A passion for the pageantry of puppets

File Guerilla street theater returns to Manifest with ‘The Lost Tumbleweed Tale: Puppetry Parade and Performance,’ which starts ar 6:45 p.m.

Puppets, stilts, an unusual marching band and a parade are all part of the guerilla street theater that is the May 27 Puppetry Parade and Performance. The exhibition was created out of 15 weeks of work from Puppetry, Pageantry and the Art of Spectacle, a class based on puppetry, outdoor public spectacles and bringing the theater to the streets.

According to Instructor Jennifer Friedrich the theme of this year’s show titled, “The Lost Tumbleweed Tales: Puppetry Parade and Performance,” is exploring different folklore and legend-type stories—with a performance that tells the three-part story of a wise-cracking cowboy named Hank told with a variety of emotions and moods.

“The performances range from being really poetic and beautiful and just visually stunning with not a lot of dialogue, to another show that’s kind of the opposite that’s really funny and punchy and has a lot of action and a lot of dialogue that’s really silly at times,” Friedrich said.

“The Lost Tumbleweed Tales: Puppetry Parade and Performance” will begin the parade on Wabash Avenue between 11th Street and Harrison Avenue at 6:45 p.m. and will end with a puppetry-based performance titled “The Lost Tumbleweed Tales” in Grant Park at 7:15 p.m.

Friedrich said the parade is open to anyone interested in volunteering as well as to those outside the Columbia community. Props and costumes, as well as food and drinks, will be provided to volunteers by the art and design class. Students may also bring in any of their own costumes or puppets. Those interested in participating can show up at Room 611 of the 11th Street Campus, 72 E. 11th St., at 5:30 p.m. on the day of the parade.
“We’re trying to bring art to the street, and have it be a community event, something a little bit out of the ordinary,”

Friedrich said. “It’s always really fun to see the looks on peoples’ faces when we pass by, especially something as visually exciting as the way we’re hoping our parade will be.

“It’s a great experience to see how this kind of spectacle affects other people and what it brings to them and their day. Maybe it’s a little bit of inspiration or a little bit of magic,”she said.

According to Friedrich, the class is broken up into three groups and each group collaborates on a eight to 10 minute story. The performance counts as the students’ final exam.

“The class is really talented. It’s amazing every year, it seems like it gets better and better every year,” Friedrich said. “It’s a pretty fun and also a pretty intense performance.”

For more information, e-mail Jennifer Friedrich at jfriedrich@colum.edu.