News Release

Puppets, actors of ‘Tall Horse’
to address public, drama class

CHAPEL HILL -- The public is invited to a drama class Wednesday (Nov. 2) at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where three cast members of the African theater performance "Tall Horse" will speak and demonstrate two large, colorful puppets from the show.

The performance, whose actors are life-sized or larger puppets as well as people, will be staged at 8 p.m. Saturday (Nov. 5) and 3 p.m. Sunday (Nov. 6) in UNC’s Memorial Hall.

The class will be from 1-2 p.m. Wednesday in the Elizabeth Price Kenan Theatre, inside the Center for Dramatic Art on Country Club Road, near the intersection of Raleigh Road/N.C. 54. Parking is available at meters along the road and in the visitors’ lot on Raleigh Road east of Country Club.

Wednesday’s speakers will be producer Basil Jones and puppet designers Adrian Kohler of South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company and Yaya Coulibaly of Mali’s Sogolon Puppet Troupe. All three play multiple roles in "Tall Horse." The cast members will help one of the students climb inside the 7-foot puppet of the Beautiful Lady of Lyon, elegant in her floor-length royal blue gown and striking with her magnificently long neck and head.

The body section of the life-sized French consul puppet also will be demonstrated, replete in his ruffled yellow shirt and a black and white patterned tail coat lined in red. In the show, another actor "wears" the character’s legs, which at times become separated from his body.

A short audiovisual presentation also is planned, plus discussion of how the production came about and how the puppets were designed to move as they do.

"Tall Horse," playing in only six U.S. venues, puts a contemporary spin on 19^th-century events. It is inspired by the true story of the gift of a giraffe from the Pasha of Egypt to King Charles X of France. Puppets and people turn the tables on historic perspective, telling the tale of the discovery of Europe by Africa.

Perhaps the most striking puppet in "Tall Horse" is the 16-foot giraffe, operated by two actors on stilts inside the wood-framed and silk-covered exterior.

"Tall Horse" is the one of more than 40 performances in Memorial Hall this year, comprising the 2005-2006 Carolina Performing Arts Series. Performers through the end of this year will be Jane Comfort & Company, Nov. 11; the North Carolina Symphony, Nov. 17; the Carolina Ballet and "The Nutcracker," Dec. 2-4; Bonnie Raitt, sold out, Dec. 7; the North Carolina Jazz Repertory Orchestra, Dec. 9 and pianist Emanuel Ax with clarinetist Richard Stoltzman, Dec. 10.

Tickets to Memorial Hall performances are available by phone at (919) 843-3333 or from the hall’s box office on Cameron Avenue, open Mondays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Single ticket prices for "Tall Horse" range from $28 to $50 for the public and are $10 each for Carolina students. Carolina students should call the box office for purchasing information. Series subscriptions also are available.

The box office also will open from 10 a.m. until 30 minutes after the performance begins on Saturday and Sunday. For more information, visit the "Tall Horse" Web site, www.handspringpuppet.co.za/html/tallhorse.html, e-mail performingarts@unc.edu or visit www.unc.edu/performingarts.

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News Services contacts: Print, L.J. Toler, 962-8589; broadcast, Karen Moon, 962-8595