Two twin brothers from Southern California who grew up admiring Jim Henson’s “The Muppets” are now following in his footsteps as they travel across the country with their handmade puppets.
Swazzle Puppet Theatre will perform their production of “Dream Carver” at The Egg Performing Arts Center on Sunday, Jan. 26, at 3 p.m., as part of the venue’s Family Wonder series. “Dream Carver” is a bilingual musical based on the children’s book of the same name written by Diana Cohn and illustrated by Amy Cordova. The production features a variety of colorful, handcrafted puppets, including large-scale, full-body hand puppets, rod puppets and black-light puppets.
• What: “Dream Carver”
• When: Sunday, Jan. 26, at 3 p.m.
• Where: The Egg Performing Arts Center, Empire State Plaza
• How much: $12
Sean and Patrick Johnson are the co-owners of Swazzle, which is a company specializing in the art of puppet making, along with being accomplished puppeteers. The twin brothers, started making sock puppets at 13 years old. Over time they participated in groups supporting puppetry, traveled to puppet festivals and even worked with Jim Henson himself.
The company has also made custom puppets for some notable performances and television shows, including 20 puppets for the off-Broadway production “The Pee Wee Herman Show” and a special episode of “The Simpsons” featuring Katy Perry. Sean Johnson also said they did a pilot for a “major cable network,” but he could not reveal any more details yet.
“The company started doing smaller productions in Southern California and would do free shows in the summer at local libraries,” Sean said.
One library would have a different theme annually for its summer performances, which spurred creating the adaptation of “Dream Carver” first on a smaller scale and now as a traveling production.
“We have worked with the publisher, author and illustrator to bring the visions to the stage,” Johnson said. “It is exciting because the author and illustrator have seen the show, and they are very supportive.”
The story follows Mateo, a young boy from Oaxaca, Mexico, whose father taught him to carve small wooden toys in the traditional way, but he dreams one night of breaking tradition. The puppets follow Mateo as he dreams about fantastical, brightly colored animals that dance and sing. After awaking from his dream, Mateo is inspired to bring the animals he dreamed about to life.
The puppets use foam, fur, fleece and other fabrics to bring characters to life. Making some of the larger puppets in the production takes four people around three weeks to complete.
“I think the puppets make this show unique, and it allows us to do things we could not do with live actors,” he said. “It makes the whole experience a lot of fun for kids and families in the audience.”
Audience members will watch the story unfold across a multilevel environment representing a pastoral Mexican landscape, which brings the book’s illustrations to life.
“It is a very unique theatrical experience for the entire family,” Johnson said. “Especially for young audience members … it shows about creativity, tradition, sticking it out on your own, doing your own things and using your thoughts and imagination to bring your vision to life. For us, that is a personal message of what we do on a daily basis.”
Peter Lesser, executive director of The Egg, said the “Family Wonder” series is “performing arts for families” and aims to bring families together for an affordable night of entertainment. Lesser said to help families attend series performances, every adult accompanying a child pays no admission.
The offer is limited to one adult per child and is made possible through support from Price Chopper Supermarkets, Stewart’s Shops and CDPHP. Tickets may be purchased in person at The Egg Box Office at the Empire State Plaza in Albany, online at www.theegg.org or by calling at the box office at 473-1845.