Showtimes & Tickets
$18 all-ages general admission
$3 Card to Culture (WIC, EBT, MassHealth, ConnectorCare) Learn more →
Pay-What-You-Can Performance: Sat Oct 26 at 1:00 pm
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About the Show
It’s the festival of lights! Let’s light lamps, eat sweets, clean house, and celebrate this cherished Hindu holiday. This Diwali Double Feature features two stories that celebrate the victory of light over darkness, and knowledge over ignorance — with comedy and hand puppetry, of course!
Story #1: Ramleela
What is the meaning of true devotion, love, kindness and valor? Brave prince Ram and his allies must rescue his kidnapped wife Sita from the King Ravan in this ancient Indian story from the Ramayana, coming to learn the true meaning of why we celebrate Diwali.
Story #2: Amrita’s Tree
Little Amrita loves to nap under her favorite tree, swinging from its branches and watching the animals. When the king orders all the trees to be chopped down to build himself a bigger palace, how can one little person possibly stop them? Inspired by the true story of the original tree huggers, the Bishnoi Hindus, who used peaceful resistance to defend their village's trees in 1700s India.
This show was designed to be enjoyed equally by those who know the stories and traditions of Diwali, as well as to welcome those who have no prior knowledge of Diwali. It was created through a special collaboration with The Culture Tree, whose mission is to promote South Asian culture through educational and enrichment programs, and WonderSpark Puppets, an acclaimed puppet theater that performs joyful tales all over their New York City home, and as far away as Thailand and Taiwan!
All ages welcome, especially enjoyed by ages 3-7
Hand puppets
Length: 40 minutes
From New York City!
Written by Anu Seghal
Adapted and performed by Chad Williams
About the Artists
WonderSpark Puppets is a New York City based puppet theater company led by Chad Williams and Z Briggs. The company's mission is to spread joy, spark imagination, and share laughter through high quality puppet performances. Their shows are often found in schools, shuls, libraries, parks, and other exciting locations. They have toured internationally, bringing original productions and puppetry workshops to festivals from Thailand to Taiwan. In Summer 2020 they streamed hundreds of live puppet shows for families in quarantine and streaming schools.
Chad is also the author of 50 Hand Puppet Techniques: Hidden Secrets and Tricks Revealed — available for purchase in our puppet store!
Anu Sehgal is the founder and president of The Culture Tree, a nonprofit that promotes cultural literacy about South Asia through language and educational and cultural programs.. In addition to her work with The Culture Tree, Anu is a children’s book author and a marketer by profession. As a cultural educator, Anu looks forward to providing children with authentic, immersive and inspiring experiences.
The Culture Tree’s goal is to create empathy, respect and understanding towards all different cultures and further inclusivity, while still helping address questions about Identity with heritage cultures. We partner with museums, galleries, schools and libraries to implement our classes and programming. Our programs include celebration of key festivals and events, puppet shows, bi-lingual storytime, mindful eating, mindfulness and language classes in key South Asian languages.
We have been featured in New York Times, Fox News, CNBC, Indian Express, Times of India, Time Out, Pix 11, The Economist, Red Tricycle, New York Family, Mommy Poppins, NY Metro Parents, AVS TV, TV Asia, New India Times, A Child Grows, Brown Girl Magazine, BronxNet, NY Metro Parents, India Abroad, India Life.
