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Mum Puppettheatre presents THE ADVENTURES OF A BOY AND HIS DOG ON THE HIGH SEAS, inspired by letters from around the world

For Immediate Release: April 10, 2001

Philadelphia, PA - Mum Puppettheatre presents its final production of the season, the world premiere The Adventures of a Boy & His Dog on the High Seas at Mum Puppettheatre 115 Arch Street in Old City, Philadelphia, May 4th through May 20th. The world renowned Boy & His Dog return in their third show to travel the high seas in a brand new adventure filled with pirate ships, mermaids and messages in bottles. Public performances are Saturdays and Sundays at noon and 2 p.m. General admission is $10.00. For reservations call 215.925.7686. Schools can schedule their own performances on weekday mornings by calling 215.925.8686.

This is the third installment of The Adventures of a Boy & His Dog. In the two previous shows, the duo traveled to the time of the dinosaurs and then into outer space. This world premiere production is the result of letters from children who saw the international tour (spanning Asia, Europe, and America) and wrote Mum Puppettheatre with suggestions for further adventures.

This adventure is co-created by Mum Puppettheatre's Artistic Director Robert Smythe, his two children Harry (age 5), Maggie (age 9), and resident artists Jarrid Masse and Sondra Blanchard. After its May run in Philadelphia, Mum will add Boy & His Dog to its touring repertoire. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

Sondra Blanchard (Performer) has been performing and teaching for the last 24 years. She is a graduate of the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre, where she studied under master teachers Daniel Stein, Joan Schirle,and Ronlin Foreman. She earned her BA in Women's Studies from the University of California at Santa Cruz, where she also studied dance and choreography with Tandy Beal and Mel Wong. Sondra spent a year in Korea studying Korean Masked Dance Drama. She has toured the Northwest with the New Pickle Circus, the tri-state area with Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble's Theatre in the Classroom project, and nationally with Landis & Co. Theatre of Magic production of "Beauty and the Beast." Sondra is a co-creator of the original clown show "The Red Slippers," directed by Ronlin Foreman. Her clown character, Pia, has become a staple at First Night in Bloomsburg, PA. Locally, she has appeared in Landis & Co. Theatre of Magic's "Magic of Vaudeville" with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Jarrid Masse (Performer) is a skilled acrobat, mask maker, clown, visual artist and globewalker. A graduate of Harison Performing Arts Center in Florida, he has taught and performed for communities throughout the state and where he was a performer for the Pied Piper Players. He has performed abroad with the dance company Vital Spark. Jarrid's experience in theatre includes training in acrobatics, clown, stage combat, voice, yoga, animal studies, movement and ballet. He is a graduate of the Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre.

Robert Smythe (Artistic Director) founded Mum Puppettheatre in 1985, and since then has led the company to success throughout North America, Europe and Asia. He has received three of Philadelphia's Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre, including the 1996 award for Outstanding Choreography. He is the recipient of a 1998 Guggenheim Fellowship and was one of the last artists to win a Solo Performer Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. He has been awarded five Solo Performer Fellowships from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts. His work has received three "Citations for Excellence in the Art of Puppetry" from UNIMA-USA, the American Chapter of Union Internationale de la Marionnette. An honors graduate in both Art and Theatre from Wesleyan University, he has studied and worked with opera director Peter Sellers and kabuki master Shozo Sato. He has been a guest artist at Bryn Mawr College and the University of Pennsylvania, and collaborated with many Philadelphia theatres, including the Arden Theatre Company, InterAct Theatre Company and The Wilma Theater. Mum Puppettheatre is the only theatre between Vermont and Atlanta dedicated solely to puppetry. Founded in 1985 as a wordless touring company using puppets and masks, Mum Puppettheatre combines powerful visual images with music and the imagination to create a unique theatrical experience for audiences of all ages and languages. To date, Mum Puppettheatre has earned three Citations of Excellence from Union Internationale de la Marionette and six Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre. In 1999, Mum Puppettheatre won the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and Pennsylvania Department of Education Best Practices Award for its education and residency programs in schools.

For more information please call 215.925.8686.

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