The Brigham City Fine Arts Center is a wonderland of creativity, as artists and performers interact and perform in a caring, no judgment environment. Posters and displays project the passion and dedication of their workers and volunteers to those who meet in the facility.
According to founder Susan Neidert, “The Fine Arts Center’s goals include teaching arts skills; inspire creativity; support local artists, and providing youth and their families an environment where they can ‘feel a part of something worthwhile.” The Center strongly believes art can help build respect for self and community, collectively making our community a better place in which to live. Initiated in 1999, various classes and programs are attended by 8,000 to 10,000 yearly.
Business is conducted on the center’s main level. Offices and meeting areas house a litany of classes and workshops to be used by their participants. Art projects and classes for all ages are conducted in the center’s huge common area.
Upstairs inside the Fine Arts Center is a small, charming, intimate theater. Entry to the theater goes through a lobby, known as “The Tower,”- its walls leading into the theater tastefully acknowledge the support of local donors. Surrounding the slightly elevated stage on three sides,seating in the theater easily holds groups of 100 and more, depending on how much space is needed for each performance. Additional seats can be added, depending upon the crowd size that is expected. The theater’s baby grand piano, often used in musicals and other performances, is available for the many recitals and instrumental performances that are held throughout the year.
Props, backgrounds and other items necessary for performances are arranged in storage facilities throughout the facility, safely stored until they are needed for their next performance.
An exciting time is coming soon to the Fine Arts Center. After years of discussion and negotiation, the non-profit organization has acquired the old structure located just south of the center. “The Tithing Office,” as it has historically been known, the site will eventually house an even larger theater, when the new building is erected there. The new facility will allow even more opportunities for the community, by creating new programs which will involve more participants.
Though recognized for the wide variety of fine arts projects housed in its building, The Fine Arts Center may be even more widely known for its huge display of puppetry on permanent display in its World of Puppetry Museum.
Since 2000, The Puppetry Museum has been a fun “hands on” place for “kids” of all ages to learn about world culture and enjoy puppets. The Center has a large variety of puppets, old and new, domestic and foreign- everything from hand and sock puppets to marionettes is displayed in attractive settings. Their puppets come from all over the world, from Indonesia, Burma, Africa, India, Czechoslovakia, Nepal and even a Chinese silk hand puppet. You will see authentic Indonesian shadow and rod puppets…hand carved log masks from Africa… marionettes from Burma and India…”Sound of Music” special displays, and much, much more, joining the familiar images of famous modern-day puppets Kermit the Frog and Lamb Chop in the museum.
Come join in the fun at Brigham City Fine Arts Museum. All are welcome to enjoy. Your support is essential to continue this opportunity and movement. Donate, Volunteer, or Get involved!
Want to learn more about puppets and puppet resources? We are proud members of Puppeteers of America. See their site online at www.puppeteers.org=
Enter the Fascinating “World of Puppetry Museum” in Brigham City
Puppetry is a very ancient form of theater, involving a story-driven performance as puppets are manipulated. These inanimate objects, often resembling a human or animal figure, are animated by a human puppeteer. Puppets are great storytellers, often stating or clarifying truths to their audiences.
Puppetry was first recorded in the 5th century BC in ancient Greece, but some forms of puppetry may have originated as long ago as 3000 BC. It is believed that puppetry preceded performing theater in ancient China- it is known to have been practiced in many ancient cultures throughout the world. Different types of puppetry were practiced in ancient Egypt, Africa, India, Afghanistan, Australia, China, Japan, and throughout Southeast Asia in Japan, China, Korea Thanks to the conquering Monguls, the art form spread into Turkey and central Asia.
Europe enjoys a rich tradition of puppetry- with Italy, Great Britain, Germany, Austria and Eastern Europe each cultivating their own unique techniques and traditions. Aristotle and Plato’s writing from ancient Greece refer to the use of puppetry; in fact, anciently The Illiad and The Odyssey were performed in Greece’s puppet theaters. Italy is considered to be the birthplace of marionettes whose performances are rooted in ancient Roman culture, and whose performances even included puppetry opera. Figurines used in funerary rites, with movable arms and legs, dating to 600 AD, have been found in Central America. In 1519, two puppeteers even accompanied Hernando Cortez on his first journey to Mexico. Many Native American cultures included puppets in their ceremonies.
Numerous human societies embraced puppetry as a form of entertainment, as sacred objects in rituals or as symbolic effigies in celebrations such as carnivals. Puppet performances often became catalysts for social and psychological change, since puppets’ voices could be used to voice ideas that were deemed as too dangerous or controversial to be addressed by humans, and “who could be held responsible for inanimates’ thoughts and actions?”
There are many types of puppets. Finger puppets are the simplest puppets, fitting onto a single finger. Sock puppets are formed from a sock, usually adorned with eyes, ears and mouth, with the puppeteer’s finger movements mimicking the opening and closing of the puppet’s “mouths.” Rod puppets’ heads attach to a central rod, with arms and legs attached and controlled by separate rods. Marionettes, whose movements are controlled by a number of strings, suspended from a control held from above, sometimes also have a central rod attached to their controls to allow more animation .
Many puppets have flourished in the modern-day entertainment world, as television and movie performances made stars of a variety of puppets for many years. During the 1950s, ventriloquist Edgar Burgeny hosted The Howdy Doody Show. 1960s Saturday morning’s programming featured ventriloquist Shari Lewis, her adorable hand puppets, Lamb Chop, Hush Puppy and. During the 1960s and 70s, Sid and Marty Krofft hosted HR Puffenstuff and Lidsville live on network television.
Then suddenly, puppetry exploded to the next level, when during the 1960s, Jim Henson created puppets made of soft, foam-rubber and cloth, which became known collectively as Muppets. Initially appearing in Sesame Street, PBS’s children’s television show, the Muppets became international stars in their own right, later starring in television’s The Muppet Show and many subsequent films and videos. Culture would never again be the same without the appearance of Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Rowlf, The Swedish Chef, Beaker and its troupe of zany performers.
So, if you’re interested in enrolling adults or children in a safe, positive environment, volunteering in a productive, positive experience, or looking to attend an upcoming performance or activity, check us out at www.bcfineartscenter.org, or come in and visit us anytime- you’re always welcome.
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