p u p p e t - y - l e s s

Two puppet shows have caught my eye lately that I wish dearly I could see. Puppetry has long been a secret love of mine (just ask my husband, who is always simultaneously amazed and stymied by how easily I laugh when he makes jokes as some character using Ari's stuffed animals). It's my childhood spent with the Muppets, I think. I just love puppets in general as an art form and sometimes regret my earlier forays as an artist did not include that medium more consistently.

Anyway... in an odd bit of synchronicity, both shows we happened to stumble upon are adaptations of Zen parables... Buddhist takes on the human condition as told through puppetry and theatre. How cool is that?!

The first we noticed was a show created by Blair Thomas & Company. Thomas is the former founder of Redmoon Theater (another Chicago fav), and also attended seminary at the Zen Buddhist Temple Andy used to attend. His new company had a show running at the MCA in November... and Andy and I were very sad we had to miss it. From the little I read (preview articles, reviews, etc.), it looked like it was really good. So if you are in Chicago or the Chicago area... I urge you to check out any future work (and then tell me how it was!!)

The second show opens in January in North Carolina and has been created by Paperhand Puppet Intervention. Unfortunately, we will miss that one too. This one explores the Buddhist concept of the Hungry Ghost, and uses shadow puppets, marionettes, masks, and more. I really wish we could have seen this one. Ah well. If you are in the Raleigh-Durham area, go check it out at Manbites Dog Theater and see what you think.

Corps Philosophy

There was a story on NPR today that I think got a bunch of artists around the country all abuzz. Apparently, Obama has moved ahead on his plans to create an arts education initiative modeled after civil service organizations like the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps. A sort of Artist Corps. He's been looking at MusicianCorps, a program created by Kiff Gallagher, as a possible blueprint for a more comprehensive, government-run program.

It would be aimed at bringing professional artists into schools with little to no arts programming in order to provide a way for artists to give back to their communities and for children in our public schools to benefit from receiving arts instruction and being allowed to engage in creative exploration.

A win-win situation if you ask me. As someone who has dabbled in creating programming in similar areas, I think the idea of a national push to place more emphasis on creativity and knowledge of the arts in public schools would be truly phenomenal.

I know culturally, we like to focus on science and math and look at the nation's analytical skills and critical thinking capacity... and yes, there is something inherently creative in those pursuits... but my experience has been that the arts - like no other medium - enables a type of exploration that leads to expanded awareness of self and other, provides a language for communication that reaches across cultural and societal boundaries, and allows young people the opportunity to explore their personal context and narrative in order to reframe their conceptualization of themselves, their spirituality, their future orientation, and much more.

Art is transformative. It is political, social, cultural, and personal. It makes us think, makes us feel, and sometimes even makes us question our connection to the universe and the divine.

The fact that President-Elect Obama and his transition team are kicking around this idea and seriously considering creating a program wherein such learning might again become a part of a child's weekly routine is extremely exciting. A biased perspective, to be sure, but I consider it a heroic and beautiful dream that could forever alter the landscape of the collective consciousness for generations to come.

Effulgent

I heard a song tonight that emotionally stopped me in my tracks. It was one of the most beautiful, haunting pieces I have ever heard... and it transported me from a place of longing, sadness, and worry into a moment of clarity, hope, and gratitude.

Thank god for great artists and for good art.

(Here's the song: White Winter Hymnal by Fleet Foxes.)