Puppets speak the universal language of laughter.
But Karen Konnerth's puppets also speak Spanish. It allows Konnerth and her stuffed sidekicks, who live in New Orleans, to travel in Central and South America, telling stories in the language of the audience. But it also allows Calliope Puppets to share "Stories From South of the Border" with English-speaking children.
FAQ
Puppets in the Park
WHEN — 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Saturday with Calliope Puppets at 3 p.m.
WHERE — Wilson Park in Fayetteville
COST — Free
INFO — 442-0557
FYI
Puppets in the Park
Schedule
9-10:15 a.m. — Puppet storytelling workshop for children
10:30-noon — Arkansas Arts Academy performances
Noon — Shaky Bugs children’s music with Jules Taylor
12:30 p.m. — Jason Suel Puppet Show
1 p.m. — The Saxtones
1:30 p.m. — The Village Theatre
2 p.m. — Old-time music & square dance lessons
3 p.m. — Calliope Puppets: “Stories From South of the Border”
4 p.m. — Sugar on the Floor music
4:30 p.m. — Wolfe at the Door puppet show
5 p.m. — Hula hoop & dancing
5:30 p.m. — Giant Puppet Pageant
— Source: theartexp.org
That's what she'll do Saturday, when she is the featured puppeteer at the Puppets in the Park festival in Fayetteville's Wilson Park. The eighth annual event is hosted by The Art Experience.
"I feel like people in the United States too often just think there's one [Hispanic] culture," Konnerth says. "Like 'people who speak Spanish eat tacos.' Not true at all. This show focuses on the diversity within the Hispanic cultures of Central and South America, specifically Guatemala, Argentina and Mexico."
Konnerth was in a master's program in design when she was exposed to mime in an elective class. Already an artist and sculptor, she started making puppets to sell and then "miming puppets" -- human-size heads with one of the puppeteer's hands as the puppet's hand -- to perform with.
"I kind of fell into it," she says of being a puppeteer. "I never thought I'd be doing this for a living! I grew up painfully shy."
Although the stories she will share in Fayetteville are folklore, she started out creating not only her puppets but the tales they told.
"But when I started working in schools, I needed material that could connect with the curriculum," Konnerth says. "So I started doing folklore.
Konnerth laughs as she says audiences often see "all three little pigs and the wolf" on stage at the same time -- obviously an impossible feat for a two-handed puppeteer.
"The imagination is a wonderfully powerful resource! Kids still want to use their imaginations. They're totally willing to suspend disbelief."
-- Becca Martin-Brown
NAN What's Up on 10/09/2015