‘ OUT OF THE SHADOWS’
festivals and their impact on comtemporary puppetry in her newly released book, “Out of the Shadows.” She dedicates the book to the spirit and genius of two giants — the fabled Jim Henson, of course, and to Joe Papp, the legendary founder of the Public Theater and Shakespeare in the Park.
Asch was no neophyte to the puppetry opus. She was fascinated with it from the time she was a collegian at the University of Vermont and later at Hunter College in New York. It was a medium she wanted to pursue and pursue it she did. She interned with Bil Baird’s Marionettes and soon after landed a job as a puppet builder with the Jim Henson Company. During her 24 years with them, she cast latex shoes for Henson’s Emmet Otter and created a little monster who grew up to become the beloved Elmo. She later became the director of exhibitions.
“There is something profoundly sacred about the puppet, dwelling as it does at that magic border between life and its absence,” Asch explains.
Through the centuries, the power of this transformation has lured writers, painters, musicians and theater artists who use many art forms for their productions: sculpture, sculpture that moves, visual arts, drawing, dance, drama, voice, music, writing, painting, and technology. Some of their puppets are as small as a man’s fist, and some as big as Joey, a war horse in the hugely popular play of the same name.
“Out of the Shadows” describes the excitement the first international puppet festival engendered. Under the aegis of the Jim Henson Foundation, it took place in 1992 in New York City. The success and popularity of the festival were beyond expectation. It took New York City by storm. Here was state- ofthe- art puppetry from every corner of the world. Four more festivals in two year intervals followed with Henson’s daughter Cheryl serving as executive producer and Asch as producing director.
Asch spells out the metrics of the five festivals: 136 productions from 31 countries in 24 theaters throughout the city, with an astounding 120,000 people in attendance at the New York performances alone and 100,00 more at the Festival on Tour. It was a great achievement for everyone involved, rendering a significant boost to puppetry as a legitimate theater art form.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of the last Henson festival and the 30th anniversary of Henson’s death at the age of 53. So it’s fitting that “Out of the Shadows” debuted this year in Connecticut which boasts the only university in the country to offer a master’s degree in puppetry arts. It’s also the state where Henson raised a young family ( in Greenwich) and it’s home ( also in Greenwich) to Leslee and her husband Will Morrison.
Four years in the writing, “Out of the Shadows” takes an intimate look at the festival artists, their puppets and their narratives. It also explores some of the innovative work occurring in the field today. Leslee generously sprinkles its pages with commentary from the giants of puppetry art, and with beautiful photographs of dozens of puppets and their masters.
“Today,” Asch says, “there is more critical writing in the fields” and also a wider acceptance of puppets in all the performing arts evidenced. For example, on the stages of Broadway (“The Lion King”), the Metropolitan Opera (“The Magic Flute”), Lincoln Center (“War Horse”), and in exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art and at the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria, Queens.
It’s time to honor the impact of the five Henson festivals on the contemporary scene, says Asch, so that in the excitement of that exploration a new festival may one day take place. She ends her book with her own dream: “May the magic continue.”
“THERE IS SOMETHING PROFOUNDLY SACRED ABOUT THE PUPPET, DWELLING AS IT DOES AT THAT MAGIC BORDER BETWEEN LIFE AND ITS ABSENCE.”