Tag: kids

Join us “All Together Now” for our 2023 Summer Reading Shows!

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In honor of 2023’s Summer Reading theme, “All Together Now,” Piccadilly is putting the spotlight on two of our shows that bring together stories and folklore from all over the world: Wish Tales and Cat and Mouse! These shows each feature multiple tenets of ELAGSE and are the perfect way to get kids excited about stories, reading, and working together!

Thank you, Fayette County Library for hosting!

Today we are connecting with libraries and educators at the Fayette County Public Library Performer’s Showcase. Make sure to keep Piccadilly Puppets in mind for all your summer entertainment and education needs!

Can the power of wishing unite folklore on a global scale? Will cats and mice ever learn to work together? Find out when you book these delightful shows today!

Piccadilly Puppets Announces Rachel Frawley as New Artistic and Managing Director

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ATLANTA, GA September 19, 2022 – Atlanta’s touring puppetry company, Piccadilly Puppets, has selected a brand-new Artistic and Managing Director. In support of the company’s mission to provide puppetry experiences of high artistic quality to young audiences, The Piccadilly Puppets Company (PPC)  is excited to move forward with new leadership. 

Incoming Artistic and Managing Director Rachel Frawley is an Atlanta based actor, writer and producer. She holds a B.F.A. in Theatre from Michigan State University and is an apprentice company graduate of the Atlanta Shakespeare Co. In addition to acting, she has narrated over 30 audiobook titles, and was a producer for the Weird Sisters Theatre Project for their 2017 and 2018 seasons. She has taught and directed acting camps, classes and master classes for theatres and studios across Atlanta. Rachel has worked and continues to train as an intimacy professional, and is enrolled in courses with the Association of Mental Health Coordinators. Currently she is writing, directing and producing a new children’s puppet musical for Synchronicity Theatre’s Stripped Bare series.

Veteran puppeteer Nancy Riggs has led the company for the past eleven years. She has endeavored to continue and grow PPC’s commitment to making puppetry accessible, interactive and affordable to underserved communities.  At her recent decision to step back from the role of Director, she led the search for her successor. “Piccadilly Puppets has been a wonderful part of my life for 25 years, and I hope to continue to be involved as a puppeteer and advisor for the near future” says Ms. Riggs. “However, I am ready to hand off leadership of the company to someone with new energy and vision. Rachel has just the combination of artistic and administrative skills needed, along with a love of children and puppets! I am excited to see how she moves the company forward.”

Rachel Frawley is thrilled to take on this opportunity, and is committed to honoring and expanding PPC’s stellar work entertaining and educating young audiences.

Piccadilly Puppets is a 501(c)3 non-profit touring puppetry company. Since its inception in 1970, Piccadilly Puppets has produced and performed puppet plays for schools, theaters, festivals and a variety of community organizations in Atlanta and throughout the Southeast. Incorporated in 1976, the nonprofit organization has been awarded a Citation for Excellence in the Art of Puppetry from Union Internationale de la Marionnette, the oldest international theatre organization in the world. 

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For more information, contact Nancy Riggs, (404) 636-0022, piccadillypuppets@gmail.com

Butterfly Ballad in Little Nancy Creek Park

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September 9 at 4:30

FREE

4012 Peachtree Dunwoody Rd NE, Atlanta, GA

Mother Nature with Katy Butterfly from Butterfly Ballad
Mother Nature with Katy Butterfly from Butterfly Ballad

Developed originally for the Callaway Gardens Butterfly Center, this story follows Katy and Kevin Caterpillar through the stages of their lives – from egg, to caterpillar, to chrysalis, to butterfly – and their fascinating migration to Mexico. Narrated by Mother Nature, with original music, rod and hand puppets. Recommended for ages 3-8, but you can bring the younger toddlers to this one; they can go play if they are not engaged!

Thanks to the Friends of Little Nancy Creek Park for helping to schedule this performance!

Happy Holidays from Piccadilly Puppets!

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Enjoy this short video as a gift from us to you:

We’ve been working hard this year to keep bringing the art of puppetry to children in the Atlanta area and beyond. We’ve done outdoor birthday parties and camp shows. We’ve brought the puppet van to apartment complexes. (We lost the puppet van in a collision, but we can still bring our shows just about anywhere!) We’ve recorded shows for libraries and churches to share. We’ve done Zoom calls with preschool classes. We hired a Cherokee playwright to rewrite Cherokee Tales, then reimagined it as a 15-minute film.

What educational entertainment would you like to see from Piccadilly Puppets? Chances are, we can provide something to meet your wants and needs. The next thing we plan to record is Puppetry 101, a 30-minute video about puppetry styles and puppetry as a career. We are also planning to go into a few venues in January and perform live and in-person. We do this on a case-by-case basis, keeping safety in mind. Small groups are preferred.

