Television Programs
String and Shadow is a theater troupe that creates and performs with giant puppets. The group is led by Emily McHugh and Donald Palardy III, two artists with a flair for whimsy.
"I saw a giant puppet show in 2015 for the first time," McHugh said. "And it felt really accessible... it's silly to say now, but I wasn't ever really much of a performer and was pretty shy. But seeing people performing in masks and in these costumes, seemed really liberating and possible for me."
The puppets, masks, and giant heads you see on stage are made with paper mache, clay, and love. They take anywhere from a few days to weeks.
"Emily's very fast," Palardy said. "She can whip them out. I've seen her sculpt a paper mache puppet in three days."
And while all of these heads and masks are beautiful, there's just one problem. The eye holes are often times exactly that — tiny holes.
"We're like seventy percent blind on stage, which you get used to," McHugh said. "You start to learn physically where you're at."
String and Shadow's July 2022 show, "Far Away and Hard to Find," takes place every weekend in July. No matter what show they do, though, they ensure it appeals to all audiences.
"We try to slip in a lot of things that might go over the kids' heads that the adults will get," McHugh said. "It's supposed to create an intergenerational space that the kids and adults can enjoy together."
String and Shadow perform in both inside and outdoor spaces. During the pandemic, they even performed a drive-in production called the "Paper Moon." No matter where they are, these consummate professionals make an art of whimsy.
"I often describe it as taking something very silly, very seriously," Palardy said.
"My favorite part of String and Shadow is all the work that goes into making a show," Palardy said. "That's just as fun as performing the show — sometimes even funner, because you get to spend hours paper macheing with somebody. So it really builds community, and then performing the show? It's like celebrating all that work that the community's done."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Evening on KING 5 celebrates the Northwest. Watch it LIVE weekdays at 7:30 on KING 5 or streaming on [ Ссылка ]. Find more stories like this on our website: king5.com/evening
🢒 Follow us! 🢐
FACEBOOK 🢒 [ Ссылка ]
TWITTER 🢒 [ Ссылка ]
INSTAGRAM 🢒 [ Ссылка ]
