Mano-a-Monolog

Join us for a performance that will touch your heart and tickle your funny bone. We are delighted to welcome back Mano-a-Monolog, a solo performance by Andrew Periale of the Emmy-nominated Perry Alley Theatre, in its first return to Puppet Showplace since its 2013 premiere! The program consists of 15 original vignettes written in verse and performed in Periale's twinned identities of actor and puppeteer. From the "Disheartened Bonvivant" (in which a young man of privilege finds that he is not really suited for any sort of work) to "My Dear, I Think of You" (wherein a middle-aged British widow at last feels truly alive!), these pieces give voices to characters who are by turns comic, thoughtful, eerie, and poignant. Recommended for ages 13 and up.

About the Performer: Andrew Periale is a puppeteer, playwright, poet and polyglot. He earned a BA in Theater and an MA in German at the University of Maine, where he also created his first full-length puppet show in 1974. Periale and his wife, Bonnie, founded Perry Alley Theatre in 1985. Together, they’ve performed at numerous national and regional festivals, at the Smithsonian Institution, the Center for Puppetry Arts (Atlanta) and the Jim Henson International Festival of Puppetry. Recognition includes the Paul Vincent Davis Award, the George Latshaw Award, 3 Henson Foundation grants, 3 UNIMA-USA Citations, an Emmy nomination, finalists in the International Festival of Film and Television and, in 2016, they were elected Members of Honor of UNIMA International. They have produced the magazine Puppetry International for the past 37 years.