PORT LUDLOW — Through a raggedy man, a schoolgirl and their small family, Joe Cashore speaks in two kinds of eloquence:
Body language and music.
Set to the work of Vivaldi, Bach, Strauss and Copland, the Cashore Marionettes star in a show about everyday life, with all of its struggles and comedy, and they’re coming to the Olympic Peninsula this week for the first time.
Nationally known puppets
Cashore and his wife of 30 years, Wilma, will bring their nationally known puppets to Port Ludlow’s Bay Club, 120 Spinnaker Place, at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Tickets to the show, titled “Life in Motion” and presented by the Port Ludlow Arts Council, are $24 at the Bay Club and at www.PortLudlowArtsCouncil.com.
“Life,” Cashore said, unfolds in a series of vignettes, each of which expresses a theme.
“There’s a tender piece with a mother and baby,” he began. “There’s a more serious piece with a homeless man; the theme there is compassion.
“There’s a piece that’s kind of humorous, about distraction: A little girl is supposed to be doing her homework, and we see what is really happening there.”
Most of each story is told through movement, Cashore said, adding that while their facial expressions never change, the marionettes make it clear what the characters are thinking.
Cashore, who has a Citation of Excellence from the Union International de la Marionette — the highest honor a U.S. puppeteer can receive — has been making marionettes since he was 11 years old. That was 50 years ago; he’s been building and touring with his troupe of puppets full time for the past 23 years.
Yet “it’s new every time” the characters take the stage, said Cashore, who now lives near Valley Forge, Pa.
“You get feedback from the audience, so it feels different every time,” he said.
“It’s always fresh for me. I put myself in the character and experience the thing that’s going on.
“I try to find music that expresses the theme and emotion, and that has enough changes so I can choreograph and have the character move with the music.”
With this show, Cashore said, he wants simply to offer a picture of life’s richness.
“I hope people experience a moment of sensitivity, a moment of humor . . . And there’s a surprise. They’re going to see something they’re not expecting.”
The Cashore Marionettes’ show Thursday is for adults and for children 8 and older, the puppeteer added.
The Bay Club’s doors will open at 6 p.m., so patrons can see the Port Ludlow Arts Council’s display of fine art photography by Winifred Whitfield.
There’s also the option of the $15 “Performing Arts Supper” at The Inn at Port Ludlow’s Fireside restaurant. Beginning at 4 p.m., beef bourguignon and other dishes will be served.
More details about the show and the supper are at 360-437-2208.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-417-3550 or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.
