Puppet show takes Buskirk-Chumley stage

The nationally acclaimed Wood and Strings Puppet Theatre Company will perform "Out of the Mist ... A Dragon" at 1 and 6:30 p.m. Friday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave. The performance is part of the Buskirk-Chumley Family Series organized by the theater and Bloomington Parks and Recreation.\nWSPT has performed on National Geographic Live in Washington, D.C. and The Tribeca Performing Arts Center in New York City, and has been nominated for the Tennessee Governor's Award in the Arts.\nProducer Clarissa Lega and Artistic Director Leon Fuller have been doing puppet performances for more than 20 years. Fuller said it took a lot of research and practice for the group to perfect their techniques.\n"We researched at university libraries, saw photographs and video footage to learn about puppetry styles and to create reproductions," he said. "We then learned how to manipulate the puppets and practiced for several years." \nFuller said the most challenging aspect of "Out of the Mist ... A Dragon" is the production's use of the Bunraku technique -- a classical Japanese puppetry style.\n"It requires coordination between the puppeteers, besides a mastery of the technique," he said.\nFuller said this production deals with issues of self-worth, confidence and triumph through determination.\nThe show is about an overlord who prays to a goddess for a suitable match for his daughter. Meanwhile, a fisherman begs for a wife and the goddess pairs him with the overlord's daughter.\n"This is a forbidden arrangement for that time period in Japan," Lega said. \nThe fisherman is transformed into a dragon and travels the world. Over the course of his adventures, he watches many puppet shows and gains spiritual insight. His travels earn him knowledge and experience. \n"By the time he returns to Japan, he is worthy of the match with the overlord's daughter," Lega said.\nLega said the audience will get a glimpse of the popular puppetry styles across the world.\nDanielle McClelland, director of Buskirk-Chumley, said she first became acquainted with WSPT when she attended a national booking conference. She invited them for the Family Series because she was very impressed by the group's professional and wide-ranging puppetry styles. \n"Their puppetry is skillfully executed," McClelland said. \nFuller said the theater company's productions have been wonderfully received by all ages.\n"The adults who bring their children to our shows are pleasantly surprised because they get as much out of the shows as their children," he said.\nMcClelland said she was confident the show would appeal to the masses.\n"The dual level of performance appeals to adults and children," she said. "There are surprises and magic in store for children, but the story is also about making personal choices and seeking the truth. The moral of the tale resonates even with adults who are 80."\n-- Contact staff writer Sheeba Madan at smadan@indiana.edu.