“The puppets will replace the actors”, were the words of Manuel Morán, creator of the Puppet Fringe International Puppet Festival, which returns to the city, from August 9 to 13, with a variety of events that will celebrate this art with works theater, exhibitions and much more.
For the third time, after the festival will be held in 2018 and 2021, puppeteers and artists from all over the world, including countries like Argentina, Brazil, China, Germany, India, Israel, among others, will gather in the Lower East. Side of Manhattan where the only festival dedicated to marionettes and puppets in the city will be held.
“Puppets and objects can say and do things that an actor cannot. It is a very magical element of the theater,” said Morán, who was the president of the International Puppet Union (UNIMA) for years, and who is now the director of The Morán Group, one of the organizers of the festival in conjunction with Teatro SEA. and the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center.
This year the festival will pay tribute to Ralph Lee, the famous New York puppeteer who founded the Village Halloween Parade, renowned for its unique masks and puppets, who passed away last May in the process of organizing the festival .
“The idea was that Ralph was going to be with us. At least he knew that this year’s festival was going to be dedicated to him, since we still managed to work together on a bit of the production before he passed away,” added Morán.
Among the shows that make up the festival there will be cabaret shows every night, classical and contemporary plays, such as a bilingual production of rod puppets of “Don Quixote”, a show about the Galapagos and also a series of activities for children.
Fringe-style puppet and marionette festivals are nothing new in the rest of the world, but it was Morán who brought this idea to New York.
“I wanted to create a festival in the theater mecca of the world and with the help of my colleagues and friends that I have met through the Union in all parts of the world, I managed to create this festival for the first time in 2018,” he said.
The festival brings together a wide variety of theater companies with different styles, giving various international artists the opportunity to bring their proposal to the city. In addition to SEA Theater, some of the other participants are: Yael Rasooly (Israel), Puppet BeingTheater (Taiwan), Maskhunt/Deborah Hunt (Puerto Rico/New Zealand), Lumiato Teatro de Formas Animades (Brazil), Tholpavakoothu & Puppet Center ( India) and Junktown Duende (Puerto Rico/USA), among many others.
“The only way that I was able to do this festival, where we have very little sponsorship, was to do it in the ‘fringe’ way, which is a style of theater festival that gives artists a platform to present themselves to the public,” Morán explained. .
It should be noted that the Puppet Fringe International Puppet Festival is for the public, since according to Morán, the art of puppet theater is ageless.
“Puppets are an element in the theater for children and adults, so we will have activities for everyone,” he says.
The festival will take place from August 9 to 13 in different galleries and theaters located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan and will have an agenda with events at all hours of the day. For more information visit: https://puppetfringenyc.com/
