Trickster Spider Plots In African Folktale

July 12, 2004

Free Puppetry Program Open To 60 Students At Prizery Spiders, leopards, hornets and life-size people puppets will take center stage August 9-10 when area students create the characters and then breathe life into an African folktale at The Prizery. Atlanta puppeteer Jen Bodde, the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta's outreach instructor, will conduct the two-day program. Only 60 slots are open to elementary and middle school students for the free program. The Prizery, Little Theatre and Halifax Regional Hospital are sponsoring the folklore residency. Students wishing to sign up for the Monday-Tuesday program should contact Chris Jones, The Prizery's executive director, at 572-8339. Bodde, a Yale University graduate with a background in tech theatre and working with kids, has been working with the Atlanta center for over six years. She focuses on puppet design, creation and writes scripts for the program. Area youngsters gathering at The Prizery for the two-day program will have a multitude of creative opportunities. "The process has something that appeals to everyone," Bodde said in a telephone interview. "Everyone will find something they are good at," she added. "Some like to construct while others are about decoration." All specialities will be revealed August 10 when the show begins. "Come, it will probably be different than you expect. You will certainly have a different concept of puppetry by the time we're done, and you might well find something you are good at that you didn't even know about." Jen Bodde Puppeteer