The International Puppet Fringe Festival NYC (also stylised as IPFFNYC or Puppet Fringe NYC) is a biannual

puppet theater A puppet is an object, often resembling a human, animal or mythical figure, that is animated or manipulated by a person called a puppeteer. The puppeteer uses movements of their hands, arms, or control devices such as rods or strings to mov ...

fringe festival Fringe theatre is theatre that is produced outside of the main theatre institutions, and that is often small-scale and non-traditional in style or subject matter. The term comes from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.Kemp, Robert, ''More that is Fre ...

hosted by

Teatro SEA The Society of the Educational Arts, is a bilingual not-profit Art Education Organization is a theatre company founded in 1985 in Puerto Rico that produces socially conscious and educational productions for children and young adults. SEA establish ...

in the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The festival had its 1st edition in 2018, at the

Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center The Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center, often called The Clemente, is a Puerto Rican/Latinx cultural center named after Puerto Rican writer and activist, Clemente Soto Vélez. The Clemente, which was established as a cultural cen ...

, and featured puppet shows, short films and artist talks with international puppet theater companies. The Puppet Fringe Festival is the first ever international fringe festival dedicated to puppetry.

2018 Edition

In its inaugural year, the Puppet Fringe Festival held puppet cabarets hosted by the Puppetry Guild of Greater New York and Great Small Works, as well as an Artist Symposium hosted by UNIMA-USA, an international puppet union founded by

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

in 1966. The Puppet Fringe Festival was produced by Manuel Antonio Moran, the

Artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

of Teatro SEA, and was held at the

, from the 8 to 12 August 2018. The Puppet Fringe Festival hosted puppet companies from all around the world, including France, Canada, Puerto Rico and Costa Rica, as well as a handful of companies from the USA itself. The festival's international element was a key aspect of its appeal, with

Time Out New York ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...

describing the festival as "a celebration of diversity, inclusion and of course beautiful performances". The inaugural Puppet Fringe Festival was dedicated to José López Alemán, a Puerto Rican artist and Puppet Master for Teatro SEA who had worked in the puppetry industry for over 40 years. Among the participating companies in 2018 were: * Agua, Sol y Sereno (Puerto Rico) * Chinese Theatre Works (USA) * Compañía La Bicicleta (Costa Rica) * Drama of Works (USA) * La Tortue Noire (Canada) * Les Anges au Plafond (France) * Paper Heart Puppets (USA) * Red Herring (USA) * Wonderspark (USA)

2021 Edition

The 2nd International Puppet Fringe Festival NYC had to be postponed from August 2020 to August 2021 due to the

COVID-19 Pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. This festival was covered in a full page article by the New York Times and other news outlets such as New York Theater. This edition had 5 days of in-person performances. It included more than 50 shows and events, short films, and art exhibitions. There was also a collaboration with the Museum of the City of New York and their "Puppets of New York" exhibit. The festival also provided adult workshops involving the construction of puppet construction. Participating individuals and companies include: * Deborah Hunt * Bruce Cannon, Artistic Director of Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater * Shari Lewis and Lamp Chop * Chinese Theater Works * Jim Henson Estate * Ralph Lee * The Manteo Family * Derek Fordjour * Nick Lehane * Monxo López, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation fellow and Curator

References

{{Reflist Fringe festivals in the United States Puppet festivals Puppetry in the United States