O’Neill Puppetry Conference Brings New Work To Life With THE HUNTING OF THE SNARK and Emerging Artists’ Projects June 14 & 15

Waterford, CT, May 21, 2002 – Richard Termine, artistic director of the O’Neill Puppetry Conference, has invited an assembly of internationally-renowned puppet artists, including guest artist Preston Foerder, to take part in a vibrant community dedicated to pushing the boundaries of theatrical expression. This year’s twelfth annual conference will culminate in two public performances, June 14 and 15 at 7:30 p.m., at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center.

Foerder will present a new work suggested by Lewis Carroll’s whimsical odyssey, THE HUNTING OF THE SNARK. Using object theater, bunraku, shadow puppets and hand puppets, Foerder and a team of puppet artists will illuminate the sea voyage of a Ïbellman, bootblack, bonnet maker, barrister, broker, billiard marker, banker, beaver, baker and butcherÓ who searched for the elusive snark, and much more. Foerder has created and toured with numerous productions, the most recent of which, INTERESTING TIMES, was commissioned by the Contemporary American Theater Festival and funded by a Jim Henson Foundation Grant. He was the assistant director and lead puppeteer for Mabou Mines’ landmark production PETER AND WENDY and has performed internationally in countries such as Mexico, Greece and Holland.

Also scheduled for presentation at the conference are four Emerging Artists’ Projects, vibrant new works from puppetry’s future leaders, as well as a host of mind-bending scenes from Puppet Anarchy, an annual workshop led by Martin P. Robinson (the puppeteer behind Snuffleuphagus and Telly Monster on ÏSesame StreetÓ).

This year’s puppetry workshops include Playwriting with Annie Evans (four-time Emmy Award-winner for ÏSesame StreetÓ) and Music Composition with Larry Siegel (recently commissioned by the New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra). Emerging Artists’ Projects develop with the assistance of puppeteers Pam Arciero and Bart Roccoberton, and manipulation coach Nikki Tilroe.

The O’Neill Puppetry Conference’s focus is two-fold: to encourage and empower puppet artists to create and communicate through the visual and kinetic form of the puppet, and to develop new works for puppet theater. The artists are encouraged to develop a vision as puppeteers and storytellers in all elements of the production process, from concept and script development to design and construction of a puppet.

The Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, founded in 1964 and based in Waterford CT, is dedicated to the advancement of new work for the theater and creates and operates programs which complement that goal. These include the Puppetry Conference, Playwrights Conference, Critics Institute, Music Theater Conference and the National Theater Institute, a college-accredited training program for theater artists. The O’Neill also owns and operates the Monte Cristo Cottage, childhood home of America’s only Nobel Prize-winning playwright, Eugene O’Neill, and holds an annual celebration honoring the life and works of its namesake every October.

Ticket prices for the public performances range from $8 to $12. To reserve tickets or receive a summer schedule, call the O’Neill Center at 860-443-5378 or the box office at 860-443-1238 (after June 11).