See Marionettes Perform and Make Some Puppets! July 30th

Posted by: Noël Jones

Below is a message from Lafayette College regarding this weekend's performance associated with the Art of Urban Environments Festival:

Mock Turtle Marionette Theater Presents 

The Dancing Granny

 at Easton Area Public Library July 30

Family entertainment includes African and African American storytelling, live music and puppet-making workshop


Easton, Pa. (www.lafayette.edu) July 19, 2011 — Join us on Saturday, July 30, at 11 a.m. at the Easton Area Public Library, 515 Church Street, Easton, as Mock Turtle Marionette Theater presents The Dancing Granny, Tales of African Origin. The program is free and open to the public. No tickets are required. 

Originally created for young people and families, The Dancing Granny features stories from African and African American traditions, with original puppets created by Doug Roysdon, dramatic storytelling, and live music, performed by Lehigh Valley favorite Grace Spruill. Each tale is told in its own unique
way, employing song, storytelling and a variety of puppets including shadow puppets, rod puppets, and marionettes.  Following the performance Roysdon will lead a puppet-making workshop, guiding youth in crafting their own lion marionettes.

This event is part of the Art of Urban Environments Festival co-produced by Lafayette College and the City of Easton. The Festival is underwritten by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, and the summer performance series is supported by a grant from the F.M. Kirby Foundation.

Doug Roysdon, Artistic Director of The Mock Turtle Marionette Theater, holds a BFA in Art History from the University of Arizona and a Certification in Art Education from Kutztown University.  The founder of the theater in 1978, Roysdon is also the company's puppet-maker and head script-writer.  Under his direction, Mock Turtle has produced 20 original works for the puppet stage. The company has performed at a number of national venues including The Kennedy Center, The Philadelphia Museum of Art and The Lincoln Center in New York. The group's collaborations have included Lehigh University, Touchstone Theater and the National Canal Museum. 

Additional information about the event is available at Lafayette's Williams Center for the Arts, (610) 330-5010, or at the Easton Area Public Library, (610) 258-2917. For more information on the urban arts festival go to: http://sites.lafayette.edu/urbanartsfest/.