Ruckus August 11, 2023

‘Dreamy and mythological’

RACHEL HERGETT

For the Chronicle

Puppetry comes in many forms. String and Shadow Puppet eater’s puppets are big — often larger than life cardboardbased creations that are more Chinese New Year dragon than hand puppets like those in “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” or marionettes on strings like “ e Lonely Goatherd” in “ e Sound of Music.”

“Personally, I love the big visual element,” said company co-founder and director Emily McHugh. “ ey’re really colorful. ey’re fun to watch. ey really return you to a childlike state.”

String and Shadow, based

out of Olympia, Washington, is on the road this month, testing the logistics of touring a large summer show.

“We’re just trying to nd out if it’s possible, and if it’s possible, is it something we want to be doing,” McHugh said. e troupe’s 35-foot 1997 International school bus was in need of some repairs when McHugh caught up with the Chronicle on Monday. It was moving, she said, but not well. It was a low moment on an otherwise promising tour that has taken them down the coast to Oregon and California. When the bus is back to form, String and Shadow is heading inland for stops in Utah and Montana.

In Bozeman, Random Acts

of Silliness presents String and Shadow Puppet eater’s “Ship of Fools: A Giant Puppet Odyssey” on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 11 and 12, on the Emerson lawn at 6:30 p.m. Performances are free, but donations are appreciated. In inclement weather, the show will take place in the Emerson Ballroom.

“We are passionate about providing whimsical, magical art experiences for people of all ages in our community,” Danielle omsen, Random Acts of Silliness’ “Executive Enchantment O cer,” stated

via text. “So we are over to the moon to be able to bring the phenomenal theatrical experience that is a String and Shadow show to Bozeman.

“Also, their work is so cool,” she continued.

“Ship of Fools” is heavy on musical and visual performance aspects. It is the rst String and Shadow show to not rely on dialogue to tell the story. “In it, three mimes set sail from the Port of Styx across the mythical boundary waters connecting the world of the living to the underworld,” according to the company’s website.

“We really write these shows thinking of an all-ages audience and wanting to have

material that an adult is going to draw things from as much as a child is going to,” McHugh said. Along the way, the mimes meet a giant whale, a personi ed eye of the storm, mischievous water spirits and more. McHugh describes the show as “dreamy and mythological.”

“It’s dealing with them passing out of this world in some way and into this mythological world that we’ve taken a lot of liberties trying to invent and explore,” she said.

e love of a good story comes naturally to McHugh, who describes her father as a performative storyteller… and a writer, radio producer and philosopher.

PROVIDED

PHOTO BY JO ARLOW String and Shadow Puppet Theater debuts “Ship of Fools: A Giant Puppet Odyssey” in Olympia, Washington. The troupe will perform their 2023 show in Bozeman on Aug. 11 and 12.

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45 Big bird

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48 Animated anvil supplier

49 Cartoonist Browne

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52 Devious

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3 Like a 911 call: Abbr.

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38 Tex-Mex snack

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Note: This interview took place before the SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike.

Q: Have you liked being in Nova Scotia making “Moonshine” the past several years?

A: The show is very loved there, and we ended up getting a place there, a little lake house. We want to go back every year and let our kids have these ideal summers, running around barefoot in the grass and swimming in the lake. It has a really wholesome feel that really resonates with us, and it’s great to spend real time there.

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A: He’s one of the kindest, most generous people on the planet … and if he’s going to do something with me (professionally), I want our characters to be completely at odds with each other. Frankly, there’s nothing more fun than when you’ve been in a long-term relationship with someone and you know them inside and out – and you don’t fight with them much — to go at it with them on camera. I can’t even tell you how cathartic it is.

We see each other all the time, and part of a happy relationship is a healthy boundary. Many people have said to us over the years, “Why don’t you guys do a show together?” Well, it’s because I want us to stay married! One of the reasons The CW wanted this show is that Jonny is such a recognizable American actor, and I think that’s a nice advantage.

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All-stars in Flavortown: ‘GGG’ returns with biggest names in culinary

Guy Fieri wines, dines and runs the aisles with the best of the best when the five-week, five-episode tournament “Guy’s Grocery Games: All-Star Invitational” begins Wednesday, Aug. 16, on Food Network.

This time, the “GGG” competition we all know and love will feature only the biggest names in the culinary industry, as renowned celebrity chefs Karen Akunowicz, Nate Appleman, Jose Garces, Ilan Hall, Stephanie Izard, Mei Lin, Shota Nakajima and Jonathon Sawyer each take to the kitchen in order to compete for the winning “GGG” trophy and the $75,000 cash grand prize.

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“Ultimately,” the network explains, “the food does the talking, as a rotating panel of judges determines who checks out of the competition.”

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RACE

“I grew up with a lot of stories being told,” McHugh said. “I think I learned a lot about what makes a good story from him.

I do draw a lot from mythology and folk tales, not particularly West Virginian or American folk tales. But a love of stories and story structure — he gave me that.”

In 2015, McHugh had just graduated from Evergreen State College in Olympia with a degree in journalism. Despite the way charted by her parents (her mother is a painter), McHugh wasn’t pursuing the artistic path. A performance by Paperhand Puppet Intervention in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, changed that.

“I was really blown away by their performance and got very very inspired about it,” McHugh said.

