Family Theater’s 2022 season includes mystery project, partnership with puppet theater
Olympia Family Theater, closed by COVID-19 for two years, has announced it will welcome audiences back in March. Meanwhile, the theater is welcoming a new partner: String and Shadow Puppet Theater.
The puppet troupe, whose outdoor “Fauna Fantastique” wowed audiences this past summer, will begin its residency and the family theater’s season with a production of “Paper Moon,” which had a short run in 2020 before the pandemic stopped live entertainment.
“It’s going to be magical when the lights come up on our first performances since the pandemic started,” said new artistic director Lily Raabe.
“Moon,” set to open March 11, will be a slightly modified version of the 2020 drive-through production, which features puppetry by String and Shadow founders Emily McHugh and Donald Palardy III along with Luz Gaxiola and Dylan Clifthorne and narration by Elizabeth Lord.
“I love puppets,” Raabe told The Olympian. “When I moved to Olympia, I immediately discovered String and Shadow and knew I wanted to work closely with them. (Their work is) easily some of the most exciting art that I’ve seen in recent years.”
The puppet troupe will soon be moving into the family theater, at 612 Fourth Ave. E. in downtown Olympia, occupying a loft that was formerly used to store props. The residency, which will last until August 2023, will include an original collaboration between the two theaters, puppet elements for family theater shows and puppetry classes.
“We’re really excited about the residency,” McHugh said. “It feels like a big shift for us.” The troupe will continue to produce its own shows, including a third outdoor production in the summer.
Also on the family theater’s schedule are a “super-secret statewide touring project,” set to premiere at the theater on March 18, and a long-delayed workshop production of “Alphabet Caper,” an original musical by Ted Ryle of Olympia that’s scheduled to open May 13.
Raabe said she couldn’t provide details about the touring show, but an emailed press release made multiple references to “Fully Vaxxed” plays, references that have been edited on the website to refer to the “mystery project.”
She did, however, have something to say about vaccination. The theater’s is planning to require audience members to have proof of vaccination or a negative test result.
The company, where Raabe started work as artistic director in October, also announced a series of changes aimed at making the theater more inclusive.
Advance tickets for both “Moon” and the touring plays will be available on a sliding scale of $5-$35, and at least 25 percent of seats will be offered free or by donation at the door. The company aims to use the same model for “Caper” tickets, if it proves sustainable. The website announcement asks those who can afford it to buy tickets at the top of the sliding scale.
The spring shows also will offer performances in American Sign Language. “Moon” will have at least one performance in Spanish, and the touring show will be bilingual and appropriate for both English and Spanish speakers.
For tickets or more information, go to olyft.org.
