Mum News

Press Photos

- mum news -

Mum Puppettheatre Awarded Prestigious TCG Future Leaders Mentorship

For Immediate Release: June 14, 2006

Philadelphia, PA - Twenty-five theatres have been selected to participate in the sixth round of the New Generations Program, a grant initiative cooperatively designed by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Theatre Communications Group (TCG). Mum Puppettheatre's artistic director Robert Smythe will mentor Martina Plag in puppetry.

In the six rounds of the program, over $9 million in two-year grants have been awarded to 126 theatres in support of three grant categories. In Future Leaders Mentorships, early-career theatre professionals are mentored by established leaders in the theatre field. At Mum Puppettheatre Ms. Plag will conduct historical and practical research and assist with preliminary puppet design and engineering over the next two. She will also develop projects involving community outreach, including creating collaborations between Mum Puppettheatre, individual artists and other organizations.

Robert Smythe has written, directed and performed in over 20 original productions, winning four Barrymore Awards in choreography, design and education, and the ROCKY award for choreography. A Guggenheim Fellow and recipient of six Pennsylvania Council on the Arts Solo Performer Fellowships, he also received one of the last NEA Theater Solo Theater Fellowships ever awarded. He was also recently awarded a Pew Fellowship.

Martina Plag is originally from Germany and formally trained as an architect at Temple University. Martina practiced architecture for ten years, six of which she also taught design at Philadelphia University. In addition to her work at Mum, Martina is developing puppets for the International Opera Theater in Città della Pieve, Italy for their World Premiere Italian operatic adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Tempest. Most recently, Martina was awarded two international residencies: one by the Saskatchewan Craft Council of Canada for the summer of 2006; and another by the International Turning Exchange as resident fellow artists in 2008. Her latest film, mantra, can be seen at 2006 Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.

Ms. Plaq was attracted to Mum because of the unique interdiscipliany approach to making theater. Ms. Plag intends to activate puppet artistry for adult audiences through interdisciplinary work to address contemporary issues and advocate social change and awareness. According to Plag, this experience will "enable me to completely change careers and persue a childhood dream of mine. It is also another alternative than returning to school. At Mum I will be able to learn hands on."

Cheryl Ikemiya, program officer for the arts at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, remarked on the success of the program: "Throughout its brief history, the New Generations Program has nurtured a significant group of new leaders who are already assuming major positions in nonprofit theatres throughout the country, theatre audiences are growing in diversity, and international theatre artists are working collaboratively with their American colleagues to provide new dimensions to a global theatre community. The foundation is proud of the program’s outstanding accomplishments."

TCG's managing director, Joan Channick, stated, "The New Generations Program creates opportunities to deepen the knowledge and experience of theatres, artists and administrators who have the potential to lead the theatre field. In the Future Leaders initiative of the program, mentorships create nurturing relationships between current theatre leaders and extraordinarily talented early-career professionals, while international fellowships foster collaborative relationships between U.S. theatres and theatre practitioners from other countries. The Future Audiences initiative supports audience development programs that are models of innovation and responsiveness in a rapidly changing demographic landscape. TCG is grateful for our longstanding partnership with the funders of the New Generations Program, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, whose foresight and vision help to ensure a vibrant future for the American theatre."

Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the American theatre, offers a wide array of services in line with its mission: to strengthen, nurture and promote the professional not-for-profit American theatre. Artistic programs support theatres and theatre artists by awarding $2.7 million in grants annually, and offer career development programs for artists. Management programs provide professional development opportunities for theatre leaders through workshops, conferences, forums and publications, as well as industry research on the finances and practices of the American not-for-profit theatre. Advocacy, conducted in conjunction with the dance, presenting, opera and symphony orchestra fields, includes guiding lobbying efforts and providing theatres with timely alerts about legislative developments. The country’s leading independent press specializing in dramatic literature, TCG’s publications include American Theatre magazine, the ArtSEARCH employment bulletin, plays, translations and theatre reference books. As the U.S. Center of UNESCO’s International Theatre Institute, a worldwide network, TCG supports cross-cultural exchange through travel grants and other assistance to traveling theatre professionals. Through these programs, TCG seeks to increase the organizational efficiency of its member theatres, cultivate and celebrate the artistic talent and achievements of the field, and promote a larger public understanding of and appreciation for the theatre field. TCG serves over 430 member theatres nationwide. More information about TCG is available at www.tcg.org.

Mum Puppettheatre makes art that moves, creating theatre beyond the scope of human actors, often without words. We integrate the plastic, visual and performing arts by creating stunning, emotionally compelling and breathtakingly beautiful theatre, using puppets, masks and the human body. Our mission is to collaborate with artists of all disciplines and backgrounds to explore the interdisciplinary nature of puppetry, and share the results with people of all ages, independent of language or culture, on stage, on tour and in the classroom.

# # #