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Story by Audrey Engdahl
In the cool of the darkened room, sprawled
across the floor, the audience of children watched spellbound
as story characters danced across an illuminated silk
screen. The cast of characters included an old woman
who lived in a vinegar bottle, a skateboarding mouse,
a wish-granting somersaulting pixie, and a menagerie
of animals.
The production by Firefly Shadow Theatre
showcased the beautiful complexities of shadow puppets
and also provided ample opportunity for audience participation.
Kids were invited to take part in the actionÑjoining
the story, moving puppets behind the screenÑand were
taught songs to sing with the characters.
Beginnings
Silver Spring resident Mary Amato began
Firefly Shadow Theatre with friend Andrea Caspari in
2000. Charmingly enough, the puppet company got its
humble start in Amato's dining room. A collector of
delicate Victorian penny puppets, Mary had set up a
tiny tabletop environment for her collection, which
fascinated her pre-school kids and their visiting friends.
When fellow mom Caspari came to Amato's house to pick
up her son, she fell in love with the puppets. The two
women soon found they had similar interests in stories,
art, and theatre. They performed their very first shadow
puppet show with children at Amato's church. However,
creating the performance was so enjoyable, the duo decided
to continue. Since then, Mary Amato and Andrea Caspari,
with husbands Ivan Amato and John Hersch have developed
the pastime of puppetry into a professional company.
Playtime for Adults
Like many puppet companies, Firefly Shadow
Theatre produces fun, educational shows for kids. However,
they also write and perform very offbeat and original
shows for adults. These shows, which are entirely comic
with surreal lighting effects and original music, are
right at home in ultra-hip music clubs like the Black
Cat and HR57. The company really enjoys these shows
because adults aren't usually familiar with puppetry
as an art form. Enthusiastic audience members frequently
ask to contribute their creative efforts to the troupe.
Mary Amato believes puppetry is captivating
because it is so intimate and immediately ancient. "It
really was the first cinema, with a story flickering
across a screen." Since puppetry merges theatrical
and artistic traditions with the love of storytelling,
Firefly Puppet Theatre gathers inspiration from sources
around the world; lighting ideas from Italian Theater,
paper creations from French artist Caldar, puppetry
techniques from Chinese Shadow Puppeteer Chen-An Chin,
and suggestions of all kinds from circus-performer-turned-illustrator,
David Wisneski.
Sometimes, however, their most inspired
creations simply come from playing.
Amato tells of a show they produced which
had a circus theme. The characters were fun and fantastic,
but the most challenging aspect was capturing the movement
of the circus performers; particularly the trapeze artists.
On the backs of the paper puppets, Amato
and Caspari attached magnets. During the performances,
the puppets, hanging from strings, would swing towards
each other. Success was met when the magnets would "snap!"
cause the puppets to grab onto each other. It was so
unpredictable, that every time it worked, Amato and
Caspari would silently scream with delight behind the
screen.
Having the chance to imagine and create
art on a daily basis drives the passion of the puppeteers.
Mary Amato believes the work in puppetry is also a great
influence on her kids. "They get to see their parents
playing together! What could be better than that?"
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