About Figures of Speech

John and Carol Farrell founded Figures of Speech Theatre in 1982 to explore the interplay of puppets, actors, shadows, music, movement, and masks. Believing that audiences experience art most vitally when they are called upon to engage their imaginations fully, the company produces visual theater that emphasizes myth, metaphor and transformation. Figures of Speech Theatre is devoted to exploring personal, social, and spiritual issues with work that quietly but emphatically illuminates our relationship to the earth, the inherent value of all cultures, and the balance between individual vision and community obligation. The company has toured all over the world - from Sofia, Bulgaria to Tokyo, Japan, to Lima, Peru. Besides performing at venues such as the Kennedy Center, the Smithsonian Institution, and the New Victory Theatre on Broadway, the company retains a strong commitment to teaching and performing in rural schools and theater venues throughout its home state of Maine. Figures of Speech Theatre is a four-time recipient of the coveted UNIMA Citation of Excellence, the highest distinction in American puppet theatre, as well as numerous grant awards from organizations including the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation, the Jim Henson Foundation, and the New England Foundation for the Arts. In 1999 Co-Directors John and Carol Farrell were awarded a six-month Fellowship from the Japan-US Friendship Commission’s Creative Artists program to live and study in Japan.

Upcoming events at Figures of Speech

• Nightingale

  Nov 02, Atlanta Center for Puppetry Arts
  
  
  
  Photo courtesy of Figures of Speech Theatre
  
  By Figures of Speech Theatre of Freeport, ME
  2010-11 Family Series
  
  “…a beautiful dream with glorious music” ~ UNIMA-USA
  
  This lush production brings to life Hans Christian Andersen’s classic tale of an Emperor who forsakes his beloved nightingale for a jeweled mechanical bird - only to find himself alone and dying when the machine breaks down due to overuse. Can the real nightingale return in time to bargain with Death and save the Emperor?
  More information about Nightingale ⇾

More Information

• Figures of Speech
• 77 Durham Road Freeport ME 04032
• 207-865-6355
• http://www.figures.org
• For more information contact John Farrell