Clear Space to welcome Cashore Marionettes to Rehoboth Feb. 19
Clear Space Theatre Company will welcome the first entertainer in its guest artist series when it presents The Cashore Marionettes
. Joseph Cashore, who fills the dual roles of puppet craftsman and puppeteer, will bring two different shows Saturday, Feb. 19, to the Clear Space Theatre in Rehoboth Beach.
Cashore created his first marionette at the age of 11 from nothing more than clothespins, wood, string and a tin can. Through playing with this puppet, he realized that the appearance of the marionette was insignificant to the quality of movement necessary to make the puppet truly come alive. After college, Cashore made his second marionette and quickly discovered that he would have to create his own control designs to achieve the fluid motion that he sought. He toiled for nearly 20 years until he mastered the design and began performing full-time as a puppeteer in 1990.
In his more than two decades of performing, Cashore has received numerous awards for his artistry, including a Henson Foundation Grant (an award intended to help promote puppetry to adult audiences, named after Muppets creator Jim Henson) and a Citation of Excellence from the Union Internationale de la Marionette-USA, the highest honor an American puppeteer can receive.
Two shows in his repertoire, “Simple Gifts” and “Life in Motion,” will be presented at the Clear Space Theatre. “Simple Gifts” is a series of poignant scenes from everyday life set to stunning music by composers such as Vivaldi, Strauss and Beethoven. Through a combination of virtuoso manipulation, music, theatrical illusion and artistic insight, “Simple Gifts” provides an entertaining and sensitive vision of what is to be human.
His evening performance, “Life in Motion,” is intended for a more grown-up audience.
This show contains even more exciting marionettes, including Maestro Janos Zelinka, the breakthrough marionette of Cashore’s career, who can play Ralph Vaughan Williams’ “The Lark Ascending” note for note.
“Simple Gifts” begins at 3 p.m., followed by a talkback session with the artist, and “Life in Motion” will begin at 7 p.m.
Tickets are priced $10-$30 and are available online at clearspacetheatre.org, via phone at 227-2270, or by visiting the box office at 20 Baltimore Ave. in Rehoboth Beach from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday-Friday.
This project is partially supported by a grant from Pennsylvania Performing Arts on Tour, a program developed and funded by The Heinz Endowments; the William Penn Foundation; the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency; and the Pew Charitable Trusts; and administered by Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation.
More information: clearspacetheatre.org
