Editor's Note: This story was previously posted on StratfordToday.ca.
NEWS RELEASE
SPRINGWORKS FESTIVAL
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SpringWorks will be making this year's winter programming a fabulous flurry of fun. Join us this January for Grounds for Goodness by Ruth Howard and Puppet Shorts: Mini FilmFest as part of Lights ON Stratford; Iniskim: Return of The Buffalo, details still a surprise; and in March, Adam Francis Proulx and The Pucking Fuppet Co. return with Emilio’s A Million Chameleons! fresh from a NYC - Off-Broadway run.
Grounds for Goodness
Saturday, Jan. 11 to Sunday, Jan. 19 at The Stratford Perth Museum
An artful exploration by Ruth Howard of how and why people sometimes behave in good ways toward each other, presented at the Stratford Perth Museum. Experience an evolving gallery installation, drop-in artmaking, an artist’s talk, a participatory embroidery circle, with a closing presentation and celebration including the wonderful Graham Hargrove (percussionist extraordinaire).
The Premise: We have all grown up with and inherited evidence that people, especially in groups, do harmful things to others – often those from other groups. We may be less aware of times that groups of people have helped, protected and rescued others from harm. These stories are there if we look for them – hidden in history, folk tale and memory. They show that elements can combine to nurture social goodness – a goodness that is perhaps “always difficult, rare and fragile. And yet possible.”*
Ruth Howard and *From The Fragility of Goodness, Tzvetan Todorov
Everyone is welcome – all ages, backgrounds and abilities! Suggested donation: $5 children and $10 adults
We are honoured to have the award-winning Ruth Howard join us. She is an interdisciplinary artist and founding Artistic Director of Jumblies, a community-engaged company based in Toronto. With Jumblies, Ruth created and produced multi-year residencies in Toronto neighbourhoods, leading to large-scale productions and lasting Offshoots, produced cross-country tours, festivals of new works, films, publications and many other collaborative community projects.
Reserve your seats for our Artist’s Talk and the Final Presentation here.
Puppet Shorts: Mini FilmFest with Lights On Stratford
Friday, Jan. 10 - Saturday, Jan. 11 at The City Hall Auditorium 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. - PWYC
Heather Henson, daughter of Sesame Street and the Muppets’ Jim Henson, is a world-renowned puppet filmmaker and philanthropist in her own right.
She commissions and curates collections of Handmade Puppet Dreams live-action stop-motion, and delightful animated puppet film shorts. PuppetWorks! will be screening two of her engaging, family-friendly collections at the City Hall Auditorium.
Come in and escape the cold for as long as you'd like with this Mini FilmFest. Enjoy puppets on the big screen; each collection runs approximately 45 minutes, featuring 1-8 minute shorts for all ages at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
We will be presenting a special collection Kidscapes and, for all ages, Tales of the Earth. Catch them on the same night or pop back again. The schedule is available on our ticket and SpringWorks websites.
Reserve your ticket for Puppet Shorts: A Mini Film Fest here.
Suggested donation: $5 children and $10 adults
Iniskim: Return of The Buffalo
We are so excited PuppetWorks! will be partnering with The Stratford Film Festival to bring Iniskim: Return of The Buffalo by the Canadian Academy of Mask and Puppetry to Stratford this winter. Further details are still a surprise!
This film is an incredible opportunity to learn about Indigenous ways of knowing: ancient traditions, giant lantern puppets, majestic mountains, foothills, the big sky...and the buffalo. We watch as a group of puppeteers are transformed by their experience of ‘being buffalo’ at night under the stars. (suitable for ages 10+).
As Amethyst First Rider says to the puppeteers, “You are the buffalo. With each movement of your hands, each connection, each dream, you’re creating energy and they become a part of you.”
Emilio's A Million Chameleons by Adam Francis Proulx (Pucking Fuppet Co). Saturday, March 22 at 10:30 a.m. at Stratford City Hall Auditorium
We are thrilled to be bringing back the fabulous Adam Francis Proulx, last seen here in his delightful romp The Family Crow: a Murder Mystery.
This time it's a manic, musical, vaudevillian bit of mayhem .... And puppets of course!
In Emilio's A Million Chameleons, Emilio runs a circus act that boasts a million chameleons there to entertain with music, magic, and amazement. This is a musical comedy for the whole family about embracing what makes you special and letting your inner sparkle shine.
Adam is a Dora-Nominated Canadian theatre artist known for his writing and performance, as well as one of the country's most sought-after puppeteers. He is best known for his solo shows, including The Family Crow: a Murder Mystery, Baker's Dozen: 12 Angry Puppets, and his family musical Emilio's A Million Chameleons. These acclaimed productions have toured North America, earning countless awards and accolades.
Reserve your ticket for Emilio's A Million Chameleons here.
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