Arm-of-the-Sea puppeteers are gearing up for Waterfront Wednesday performances at Tidewater Center, the 19th-century paper mill that it’s turning into an ecological and cultural hub.
“From Rags to Riches: Stories of a Saugerties Paper Mill” kicks off at 6 p.m. on July 2 with pre-show activities that include arts and crafts, and visits to the Mill Museum. The 7 p.m. show focuses on the former J.B. Sheffield Paper Co., an 1887 factory that later hosted a mushroom company and now includes senior housing.
The family-friendly show, a work in progress like all the theater company’s productions, is in part a ghost story with a Rip Van Winkle character and scenes aimed at inspiring reflection about all that’s good and bad about industrialization, immigration and transience, according to co-founder Patrick Wadden.
Arm-of-the-Sea Theater, founded in 1982 by Wadden and Marlena Marallo, showcases local stories and relevant issues. Performances feature live music and large-scale, low-tech visual artwork in the form of masks and puppets made from transient material such as paper mache, cardboard and hand-dyed cloth, an antidote to electronic media and consumer culture.
“Our shows are community-building exercises in hope,” he said. “We want people from all walks of life to participate.” Most performances are free or welcome a donation.
Wadden, who has lived in West Camp since 1987, grew up on the Upper Mississippi River and has long been drawn to stories about what he calls “our watery world.” The group’s name honors the Hudson River, an estuary that functions as an arm-of-the-sea.
Their “Keep that Lamp Trimmed ‘n Burnin’” show, for example, is a historical drama about the Saugerties Lighthouse and the women’s suffrage movement. And, each August, the group invites the community to help build and create the “Esopus Creek Puppet Suite,” first staged in 2001.
Marallo and Wadden’s first collaborative project was sailing with their puppet show from New York City to Albany with Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, the environmental organization co-founded by activists and folk artists Pete and Toshi Seeger.
Arm-of-the-Sea, which last year presented 49 performances and hosted 1,110 visitors at Tidewater, welcomes community volunteers. The group offers workshops and performances at schools, festivals and cultural centers throughout the region. This summer, they started an arts and ecology youth camp, and will run a theater arts camp for adults in August.
Puppeteer Monica Smythe, age 17, saw her first Arm-of-the-Sea show at age three, ran the lighting for the lighthouse show at twelve, and now says she can’t imagine a better way to spend her summers.” I just love all of the movement, from literally moving puppets to inspiring the kids and putting out chairs to welcome in the community,” she said.
“What is our dream for the future?” Wadden asked, “We want the next generation to take it over and make it their own.”
Chana Widawski is a contributing reporter. Send correspondence to reporting@theoverlooknews.com