Spring Break
Theater troupe bring politics and circus to drexel
Janhavi Purohit
Issue date: 4/25/08 Section: News
The Bread-and-Puppet Theater company performed at Drexel University April 19, bringing both circus and political flair to the stage.
The company performed a variety of skits for a varied audience and invited Drexel students to aid and participate in the performance.
Freshman Alex Corvo, a music industry major, volunteered to participate in the performance and provided musical accompaniment.
Corvo, who plays the trumpet, said he saw a notification on DrexelOne for musicians to play in the circus band and signed up for music.
According to Corvo, working with the theater company was an enjoyable and unique experience.
"They're very nice people, very, very fun, and it was a good time," Corvo said.
Corvo added that the troupe was effective in spreading a politically-charged message.
"Everything had political undertones," Corvo said. "There was a skit about conserving water, and drinking from the tap, and then there was one about how many people have died in Iraq, and there was one about the government in general."
Corvo also added that though the troupe seemed to be more liberal, they "smashed both parties."
"I mean, one of the skits was about how the government is, to be honest, kind of screwed up," Corvo said.
According to the troupe's manager, Linda Elbow, the performers receive different reactions everywhere they go.
"The most interesting thing about live theater is that your audience is always very different," Elbow said. "It really depends on what you're doing."
Elbow gave an example from several years ago, when the troupe was doing a show studying fear in general.
"When we performed that in New York, somebody came up and grabbed me by the throat and said 'What the hell was that about,' and when we did the same show in Poland, people literally came up to us in tears and were giving us their jewelry and telling us that they were grateful that we did the show," Elbow said.
According to Elbow, the kind of reactions the troupe receives proves that the United States is not as well aligned with other countries in terms of its views as is commonly thought.
"People always think that the United States is more aligned with Western Europe than any other place on the planet, but I think that the Northern and Southern hemispheres of America have more in common than North America has with Western Europe," Elbow said.
The group was founded in 1963 in New York City's Lower East side. Originally, the company performed for children and later expanded into large-scale performances, involving sculpture, music, dance and language.
In 1970, the theater moved to Vermont and has been there since. The company makes its income from tours in the States and abroad, as well as from sales of merchandise, according to Elbow.
The troupe was invited to perform at Drexel by the University and, according to Elbow, has traveled to a variety of college campuses in the past.
The company performed a variety of skits for a varied audience and invited Drexel students to aid and participate in the performance.
Freshman Alex Corvo, a music industry major, volunteered to participate in the performance and provided musical accompaniment.
Corvo, who plays the trumpet, said he saw a notification on DrexelOne for musicians to play in the circus band and signed up for music.
According to Corvo, working with the theater company was an enjoyable and unique experience.
"They're very nice people, very, very fun, and it was a good time," Corvo said.
Corvo added that the troupe was effective in spreading a politically-charged message.
"Everything had political undertones," Corvo said. "There was a skit about conserving water, and drinking from the tap, and then there was one about how many people have died in Iraq, and there was one about the government in general."
Corvo also added that though the troupe seemed to be more liberal, they "smashed both parties."
"I mean, one of the skits was about how the government is, to be honest, kind of screwed up," Corvo said.
According to the troupe's manager, Linda Elbow, the performers receive different reactions everywhere they go.
"The most interesting thing about live theater is that your audience is always very different," Elbow said. "It really depends on what you're doing."
Elbow gave an example from several years ago, when the troupe was doing a show studying fear in general.
"When we performed that in New York, somebody came up and grabbed me by the throat and said 'What the hell was that about,' and when we did the same show in Poland, people literally came up to us in tears and were giving us their jewelry and telling us that they were grateful that we did the show," Elbow said.
According to Elbow, the kind of reactions the troupe receives proves that the United States is not as well aligned with other countries in terms of its views as is commonly thought.
"People always think that the United States is more aligned with Western Europe than any other place on the planet, but I think that the Northern and Southern hemispheres of America have more in common than North America has with Western Europe," Elbow said.
The group was founded in 1963 in New York City's Lower East side. Originally, the company performed for children and later expanded into large-scale performances, involving sculpture, music, dance and language.
In 1970, the theater moved to Vermont and has been there since. The company makes its income from tours in the States and abroad, as well as from sales of merchandise, according to Elbow.
The troupe was invited to perform at Drexel by the University and, according to Elbow, has traveled to a variety of college campuses in the past.
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