Friends of SFBAPG-

Last month, after many years of using puppetry in the
experimental-theatre world, we had our first performance for a
card-carrying puppetry audience at the SFBAPG meeting: our short
piece FREEWAY. Terrifying and immensely encouraging. Not easy, at
age 66 & 68, to plunge headfirst into a field where people have been
doing it, headlights bright, all their lives. But so be it, that's
us. I think we can make a significant contribution.

Now we're twelve days away from a new birth: the first
public showing of our Mythic Kitchen ensemble: a full-length piece,
DESCENT OF THE GODDESS INANNA, playing in Sebastopol May 9-10, 16-17,
23-24. Seven puppeteers, one barefaced woman, 17 two-thirds-lifesize
puppets, rear-projection video, original music score - all in service
of an unforgettable mythic vision of growth, eros, head-on crash and
resurrection. We feel it speaks to our times.

Based on a 5,000-year-old Sumerian myth from the land that is
now Iraq: the Goddess of Heaven and Earth descends to visit her
sister, Queen of the Underworld, while a present-day woman finds
herself in nightmare. In these twin journeys, the mundane and the
mythic merge in a struggle toward resurrection. The theme is the
destruction and rebirth of the Divine Feminine, its impact on our
inner quest as well as its implications for global survival. Heavy
stuff, yet we hope also hugely theatrical & unforgettable.

Shows are May 9-10 at Odd Fellows Hall, 195 N. Main St, in
Sebastopol, and May 16-17 and 23-24 at Sebastopol Masonic Center. 373
N Main St., all at 8 p.m. Tickets are $18 general, $15 for students
and seniors. We also extend this discount to all SFBAPG members and
their guests. Reservations are urged: email
www.brownpapertickets.com.

Yes, it sorta fits into the "experimental" pigeonhole, but
for us the story is the center of it all, and the basic craft of
bringing these creatures vividly to life. So we very much hope to
have a significant bunch of puppeteers present at the birth.

Peace & joy-
Conrad Bishop & Elizabeth Fuller
The Independent Eye