The following year, she returned to North Carolina for Paperhand’s apprentice program, learning the basic framework for puppet building that would allow her to further explore her own style. She came back for another season in 2019, “I pretty much knew from when I first saw the show and got excited about it that I wanted to do it myself,” McHugh said. “It was wonderful working with them but I wanted to try to do stories that I was interested in, to do more writing.”

McHugh founded String and Shadow in late 2019 with Donald Palardy, and the company has been in flux since as they navigated the pandemic and how to connect with audiences in the aftermath of lockdowns.

In April, McHugh and Palardy gathered the troupe to start what McHugh called “the devising process.” Starting with a basic outline, the three mimes, three musicians and six puppeteers explored themes of love, loss, friendship and acceptance through dance and choreography.

“These early rehearsals, before we had a lot of the puppets and props, we were figuring out the movement of the water or how the three central characters

are going to be relating to the puppets,” McHugh said. The troupe would go back and forth between making and rehearsing, testing the visual

impact as well as the most expressive way for something to move or to advance the story. McHugh describes the tour thus far as “magical,” with enthusiastic audiences at every stop.

“That has been encouraging and exciting,” McHugh said. “It feels like we’re starting to build a framework for it to be more of a touring company.

Shadow, she keeps coming back to the collaborative aspects.

If you go

...

random acts of silliness presents string and shadow Puppet theater’s“ship of Fools: a giant Puppet Odyssey”on Friday and saturday, aug. 11 and 12, on the Emerson lawn at 6:30 p.m. Performances are free, but donations are appreciated. in inclement weather, the show will take place in the Emerson Ballroom. For more information, visit www. stringandshadow.com or randomactsofsilliness.com.

When McHugh talks about puppeteering, and the shows created by String and

“One thing I really loved when I first saw a Paperhand show was that when they all came out in their puppeteer black clothing at the end and took a bow I was like ‘I have no idea who is responsible for anything’,” McHugh said. There was no extra curtain call for the lead actors, no divas to appease.

“It feels so community oriented,” she said.

PrOVidEd PHOtOs By JO arLOW string and shadow Puppet theater debuts “ship of Fools: a giant Puppet Odyssey” in Olympia, Washington.

Solution on page 12

sportsquiz

Questions:

BY ROBERTO JOZEF playerprofile

Braves star Acuña Jr. shines bright this season

BY ALEX HENDRY

UEFA Super Cup

Answers:

1) The 2023 UEFA Super Cup featuring Manchester City vs. Sevilla is to be held at Karaiskakis Stadium — name the host country.

2) The UEFA Super Cup was founded in 1973 as a contest between the winners of the European Cup and UEFA Cup Winner’s Cup — which team won the inaugural event?

3) In what year did the UEFA Super Cup move from a twomatch event to a one-off championship game?

4) Scoring just 50 seconds into the 2018 UEFA Super Cup, which Brazilian striker holds the record for fastest goal?

5) Two nations can boast of having five different UEFA Super Cup winning teams: Spain, and which other European nation?

6) Who is the only player to have been named Man of the Match in two separate UEFA Super Cups?

7) Three teams share a record of five UEFA Super Cup titles. FC Barcelona and Real Madrid are two — name the third five-time champion.

7) AC Milan (1989, 1990 and 1994)

6) Lionel Messi (2009 and 2015)

5) England (9) and Spain (16)

4) Diego Costa

3) 1998

2) AFC Ajax (Netherlands) won 6-1.

1) Greece (Piraeus)

Showing no signs of slowing down, Ronald Acuña Jr. has certainly kept his name in the running for the 2023 National League’s Most Valuable Player race all season long. His quest for an all-time MLB season continues when the red-hot Atlanta Braves roll out the welcome mat for the New York Yankees, with the first of their three-game series airing Monday, Aug. 14, on YES Network.

Born in La Guaira, Venezuela, Acuña Jr. came to the Braves as a highly regarded prospect — not only within the Braves organization but throughout the league. Expectations were high ahead of the young outfielder’s pro debut in 2015 as a 17-yearold, and after rising through four minor-league levels before making his MLB debut in 2018, the top prospect quickly showed fans (and opponents) that he had the makings of a generational superstar.

In his first official MLB season, Acuña Jr. finished with a batting average of .293 with 127 hits. If that wasn’t impressive enough, Acuña Jr. added 64 RBIs and 26 home runs on his way to earning the 2018 NL Rookie of the Year award.

Now at the age of 25, the Venezuelan is already a three-time all-star, and he was the first player in MLB history to have posted 20 home runs, 40 stolen bases and 50 RBIs heading into the All-Star break. Since then, Acuña Jr. has maintained an elite batting average hovering around the .330 mark and reigns as the National League’s stolen-base leader, proving that no matter what he does at the plate, he is consistently a threat.

Facing the New York Yankees at Truist Park in Atlanta, look for Acuña Jr. and the Braves to come out swinging against an opposing team that has been slowed by injuries this season.

FACTS:

Full name: Ronald Acuña Jr

Birthdate: Dec. 18, 1997 (25)

Birthplace: La Guaira, Venezuela

Height/weight: 6-0/205 pounds

Teams: Atlanta Braves (2018-present)

Position: Outfielder

Bats/Throws: Right/Right

No: 13

Honors and achievements: Four-time All-Star (2019, 20212023), two-time All-MLB Second Team (2019, 2020), two-time recipient of the Silver Slugger Award (2019, 2020), NL Rookie of the Year (2018)