Puppeteer Hobey Ford to visit Edmonds

Edmonds Center for the Arts (ECA) and the Black Box Theatre at Edmonds Community College will co-present a 3-day residency by internationally-renowned puppeteer Hobey Ford from October 9-11, 2014. Mr. Ford’s stay in Edmonds will include three performances of his new play Migration at the Black Box Theatre; two shadow puppetry workshops for students at Maplewood Parent Collective and Mountlake Terrace Elementary; and a free professional development opportunity for local teachers, a workshop called “Telling Folktales with Shadow Puppets.”

Migration is the story of Beatriz, a young girl from Mexico who must find her home in the world as she immigrates with her father to the U.S. She leaves behind her beloved abuelo [grandfather], who gives her a book about animals that must migrate to survive. This book not only gives Beatriz comfort in her struggles, but inspires her to help the monarch butterflies whose migration will take them on the same route as her own — and whose winter forest refuge is in danger from woodcutters in her hometown of Angangueo, Mexico. Migration is recommended for children ages 5-11 and their families.

Hobey Ford will perform Migration at two Education Matinees for school groups and homeschool families on Thursday, October 9. On Saturday, October 11 at 2:00 pm, Migration will serve as the opening performance for ECA’s new Family Series. The mission of the ECA Family Series is to engage children from a young age in diverse and exciting arts experiences. The series continues at ECA with performances by Infinitus (Nov. 8), Kamikaze Fireflies (Mar. 14) and Aaron Nigel Smith (Apr. 25).

Hobey Ford and the Golden Rod Puppets have performed throughout the United States and Canada since 1980. Mr. Ford has received puppetry’s highest honor, the Union Internationale de la Marionette (UNIMA) Citation of Excellence, as well as three Jim Henson Foundation grants. He is currently a Kennedy Center Partner in Education teaching artist.

Tickets to the Family Series performance of Migration are $10, and are available at www.ec4arts.org, in person at the ECA Box Office (410 4th Ave N), or by phone at 425.275.9595. Family Series subscriptions are $32. For more information about Hobey Ford’s residency, including Education Matinee performances, student or teacher workshops, please contact Gillian Jones, Education & Outreach Manager, at gillian@ec4arts.org or 425.275.9483.