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Bread & Puppet Theater regales TSL crowd with social, political humor
By Sesame Campbell
Hudson-Catskill Newspapers
HUDSON - Dancing zebras, turkeys and free range cows with the Sourdough Philosophy Circus, orchestrated by a bunch of cooks entertained hundreds of children and adults this week at Time Space and Limited (TSL). The traveling troupe is part of the famous Vermont-based Bread & Puppet Theater, and is known nationally and abroad for their humorous social and political commentary.
Audience members laughed out loud during skits like the "Federal Cookbook", which featured a menu of "Disaster Soup", "Democracy Appetizer", mashed "Illegal Aliens", the "Justice Department Specialty of the House" dinner, and a desert of "Freedom Pie". Other skits included zombies that danced to the tune of Michael Jackson's song "Thriller" and the $200 billion dollar bailout, followed by a weight-lifting competition with "US Economy" that attempted to pick up the "National Debt". After collapsing, assistance was provided by the "Stimulus Package" coaches, who attempted to revive the failing economy. The staggering economy was handed off to a "Future Generation" that crawled onto the stage dressed as an infant, only to be dragged off screaming.
National politics wasn't the only thematic base for the performers. The Columbia County Board of Supervisors was among the comical casualties, as "Read-Between-the-Lines" Zebra was "tricked" through hoops and over jumping rope by ringmasters Mr. and Mrs. Phony Baloney. The skit spotlighted the planned move of the Department of Social Services six miles outside Hudson and Columbia County's at-risk, urban population.
"It's really refreshing to see people make sincere art that also makes me laugh," said Patrick Dougherty, a 25-year old Tivoli resident who came to Sunday's last performance. "They were great and so inspiring."
Dougherty said he heard about the theater company over the years but never made it to TSL to see them. "I saw their tour bus as I was riding my bike around town and came over to check them out. I think we need more of this in the Hudson Valley," he said.
The troupe of five performers included Mary Anne Coletta, Greg Corbino, Diana Sette, Daniel McNamara, and Caven Meese. Meese, the oldest member of the troupe, originally came from a theatrical Georgian family that traveled to the Vermont farm and joined the Bread and Puppet Theater Company when Meese was a child.
"Art is food," Meese said. "They're not so different from each other. The food that goes into our brains is as equally important as the food that goes into our bodies. We bake bread and serve it at our performances because it's part of a symbolic gesture that all humans experience to a certain extent."
This is the 11th year that Bread and Puppets came to TSL, the avant garde theater company which originated in New York City and moved to Hudson in 1991. TSL has expanded its role to include a community arts organization, which focuses much of its resources on the region's youth while keeping theater at its core. TSL programming focuses on "awakening individual imaginations and fostering community participation," according to the theater's website. "Whether offering people their first experience with live theater or opera, providing workshops and special enrichment projects for young people that include theater, art, movie making, circus performance and gardening, or initiated discussions of local and global political issues, TSL is always looking to set off the spark that benefits and alters individual lives."
Co-founder Linda Mussmann said that she brought Bread and Puppets to TSL because of their renowned talent. She has had the company to TSL every year since 1998, and usually features them from one to two weeks. "The first time Break and Puppets came to Hudson we had 200 people at their first show," she said. "This year we did one week because of budget constraints."
TSL lost close to $20,000 of funding from the governor's budget this year, Mussmann said. "Although it's a hard time we've had great audience response," she said. "Our base knows how important this stuff is. People are excited about the programming we're doing and they are showing their support."
Mussmann noted that despite the economic crisis, TSL's membership has recently increased by significant numbers. "People realize they have to step up and they are," she said. "Everyone's cut back and endowments have been reduced. Even the Metropolitan has seen substantial cuts but that's the way it is. We've had a long history of being on the edge and taking risks. We're used to relying on community support and the community's here."
Mussmann spent the first 18 years of her life on a farm in Indiana. "I think that being brought up on a farm taught me to be self-reliant and be clever, fair and ethical," she said. "We try to do a lot for our community. Our kids are our future."
A study published by the State Comptroller's Office in December 2004 ranked Hudson as the most socially and economically stressed region in New York state, with almost 26 percent of its residents living below the poverty level. The state cited the school system as "failing" three years in a row. Many of the students serviced by TSL programs are at-risk children. "We've responded to these problems with an ongoing set of nourishing, creative projects for young people including after-school, weekend, and summer programs," Mussmann said.
While few businesses and organizations are expanding, TSL is. With help from local members, and private organizations such as Bard College, TSL is utilizing their ground floor to provide additional educational programs for young people, and so that young people participate both as artists and audience members in performances, exhibitions, films, and forums. "We do a lot of tutoring and help kids get into colleges," Mussmann said. "Many of the kids we've worked with have been pushed out of the community. But we are working hard with the ones we have."