We’ve seen changes and challenges in 50 years. This is our biggest challenge, but we are still here and plan to continue on! Happy Holidays and best wishes for 2021!

Shows are happening, outdoors & in!

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The Puppet Van comes to the Atlanta Children’s Shelter and an apartment complex in Sandy Springs

We are doing live shows for small groups! We can set up one of our regular puppet shows from our Shows page, or just perform our Pop-up Puppets variety show right out of the Puppet Van. We are also doing shows inside for daycares. We are offering special COVID-19 pricing throughout the summer and possibly into the fall.

We have two shows available online now, also! You can arrange for your group or your family to watch Butterfly Ballad or Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors.

Keep watch on our Facebook page for upcoming free short videos. We will be offering Fabulous Fable Fridays every week in August at 10:00 am!

See our previous post for additional ideas and information.

Summer Library shows in Georgia towns

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Dog puppet outdoors with sunglasses

Here’s a list of libraries where you can see us this summer!

June 6 Noon Pendergrass Cat and Mouse Tales This show will be at the clubhouse at Seasons of Pendergrass, Pendergrass Farm Circle

June 21 11:00 Sharon Forks Library Imagination Station 2820 Old Atlanta Rd. Cumming

July 9 10:30 Harlie Fulford/Johnson County Library Cat and Mouse Tales 2456 W Elm Street, Wrightsville, GA 31096

July 9 4:30 Rosa M. Tarbutton Library Cat and Mouse Tales   314 S Harris St. Sandersville, GA 31082

July 23 2:00 Stonecrest Library Splish, Splash: Water Stories 3123 Klondike Rd. Lithonia, GA 30338

Of Monarch butterflies and the benefits of the performing arts

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We haven’t been doing too many public performances lately, so we haven’t posted in awhile. We have been doing LOTS of performances of Butterfly Ballad, our show about Monarch butterflies for preschools-3rd grade. There’s good news on the Monarch front this year; their numbers are rising! We encourage you to plant more native milkweed. We also have a bilingual version of this show if you’d like to incorporate some Spanish into your performing arts.

Mother Nature with Katy Butterfly from Butterfly Ballad
Mother Nature with Katy Butterfly from Butterfly Ballad

The results are in! Students who attend multiple arts field trips have higher levels of social-emotional skills, stronger school engagement and higher standardized test scores. The research was done for field trips, but we’re sure that bringing artists in to your camp, school, church or other organization can have many of the same benefits! Click below for the article on the results of the study done by the Woodruff Arts Center.

https://www.mdjonline.com/neighbor_newspapers/northside_sandy_springs/education/woodruff-arts-center-atlanta-public-schools-partner-on-first-field/article_75bf4136-41f4-11e9-a30c-9714eef960a7.html?fbclid=IwAR2D5ml8fVXvnVR13HKqa7MjriEbrEjNXTfqaBofxNdE9B98XkshqAvvrVk

Back to School!

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Kindergarten students show shadow puppets that they made in a workshop.

Piccadilly Puppets has many educational shows and workshops! Bring us to your school this year! We have discounted prices for Title One schools.

Elves and Santa and Foxes, oh my!

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See our listing of public Christmas performances:

Spiralina Toepick performs to “The Waltz of the Flowers” in our Nutcracker section of “Piccadilly Holiday”.

Saturday, December 2   3:30 pm.    ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas    Peachtree Branch, Atlanta-Fulton Public Library

Friday, December 8  6:00 pm.    ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas AND Juggler Ron Anglin.    R. E. Lee Auditorium, Thomaston, GA

Saturday, December 9   11:00 am, 1:00 pm.    ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.          Little River Canyon Center, Fort Payne, AL

Tuesday, December 12   5:00 pm.     ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas   Commerce Public Library, Commerce, GA

Friday, December 15 and 22   6:00, 7:00 pm.     ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.   Atlanta History Center

Saturday, December 16   10:00, 11:30 am.    ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas.          Aurora Children’s Playhouse, Aurora Theater, Lawrenceville, GA

Tuesday, December 19   10:30 am.      Piccadilly Holiday.        Cleveland Branch,   Atlanta-Fulton Public Library

Wednesday, December 21-22   10:00 am (plus a 1:30 show on Thursday only).   ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas     Roswell Cultural Arts Center

 

Thank you to the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs!

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Piccadilly Puppets is a proud recipient of funding from the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs! We provide puppet performances throughout the City of Atlanta, and the funds help us to cover some expenses, so that we can keep our shows affordable. Funding also enables us to offer discounts to schools that receive Title One funding and other venues in those neighborhoods (such as libraries), and occasionally offer free shows in underserved parts of the city.

Thank you so much to the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs for helping us to educate and entertain children in Atlanta through the art of puppetry!