Are
you looking for something different and fun to entertain your children
during the long summer break? One of my daughter’s favorite activities,
any time of year, is to go to a marionette show at Peewinkle’s Puppet
Studio.
Peewinkle’s
features family friendly puppet shows throughout the year, delightly
young audiences and educating older children (and adults) about the art
of puppetry. The cozy little theatre is adorable and the shows are
always enchanting; great entertainment for children from toddlers
through school age.
Currently
playing is the Summertime Cabaret, which runs every summer and
showcases some of Peewinkle’s best marionettes, all handmade with love
by the puppeteer proprietors (Heidi Shackleford, Peggy Melchior and
Debbi White). Some of the highlights include an egg-laying ostrich
ballerini and an octopus that does the hokey-pokey. What could be more
fun for young audiences than that?
My
daughter and I have been going to every Peewinkle’s show since she was
only 18 months old and the performances have always captured her
attention and imagination. All of the shows are just exciting enough,
and just short enough, to hold the attention of even the youngest
viewer. And the free popcorn doesn’t hurt!
Inspired
by these frequent visits, my daughter loves puppets. She loves to play
with her many hand puppets and marionettes (which I spend a lot of time
untangling), engaging them in dramatic adventures with her toy dinosaurs
and princess dolls. A good friend of the family built her a custom
puppet stage, appropriately named the Ladybug Theatre, which she plays
with all the time. She frequently sits me down to watch
mini-performances, normally of the puppets singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or Disney showtunes.
I
know as she gets older this love of puppetry will help expand her
creativity and imagination. I look forward to when she is just a little
older and can take advantage of the educational opportunities
Peewinkle’s offers with its workshops (sometimes offered after shows),
summer camps and mini-camps offered throughout the year. During these
classes, young students make their own puppets and learn how to operate
them. Peewinkle’s truly celebrates puppetry as an art form.
This
delightful little theatre is located right downtown, just a few blocks
south of Monument Circle, at 25 E. Henry Street. The Summertime Cabaret
is only running for a short time, with performances at 10 am and noon on
Thursdays and Fridays through July 19. The cost is $8 per person (kids
under 2 are free). The puppet theatre is wonderfully intimate, with only
50 seats, so shows can sell out fast. Get your tickets online at
www.peewinklespuppets.com or call (317) 917-9454 for more information.
