How to go
What: Cashore Marionettes “Simple Gifts”
Where: Turner Studio Theatre, Clark State Performing Arts Center, 300 S. Fountain Ave., Springfield
When: 3 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27
Admission: $20 adults, $10 youths
More info: Call 937-328-3874 or go online to http://pac.clarkstate.edu/events/calendar/cashore-marionettes-simple-gifts.
Don’t think of Joseph Cashore as a puppet master or think of his marionettes as mere puppets.
While his show “Cashore Marionettes — Simple Gifts” replaces a live cast with inanimate ones, the response from the audience is often just the same if not more.
“An audience is more willing to feel with a character,” said Cashore. “They are often surprised by their reaction.”
“Simple Gifts” will present 14 short pieces similar to a concert when it comes to the Clark State Performing Arts Center’s Turner Studio Theatre on Sunday afternoon.
One of the stops of a national fall tour for “Simple Gifts,” the show is part of the Clark State Performing Arts Center’s 2015-16 season.
The show is appropriate for all audiences, but it will present mature themes and is not aimed at children. Mature children may be interested, but younger children may not.
A marionette is a puppet controlled by strings. Cashore said that he has worked to make each of his marionettes original and meant to invoke a reaction in audiences
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“Simple Gifts” includes pieces from Beethoven, Vivaldi, Strauss and others.
A fan of marionettes since age 5, Cashore was struck by how his interest stayed with him over the years. “It took over my life,” he said. “I thought I’d be an artist. I found out I still use all those skills.”
He uses his painting and sculpting skills in creating his marionette cast, who have almost become like family as he’s been doing shows full-time for 25 years now, assisted by his wife on lights and sound.
It’s that intimate feeling Cashore said he wants to carry over into performances.
For more information on Cashore and his marionettes, go to www.cashoremarionettes.com.
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