The Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry will present Calle Allende, a new production created and directed by UConn Puppet Arts alumna Anatar Marmol-Gagné ‘17, featuring UConn School of Fine Arts students Katayoun Amir-Aslani ’18, Darren Lee Brown ’17 and Noel Williams ‘19, on Saturday, September 23 at 8:00 p.m. in the Ballard Institute Theater located at 1 Royce Circle in Storrs Center.
Calle Allende brings to life the struggle of famed Mexican artist Frida Kahlo to reconcile her broken self and dying inspiration. At her expansive Casa Azul on Calle Allende in the Mexico City neighborhood of Coyoacan, Kahlo’s pain has clouded her, but in a moment of clarity inspired by an entry in her diary, she realizes that without her imagination, she will lose her lifeline. “I am not sick,” she writes, “I am broken. But I am happy to be alive as long as I can paint.”. Calle Allende runs approximately 30 minutes and is recommended for mature audiences (ages 16+).
Anatar Marmol-Gagné, originally from Caracas, Venezuela, holds a Master of Fine Arts in Puppet Arts from the University of Connecticut and has as a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Creative Writing from Hunter College. Her strong interests and experience in art, dance, writing, fiber and fabrication all come together seamlessly with her love for puppetry. As a puppeteer, Anatar has trained at the National Puppetry Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, taught children’s puppet workshops, performed in puppet slams and festivals, and founded and curates the Pinned & Sewtured Puppet Slam in New Haven, Connecticut.
Tickets are $7 and are available at the door on the night of the show only. No presale tickets will be available.
There will be open seating and no reservations. Visitors can park in the Storrs Center Garage located at 33 Royce Circle. Parking in the Storrs Center Garage is free for the first two hours and $1 per hour thereafter, with a daily maximum charge of $8. For more information about this performance, call 860-486-8580.