Get ready to see this week's upcoming show "Robin Hood," performed by the Puppet Showplace Artist in Residence, Brad Shur! This imaginative re-telling gives thematic story elements an updated twist told against the classic backdrop of late 18th century England. The performance also features an original score by composer Paul Watkins, Puppet Showplace's very own Box Office Manager.

Robin Hood
by Brad Shur, Resident Artist
Saturday & Sunday, Sept 26 & 27 at 1 & 3pm

Brad Shur is a versatile puppeteer who has created and performed characters made of everything from pixels to papier mache. As the Resident Artist at Puppet Showplace Theater he performs regularly and teaches puppet classes to students of all ages, Pre-K to adult. As protege of master puppeteer Paul Vincent Davis, Shur trained extensively in glove puppetry and currently performs two of Davis' classic shows at venues across New England. "Robin Hood" was Shur's first original glove puppet show. Shur's other original works include "The Carrot Salesman," "Dr. Doohickey and the Monster Machine," "Tall Tales! Stories and Songs from Old New England," and "The Magic Soup and Other Stories," featured at the Puppeteers of America National Festival 2013. Prior to becoming the Resident Artist at Puppet Showplace, Shur toured the country as a performer with Big Nazo (Rhode Island), Wodd and strings Theatre (Tennessee) and The PuppTree (Vermont). As a builder Shur has designed and fabricated puppets for American Idol, Dollywood, Avenue Q, and the U.S.S. Constitution Museum. He is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design.

Paul Watkins is a composer and trombonist from San Jose, CA. He holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in music and psychology from the University of California, Davis, and is graduate of the Longy School of Music in Cambridge, MA with a  Master of Music degree . His music has been performed by Fifth House Ensemble, Freya String Quartet, Meridian Arts Ensemble, flutist Erinn Frechette, pianist Adam Marks, mezzo-soprano Jen Beattie, and the UC Davis Summer Symphony, among others.

At UC Davis, he was the recipient of the President’s Undergraduate Fellowship, the Outstanding Senior Award, and the Olga Brose Valente Memorial Prize for excellence in Music Composition (twice). His primary composition teachers include Kurt Rohde, Ross Bauer, Laurie San Martin, John Morrison, and Paul Brust. In his music, he has taken interest in exploring dense counterpoint, non-linear structures, visual and theatrical elements, improvisation, and forced audience participation.