Uwishunu.com

I’m always on the lookout for interesting performances that aren’t going to noticeably lighten my wallet, and when I saw that West Philly’s Curio Theatre was presenting “The 2009 Puppetry Slam “” Part I,” on Wednesday night, I knew I’d found just the thing. Curio Theatre is always up to something intriguing, so I knew it would be worth checking out. And hey “” it came with a spaghetti dinner!

The slam was touted as “an open mic night for puppeteers” that celebrated puppetry “in and by” Philadelphia. The evening kicked off with a spaghetti dinner (the metaphor of spaghetti as puppet strings may have been a bit far-fetched, but no one was complaining), and then the fun began. The evening’s MC and producer was Martina Plag, a long-time Philadelphia puppet artist and the creative director of the puppet-centric atelier Studium-Praxis.

The acts ran the gamut from African drumming and singing with elaborately-costumed stilt-walking puppet-people, to old-fashioned marionettes, to men in full-bodied creations that were half-person/half-puppet. The mostly adult audience laughed, applauded, and sang along when prompted, but was still overwhelmed by the gleeful squeals of the five-year-old in the front row.

Highlights included the rowdy robot-fighting nightmare of Tempo del Sputino, a marionette masterfully manipulated by veteran puppeteer Joe Cashore (check out his skillz here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHT3NUaAl-k and his secrets to marionette motion here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gr6WFaPgG5Q), and a soulful Day of the Dead homage to Mexicans who’ve been killed trying to cross the border.

The great thing about Curio Theatre and the Philadelphia puppetry “scene,” if you will, is that it always keeps you on your toes “” you never know what you’re going to find, but there’s always a hidden gem. Stay tuned for Puppetry Slam 2009 Part II, when the crowd favorites will return as headliners among a new group of acts.

Curio Theatre
815 South 48th St, Philadelphia, PA 19143
(215) 525-1350
www.curiotheatre.org