A new show is coming to Mount Vernon’s Lincoln Theatre Saturday to celebrate the Chinese New Year – but “Monkey Goes Fishing” isn’t the latest movie to be brought in to the theater. It is a live theater performance with high-flying, spinning, acrobatic puppets.
“Monkey Goes Fishing,” the newest production from Carter Family Marionettes, a Seattle-based puppeteer group, offers characters and cultural insights to entertain the whole family.
Puppeteer Dmitri Carter explained that the show has three parts; its title act, “Monkey Goes Fishing,” and two others, “Pigsy Plays Erhu” and “Outlaws of the Marsh.”
“Each of these draws from classical Chinese culture and literature,” Carter said. “For example, in the title act, the monkey has some comic misadventures while fishing.”
Carter added that the Chinese word for “fish” rhymes with the word for “plentiful,” so the idea is that this brings good luck for both the audience and the puppeteers.
“Pigsy Plays Erhu” features a funny character from “Monkey King’s Journey to the West,” Carter said. “With the recent Chinese New Year ringing in the Year of the Pig, it’s appropriate to have a pig in the show.”
” ‘Outlaws of the Marsh’ is one of three great epic stories in classical Chinese literature,” he said, noting that Saturday’s performance will entail only a part of it, because the entire epic would be performed one episode at a time over a period of several months, or even years.
Saturday’s show, which is nonverbal, will last 45 minutes, is suitable for ages 4 and up, and also includes other cultural Chinese acts, like ribbon dancing and juggling. Afterward, audience members can see the puppets up-close and ask questions.
Carter will work with another puppeteer, Jen Yang, whose background also is rooted in theater.
Yang’s family, Carter said, has done this type of theater for six generations, and also founded a theater academy in Zhangzhou, in the Fujian province of China.
“Her father, Yang Feng, created this particular show,” Carter said, adding, “The neat thing about it is that since it’s nonverbal, it can be understood worldwide.”
More symbolism comes from the monkey character itself.
“In Chinese culture, monkeys are known for acrobatics, martial arts and tricks, which the puppet shows demonstrate in a way that today’s movies can’t,” Carter explained.
Lincoln Theatre director Carol Hays said in a written statement, “We believe live theater engages a child’s imagination, stimulates creative thought and evokes joy and wonder in a way no high-tech movie can do.”
The Lincoln presents four shows a year designed for children and families, she said, as well as other community events.
Carter Family Marionettes does more than this type of theater, as well, like opera marionette performances, in which puppets are used in conjunction with a live orchestra. The group also holds performances in its own venue, Northwest Puppet Center, at 9123 15th Ave. NE in Seattle.
Dmitri Carter photos
ABOVE: Puppeteer Jen Yang works the leopard puppet.
LEFT: Monkey and Pigsy puppets
BELOW: Monkey and Fish puppets
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