Evento

The Children's Puppet Workshop presents River of Time

River of Time is an original puppet show with an Egyptian theme, that mixes puppetry with live Cuban Drumming, and West African Dance. The performance was created by neighborhood kids at Mayo Street Arts' after school program, The Children's Puppet Workshop. The Children's Puppet Workshop is an arts and humanities workshop free for East Bayside kids. Approximately 30 kids from the East End's LearningWorks program are involved in the performance - some as dancers, some as musicians, some as puppeteers, and some as set designers.

Saturday April 14th, 1 pm. Doors at 12:30. GET TICKETS

River of Time Synopsis: A moose, a cheetah, a phoenix, a tri-corn, a cat, and a lion take a trip down the Nile in search of the Pharoah, whom they believe needs a special space ship to transport him to outer space. Along the way the characters learn to use their individual skills and quirks to their advantage in face of hardships. Live music and dancing are woven throughout the performance to create a varied and colorful performance for audiences of all ages.

Kid puppeteers in the play perform with rod puppets they made with puppeteer Zach Rohman of Motionfolk Puppet Theater. Other characters are actual kid dancers performing West African dance with instructor Marita Kennedy-Castro. Another group performs Cuban drumming rhythms with musician Dylan Blanchard of OLAS. Sets and backdrops were created by group of kids who have worked with Maine College of Art students throughout the workshop.

In addition to the April 14 performance, there will be a second performance at the Portland Public Library Wednesday, April 25. An art exhibit will feature the kids work on Friday May 4th at Mayo Street Arts as part of the First Friday Art Walk. The exhibit will include puppets made by kids and professional puppeteers, and feature more drumming and dance performances.

Youths are recommended for the Children's Puppet Workshop through LearningWorks, East Bayside Neighborhood Association, the Kennedy Park Tenant Council and the Portland Community Policing Center. The program is made possible in part by grants from the Virginia Hodgkins Somers Foundation, Portland Police, and Coffee By Design's Rebel Blend Fund.