November 13th @ 2:00pm
Bridge Street Theatre Mainstage
44 West Bridge Street, Catskill, NY

Tickets:
General Admission $20, $10 for patrons age 21 and under
Tickets go on sale at the door 45-minutes before each performance

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