When Turnips Bleed: Blood from a Turnip and Puppets in Providence RI

If the last time you saw a puppet show was in third grade, you've been missing out on a fabulous genre of artistic expression that is alive and well right here in Providence. Perishable Theatre's Blood From A Turnip (BFAT) is Rhode Island's only late-night puppet salon. And, let me tell you, these coke-snorting, tequila-swilling puppets are not safe for children.

At the September performance, Lindsay Lohan snorted cocaine with curly-locked Fat Nancy while Captain Josh Groban made out with Crisco, a striped sock puppet with a shock of hot pink hair. Co-curator Evan O'Television argued with himself on stage, the band Computer Wheels provided musical interludes, and the lovely BettieSioux Tailor rounded out the evening with a burlesque puppet performance capable of raising the dead... and the audience's blood pressure.

While the performers vary each show, the formula is essentially the same: The tickets for the small space cost $5 each, the co-curators warm up the crowd while the performers get ready, and each skit lasts ten minutes or under, with a live band playing between sets. Beyond that, anything goes, and you never know what you'll see on stage.

Lead curator, Vanessa Gilbert, started BFAT in 1997 "as a way to get people to come see four or five short puppet shows and be able to see who else is making short-form puppetry." BFAT is now in its eleventh season.

"Downtown Providence is the Mecca for people from all over New England who are incredibly talented," says Evan O'Television, BFAT co-curator. "You get an incredible variety of people traveling from all around to put on these shows which might not have the fanfare but are always a delight."

"College students have really lost touch with puppets," says Gilbert. "[But] we know they are all playing puppets by themselves, so they might as well come and see other people do it."

You might even decide to audition for the show, like Nicole Maynard, recent RIC graduate and co-found of Fat Nancy and Crisco. Maynard had been to a few BFAT performances before trying her hands (literally) at puppetry. "You can have fun with the audience," says Maynard. She encourages college students to check out the show: "You are guaranteed that you are going to see something that you like."

"[Blood From A Turnip is] a great way to turn your brain on its side, a great way to stop thinking in a linear way," says Gilbert. "Come down and shake things up, see something you would have never thought of in a million years." Like you needed a better excuse to procrastinate.

Held every other month, the show starts at 10 PM at 95 Empire Street. This month's show is Friday, November 17. Come early to guarantee yourself a seat. Leave your disbelief at the door, pay no attention to the man (or woman) behind the curtain, and let yourself be a kid again. Feel free to snicker.

Blood From A Turnip

3^rd Friday, bimonthly

November 1^7th

10 PM

Perishable Theatre

95 Empire Street

331.2696

www.perishable.org