The Shaking Ray Levi Society is hosting Milissa Orzolek for a free puppet and shadow show on Sunday evening, Aug. 6, at Wayne-O-Rama on Rossville Avenue.
Orzolek is teaching artist, storyteller and puppeteer owner of Abandoned Ships. She fell into the world of puppetry in 2010 as a puppeteer with a production of "Fantastic Mr. Fox" in New Orleans. Since then, she has puppeteered in the New Orleans Fringe Festival, the New Orleans Giant Puppet Festival, Potpourri at the National Puppetry Festival and Puppet Slamwich in Baltimore.
In 2016, Abandoned Ships received a Jim Henson Foundation Family Grant for the original production "What Keeps Us." Orzolek worked with Wayne White (the Emmy-winning artist behind Wayne-O-Rama) during his UNScene residency in Shreveport, La., in 2014. She co-puppeteered a giant version of Bonnie Parker for White's culminating project: a giant puppet parade featuring prominent local musical and historical figures.
Two pieces will be performed at Wayne-O-Rama: "The Egg" and "What's Next?"
"The Egg" is a short, funny shadow show inspired by the works of Richard Bradshaw. "What's Next?" is about a puppet who values the building blocks of society and becomes distraught when the blocks are stolen and no one else seems to care. The show combines rod and string marionettes and paper puppets in a large, toy-theatre-style stage to explore ideas of apathy, collective action and social responsibility.
Although the show is free, there is limited seating, which is first-come, first-served. Children are welcome to bring a floor mat for seating.
If you go
› What: Milissa Orzolek puppet show› Where: Wayne-O-Rama, 1800 Rossville Ave., suite 108› When: 6 p.m. doors open, 6:30 p.m. show Sunday, Aug. 6› Admission: Free› For more information: www.wayneorama.com