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. Puppetry is an ancient form of theatre which dates back to the 5th century BC in ancient Greece. There ...

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 Fr ...

hosted by Teatro SEA on 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. Historically, it w ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. The festival had its 1st edition in 2018, at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center, 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, actor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notability as the creator of the Muppets. Henson was also well known for creating ''Fraggle Rock'' ( ...

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 company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

of Teatro SEA, and was held at the Clemente Soto Velez Cultural and Educational Center, 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 333 cities in 59 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition became ...

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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. 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