Puppet Beings Theater will make its U.S. debut with “The Paper Play” at the International Puppet Fringe Festival NYC in the Lower East Side from August 9-12, as well as an additional performance at Flushing Town Hall in Queens on August 13 that includes a pre-performance workshop. “The Paper Play” consists of two stories, “The Park” and “The Paper Play,” which will take audiences on an adventure filled with wonder and laughter, alongside magical moments of discovery.
An instant classic created by Puppet Beings Theatre, The Paper Play will delight audiences of all ages with its unique stage, puppets, and props—all made entirely from paper! In this way, The Paper Play ingeniously promotes the idea of a one-material Object Theater, which is a form of modern puppetry that utilizes everyday objects as the main characters and elements of a performance, leading young audiences into a world of unbounded imagination and diverse creativity. Folding and joining this everyday object in creative ways, the production completely reimagines paper as a storytelling and creative medium.
The production received a four-star rating from the British professional arts review publication “The Stage,” which stated that it “sees puppeteers become paper and movement artists, cutting, twisting, rolling, folding and manipulating sheets of paper into an amazing range of imaginary objects and creatures.”
Audience members may even want to recreate the experience themselves. Fortunately, they’ll have the chance to do so during the pre-performance workshop at Flushing Town Hall! Workshop participants of all ages will have the opportunity to create their own mini-performance using various shapes of paper.
Puppet Beings Theater was founded in Taiwan in 2000 by Cheng-Chieh Sun, a seasoned puppet performing artist dedicated to introducing, developing, and producing modern puppet shows. The company produces elaborate puppet shows of the highest quality and has performed at various international festivals, including Edinburgh Festival Fringe for three consecutive years.
Sun said Puppet Beings Theater is thrilled and grateful to be invited by the International Puppet Fringe Festival NYC and Flushing Town Hall, especially after performing arts organizations around the world were struck hard by the pandemic. He believes that the company is sure to benefit through the opportunity to present this fascinating performance to audiences in such a vibrant city full of cultural diversity.
The Paper Play by Puppet Beings Theater
== International Puppet Fringe Festival in NYC ==
8/09 8:00pm @The Clemente Cultural Center’s La Plaza
8/10 7:00pm @The Clemente Cultural Center’s La Plaza
8/11 7:00pm @The Clemente Cultural Center’s La Plaza
8/12 7:00pm @The Clemente Cultural Center’s La Plaza
Address: 107 Suffolk Street, New York, NY 10002
Subway directions: Take the F, M, J, or Z train to Delancey/Essex
For more information: https://puppetfringenyc.com/programming/
== Flushing Town Hall ==
8/13 1:00pm Workshop | 2:15pm Family Show
Address: 137-35 Northern Blvd
Subway directions: Take the 7 train to Flushing-Main St, which is about five blocks from the town hall.
For more information: https://www.flushingtownhall.org/event-detail.php?id=411