The “mesmerizing” and “magical” Cashore Marionettes return to the Tryon Fine Arts Center stage on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 8 p.m.
Conceived, built and manipulated by award winning master puppeteer Joseph Cashore, these Marionettes redefine the art of puppetry, providing sophisticated storytelling for mature audiences in a series of vignettes titled “Life in Motion.”
The scenes, accompanied by classical music of Strauss, Copeland, Beethoven, Wagner and others, have very simple and human plots which critics say hold “audiences of all ages  utterly rapt…and so believable that sometimes one simply forgets that the characters…are mere fabrications, stitched and strung together by an artist.”
The eloquent vignettes are described as joyful, funny, sweet, some nostalgic—but others offer profound insights or deep social concern.  Cashore has created life like representations of men and women, young and old, as well as animals such as horses and elephants. Among some of the characters audiences will see are a mother with her baby, a homeless man, a guru, and a horse on holiday.  Some stories are simple and joyful, some heartbreaking or spiritual, but all are certain to entertain and fascinate viewers with artistic and technical triumph.
Cashore Marionettes performed previously in Tryon during the 2008-2009 Season.  Local resident Deborah Fitzgerald said of this performance, “The Cashore Marionettes were truly haunting. Their performance reminded me of the famed puppeteer Basil Twist’s claim that, ‘The crucial point about puppets is that they are real and unreal at the same time’.”
For children under 12 and their families, Cashore Marionettes will perform a shorter presentation, “Simple Gifts”, on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. in the TFAC auditorium.
Tickets are available at a special family price at the door or by calling the box office at 828-859-8322. The event sponsor for both presentations is the Kirby Endowment Fund at the Polk County Community Foundation.
Tryon Fine Arts Center TFAC) is a nonprofit organization that operates and programs a 300 seat performance venue and 150 seat amphitheater for music, opera, theatre, dance and lectures on Melrose Avenue in Tryon, North Carolina.  In addition to presenting programming for a wide variety of audiences, TFAC also makes the arts accessible to local students through education and outreach programs.
Cashore Marionettes “Life in Motion” is part of Tryon Fine Arts Center’s Main Stage season sponsored by Millard & Company.  Tickets are available online at www.tryonarts.org or by calling the box office between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Tuesday – Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
– article submitted
by Marianne Carruth