Great Small Works Traveling Toy Theater Festival presents Barbara Steinitz and Björn Kollin (from Berlin) & Facto Teatro (from Mexico City)

Great Small Works Traveling Toy Theater Festival presents
Barbara Steinitz and Björn Kollin (from Berlin) & Facto Teatro (from Mexico City)

Tuesday, July 2, 6:30pm and 7:15pm
Connexion, 149 Broadway
During the countdown to the first Gulf War in 1990, a group of puppeteers was looking for a direct and immediate way to respond to current events. So they began a serial drama using texts and images quickly cut from the daily newspaper. This ultimately led to the founding of Great Small Works, and the reinvention of the Victorian era performance style called “Toy Theater.” In July, Great Small Works (based out of New York City) and the Somerville Arts Council will present two international performing companies--Barbara Steinitz and Bjorn Kollin (from Berlin) and Facto Teatro (from Mexico City), to introduce Toy Theater to east Somerville.

Barbara Steinitz and Björn Kollin: “Schnurzpiepegal” (Like Master, Like Dog) at 6:30pm
A picture book written and illustrated by Ms. Steinitz is brought to life by puppets, performed out of a suitcase, with live music created and played on an array of instruments by Mr. Kollin. The story goes something like this… It’s often said that dog owners look like their dogs—but there are some exceptions. Take Leonora, who loves operas more than anything and shares a happy life with her dog Fidelio, who doesn’t look like her at all. Two blocks from their home lives another odd couple, Joshua and his dog Pistachia, who share a passion for home made chocolates. In the street people wrinkle their noses and laugh about Leonora and Joshua who don’t match with their dogs at all. This is a humorous love story about outsiders who overcome their loneliness and people’s prejudices by accepting themselves.

Facto Teatro: “Don Chico Con Alas” (Don Chico with Wings) at 7:15pm
Based on a story by the Mexican writer Eraclio Zepeda, Facto Teatro’s Don Chico lives in the mountains of Chiapas, Mexico. To go from one village to another he must come down the mountain, cross the jungle, then the river and up the opposite hill. He decides he needs to fly and builds a pair of wings, to reach the sky before national holidays. A story of ingenuity, creativity, surrealism and human adventure, which tells us that, for some, the sky is the limit. Created and performed by Alejandro Benítez, Mauricio Martínez and Antonio Cerezo.
website info :
Great Small Works http://www.greatsmallworks.org/
Facto Teatro http://factoteatro.blogspot.com/