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"Three Little Pigs" puppets to benefit Empty Space
Topics: children, entertainment, arts, Theatre, fun, puppets, the empty space
Posted by marjoriebell Thu May 8, 2008 11:47:05 PDT
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0 responses 0 comments Location: 5 Real Rd. (Stockdale Hwy. & Real Rd.), Bakersfield, CA 93309

Omnipresent Puppet Theatre will perform its rendition of “The Three Little Pigs” on June 14 as a fundraiser for The Empty Space Theatre.  The production will be in Plymouth Hall at First Congregational Church, 5 Real Rd. at 1 p.m.  Admission is $3, and the public is invited.  Doors open at 12:30 p.m.

The entertainment will also feature an opportunity drawing with items such as a 26-inch mountain bike, a puppet program for a birthday party or special event, and season tickets to both the Flics foreign movies at the Fox and the Bakersfield Condors, according to Omnipresent chief puppeteer Don Kruszka.

“We’re Bakersfield’s only professional theatre for young audiences,” Kruszka said of his puppet company, which makes its home at The Empty Space.  “We want to support
Empty Space because it’s the only theatre company locally that relies solely on public donations.  It gives people a chance to see theatrical performances that might not be able to afford to go to otherwise.”

The Empty Space personnel at 706 Oak St. take pride in creating opportunities for local actors, directors and technicians to work in a creative environment that allows them to express themselves.  “We have also had benefits supporting such causes as the Kaiser Permanente Latino Association funding mentoring and scholarship programs, the Kern Lifeline Project, the Bakersfield AIDS Project and the Save-a-Teacher campaign,” Executive Director Guinevere PH Dethlefson said. 

Empty Space productions over the past five years have included everything from Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” to Steinbeck’s “Of Mice and Men” and the musical “Hair.”

Kruszka and his wife, Cal State University Bakersfield theatre instructor Kamala, founded the Omnipresent Puppet Theatre in Phoenix, Ariz. in 2003 and continued their kid-focused entertainment when arriving in Bakersfield two years ago.  Kruszka, who was a fan of the Muppets and Mr. Rogers as a child, was a broadcast major in college and became a newspaper editor in Buffalo, New York before answering a want ad in a local newspaper for a puppeteer.  Kruszka  designs and makes his own puppets, writes most of his own scripts, and does most of the voices.

“All the voices are live, as much as possible,” he said. 

The Kruszkas make themselves available for workshops, teacher in-services and private parties locally as well as on the coast and in Southern California.  Productions have included “Jack and the Beanstalk,” “Little Red Riding Hood,” “Hansel and Gretel” and “Anansi’s Rainbow” (based on spider folktales from around the world).  For more information about the Omnipresent Puppet Theatre, see www.omnipuppets.org.  For details about the June 14 event, call 858-0831.

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