Evolution: A Tale of Friendship
Created and Performed by Evolve Puppets (Tanya Khordoc & Barry Weil)
An amoeba splits in two. The two new friends go through the evolutionary process together, sharing adventures as fish, dinosaurs, monkeys and more. Along the way, their friendship evolves as well, from confusion, to conflict, to cooperation, and finally to the comfort you can only find with an old, trusted friend.
EVOLVE PUPPETS (TANYA KHORDOC & BARRY WEIL) have been creating innovative puppet theatre in NYC for more than two decades. In 2019, they presented their show HOME (a Jim Henson Foundation Grant recipient) at the Tank NYC. Recently, they created a series of puppet films, including LIGHT AS PAPER (for the Object Movement Festival) and ONCE UPON A PLASTIC FOREST (for La MaMa Kids Online). Evolve created the world premiere production of former Czech President Vàclav Havel’s play MOTORMORPHOSIS for UTC61’s Havel Festival. They’ve created puppets for Dell’Arte Opera Ensemble’s PRINCESS MALEINE at La MaMa; crafted live-video-projected models for UTC61’s adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut Jr.’s CAT’S CRADLE; and designed the puppetry for Theater East’s DEVIL AND THE DEEP, a musical co-written by Graham Russell of Air Supply. Evolve has also performed many original works (written, designed and directed by Tanya & Barry) at venues that include La MaMa, HERE Arts Center, St. Ann’s Warehouse, The Brick, Dixon Place, and two Puppeteers of America National Festivals. They are currently developing their fourth full-length puppet play, THEY WERE CALLED TREES.
La MaMa Kids Program (2021-2022) is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, with additional support from The William C. Bullitt Foundation, Con Edison, Howard Gilman Foundation, The Jim Henson Foundation, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and The SQA Foundation.
La MaMa Kids
La MaMa Kids Online presents kids performances and hands-on workshops online, timed especially for “after school” viewing! La MaMa will continue to use emerging technologies to create a new venue for artistic expression that questions how art can function and how we as a society can survive challenging periods of history.