HUDSON - Dancing zebras, turkeys and free range cows with the Sourdough Philosophy Circus, orchestrated by a bunch of cooks entertained hundreds of children and adults this week at Time Space and Limited (TSL). The traveling troupe is part of the famous Vermont-based Bread & Puppet Theater, and is known nationally and abroad for their humorous social and political commentary.
Audience members laughed out loud during skits like the "Federal Cookbook", which featured a menu of "Disaster Soup", "Democracy Appetizer", mashed "Illegal Aliens", the "Justice Department Specialty of the House" dinner, and a desert of "Freedom Pie". Other skits included zombies that danced to the tune of Michael Jackson's song "Thriller" and the $200 billion dollar bailout, followed by a weight-lifting competition with "US Economy" that attempted to pick up the "National Debt". After collapsing, assistance was provided by the "Stimulus Package" coaches, who attempted to revive the failing economy. The staggering economy was handed off to a "Future Generation" that crawled onto the stage dressed as an infant, only to be dragged off screaming.
National politics wasn't the only thematic base for the performers. The Columbia County Board of Supervisors was among the comical casualties, as "Read-Between-the-Lines" Zebra was "tricked" through hoops and over jumping rope by ringmasters Mr. and Mrs. Phony Baloney. The skit spotlighted the planned move of the Department of Social Services six miles outside Hudson and Columbia County's at-risk, urban population.
"It's really refreshing to see people make sincere art that also makes me laugh," said Patrick Dougherty, a 25-year old Tivoli resident who came to Sunday's last performance. "They were great and so inspiring."
Dougherty said he heard about the theater company over the years but never made it to TSL to see them. "I saw their tour bus as I was riding my bike around town and came over to check them out. I think we need more of this in the Hudson Valley," he said.
The troupe of five performers included Mary Anne Coletta, Greg Corbino, Diana Sette, Daniel McNamara, and Caven Meese. Meese, the oldest member of the troupe, originally came from a theatrical Georgian family that traveled to the Vermont farm and joined the Bread and Puppet Theater Company when Meese was a child.
"Art is food," Meese said. "They're not so different from each other. The food that goes into our brains is as equally important as the food that goes into our bodies. We bake bread and serve it at our performances because it's part of a symbolic gesture that all humans experience to a certain extent."
This is the 11th year that Bread and Puppets came to TSL, the avant garde theater company which originated in New York City and moved to Hudson in 1991. TSL has expanded its role to include a community arts organization, which focuses much of its resources on the region's youth while keeping theater at its core. TSL programming focuses on "awakening individual imaginations and fostering community participation," according to the theater's website. "Whether offering people their first experience with live theater or opera, providing workshops and special enrichment projects for young people that include theater, art, movie making, circus performance and gardening, or initiated discussions of local and global political issues, TSL is always looking to set off the spark that benefits and alters individual lives."
Co-founder Linda Mussmann said that she brought Bread and Puppets to TSL because of their renowned talent. She has had the company to TSL every year since 1998, and usually features them from one to two weeks. "The first time Break and Puppets came to Hudson we had 200 people at their first show," she said. "This year we did one week because of budget constraints."
TSL lost close to $20,000 of funding from the governor's budget this year, Mussmann said. "Although it's a hard time we've had great audience response," she said. "Our base knows how important this stuff is. People are excited about the programming we're doing and they are showing their support."
Mussmann noted that despite the economic crisis, TSL's membership has recently increased by significant numbers. "People realize they have to step up and they are," she said. "Everyone's cut back and endowments have been reduced. Even the Metropolitan has seen substantial cuts but that's the way it is. We've had a long history of being on the edge and taking risks. We're used to relying on community support and the community's here."
Mussmann spent the first 18 years of her life on a farm in Indiana. "I think that being brought up on a farm taught me to be self-reliant and be clever, fair and ethical," she said. "We try to do a lot for our community. Our kids are our future."
A study published by the State Comptroller's Office in December 2004 ranked Hudson as the most socially and economically stressed region in New York state, with almost 26 percent of its residents living below the poverty level. The state cited the school system as "failing" three years in a row. Many of the students serviced by TSL programs are at-risk children. "We've responded to these problems with an ongoing set of nourishing, creative projects for young people including after-school, weekend, and summer programs," Mussmann said.
While few businesses and organizations are expanding, TSL is. With help from local members, and private organizations such as Bard College, TSL is utilizing their ground floor to provide additional educational programs for young people, and so that young people participate both as artists and audience members in performances, exhibitions, films, and forums. "We do a lot of tutoring and help kids get into colleges," Mussmann said. "Many of the kids we've worked with have been pushed out of the community. But we are working hard with the ones we have."
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