Dead Puppet Society Announces New Family Adventure 'Argus'

LOS ANGELES, June 4, 2013 /CNW/ - Australian theater company Dead Puppet Society is announcing "Argus," a new puppet-based, visual stage show that is being pitched for a U.S. premiere and run in the New York City metropolitan area. The show is set to first debut in June at the Brisbane Powerhouse in Queensland, Australia.

The story follows Argus, a creature who lives at the bottom of a garden. A gardener unwittingly carries away Argus' family to a trash truck, and Argus embarks on an epic journey to find them.

"It's almost like The Odyssey or The Iliad in structure," says David Morton, Dead Puppet Society's Artistic Director. "The real calling for the show is making use of a form of puppetry where all of the characters are made of just the performer's hands."

Morton is a profound theater director, designer and puppet maker known for his work on "The Harbinger," which earned a 2013 Matilda Award nomination for Best Mainstage Production.

Nicholas Paine serves as Dead Puppet Society's Managing Producer and Whitney Eglington is the company's Technical Director.

"Argus has something for everyone," Paine said. "We've got a heartwarming story told through a wonderfully creative form of visual theater that has been drawn together under the outstanding vision of David Morton who has really taken the creative reigns and allowed for Argus to find an American audience."

The show is presented on a five and a half foot circular trust that spins on roller coaster wheels. "We approach our work with more of a filmmaking sensibility than a theatrical one," Morton said. "We aim to create theater through the use of puppets that are deeply imaginative and based on epic, fantastical worlds."

The Dead Puppet Society received a grant to develop "Argus" from the Jim Henson Foundation, which fosters the development of new contemporary American puppet shows. They also received funds from the Australia Council for the Arts, the national arts funding and advisory body in Australia. This grant has also afforded them the opportunity of working with Handspring Puppet Company, which designed the acclaimed stage puppetry for "War Horse."

SOURCE: David Morton

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