KSC Students To Perform The Rolling Collection: A Puppet Theatre Collaboration
KEENE, N.H., 02/18/08 - Eight Keene State College students from the Department of Theatre and Dance will operate more than 50 puppets in The Rolling Collection: A Puppet Theatre Collaboration by KSC professor Cèline Perron.
The play will be staged Wednesday to Saturday, March 5 to 8, at 7:30 p.m. with a school performance at 10 a.m. on Thursday, March 6, at the Redfern Arts Center on Brickyard Pond. Admission is $10 for the general public and $5 for KSC students, senior citizens, and youth ages 17 and younger. Tickets are available through the box office at 603-358-2168 or online at www.keene.edu/racbp.
Professor Perron was inspired to write the play during a recent sabbatical when she combined her love of puppetry with culture and mythology. She creatively tells her stories rich with historic roots through her main character, a beetle named Scehebi, who is charged with restoring order to our chaotic world. Scehebi transcends time and space to visit ancient cultures such as Celtic, Greek, Indian, Chinese, and Egyptian, receiving gifts and learning lessons to bring peace to our current world. She also learns that even the smallest being can make a difference.
Puppet characters include Sirona, a Celtic goddess with the power of healing; Odysseus, a warrior in the Trojan War; Ying Long, a half snake and half lizard Chinese dragon; and Saraswati, an Indian goddess of learning and wisdom.
More than 50 puppets are being hand-built by Professor Perron and her students and will be operated by the student actors, many of whom will be puppeteering for the first time. The variety of puppets will include hand puppets, shadow puppets, rod puppets, marionettes of all sizes, and shadow puppets.
Student puppeteers are Laura Blouin of Northwood, N.H.; Emily Friedrich of Loudon, N.H.; Tyler Gammons of Spofford, N.H; Michael Ierardi of Nashua, N.H.; Christopher Kelly of Bethel, Conn.; Jaime Pearsons of Suffield, Conn.; Sean Read of Pike, N.H.; and Michael Soldati of Somersworth, N.H. Benjamin Welsh of Ellicott City, Md., is in charge of lighting design.
Ron Spangler, assistant professor for Theatre and Dance, will direct the production. Theatre faculty member Craig Lindsay is technical director and sound designer and will be composing some original music for the play. Elisabeth Roos, associate professor for Theatre and Dance, is costume designer for the production.
