Israel Festival of Puppet Theatre
May 31st 2011
And you thought your Muppet Show Days were over.
Move over Ernie, run along Bert, Jerusalem’s got some puppet magic that will blow the socks out of your entire private Israeli group tour, children and adults alive.
This August 14th through 19th is the annual International Festival of Puppet Theatre, brought to you by The Train Theater.
Local and internationally trained and professional puppet masters will be in performance, dazzling your eyes and making you laugh, cry, and clap along.
The festival, hosted all day ( bring your ice cold lemonade for refreshments) includes 30 different productions and 90 shows. International representation by Germany, Belgium, Italy, USA, Bulgaria, The Netherlands, Peru and the Czech Republic will provide 10 of the assortedshows.
Where will these productions take place? In the fanciful neighborhood of Machane Yehuda ( the popular marketplace) and the whimsical artsy town of Nahlaaot, located nearby.
Israel tour guides will be available to walk children and adults through the steps of puppet production and artist talks will be provided in order for Israel tourists on splendid Israel tours and Israel natives alike to gain a deeper appreciation for the puppet world.
If you yourself are an aspiring puppeteer, you must check out the Train Theater in general and see how you can get involved if you decide to extend your Israel vacation for the long term.
The Train Theatre was established in 1981 by four determined Israel puppeeters, who in their search for self expression used a train wagon they stationed in Koret Liberty Bell Park, located in Jerusalem. Koret Liberty Bell Park hosts its very own painstakingly accurate sculpture of the American Revolution Liberty Bell. The Bell was erected after America celebrated its 200thanniversary of liberation. Looks like even when you are traveling in Israel you can enjoy your patriotic duties!
Myriam Salzberg and Tsipor Frumkin, skilled puppet artisans from the TT offer a creative Israel tour guide style walk through and practical workshop of making these fanciful creatures. Independent workshops can be set up ( can we say ideal Israel bar mitzvah or Israel bat mitzvah tour programming?!), and most performances are also accompanied by learning opportunities.
The Train Theater is a serious group, looking to expand the boundaries of puppetry, concentrating on giving the artist reign to express his/her own imaginative creative expression, and has expanded into additionally The School of Visual Theater and Habamah Theater, (presently called Hazira Performance Art). As of the present, the TT has 80 original works to its credit.
To watch a preview of the International Puppet Festival you are about to embark on, please visit http://www.traintheater.co.il/puppets_festival/english/f_preview.php?show=-2.
