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Current Touring Shows
 Criss-Crossing Borders
- The Panama Suitcase Show
Jaguars prowl, monkeys howl, and a sea turtle saves a fisherman in this delightful series of tales inspired by Arm-of-the-Sea’s travels in Central America. Criss-Crossing Borders incorporates a handmade style of visual storytelling to portray kinship ties between animals and humans, and between people living on opposite sides of a border.
Originally developed in Panama for the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, the show is presented in Spanish and English by two multi-talented... more
It is designed for small venues and young audiences (ages 4-10).
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 To Fuel the Fire
- A free-wheeling allegory about the ecological costs of energy
This tragic comedy features primordial masks and kinetic puppet figures, vivid paintings, whimsical props and live music.
With the Universe as backdrop, the action leapfrogs through events in earth's evolutionary history, from inventive one-celled microbes to modern hominid inventors. The story follows an Egyptian immigrant couple, Isis and Osiris, who run a Soup-of-the-Day shop on the Gulf Coast. From their ancient rounds of planting, harvesting, cooking and composting, Isis and Osiris feed... more
"To Fuel the Fire" will appeal to audiences of many ages and walks of life.
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 At the Turning of the Tide
- A performance spectacle celebrating the Hudson River Estuary.
Lusciously painted puppet figures and hauntingly beautiful mask characters populate this large-scale, informative production celebrating the life and times of the Hudson River. Throughout the sixty-minute stream of spellbinding imagery, Arm-of-the-Sea blends regional history and natural sciences to reveal the river's inner life.
Archetypal scenes portray the tidal rhythms of the river, the eat-and-be eaten dance of the food chain, the invention of the steamboat, settlement of river towns, fishermen,... more
Grades K – 12 and family audiences.
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 Turtle Island Medicine Show
- Giant Puppets, Masks & Live Music in a Contemporary Fable and Cautionary Tale
Turtle Island Medicine Show is a contemporary fable and cautionary tale inspired by both the Lenape Indian origin story and by current reports from climate studies. Created by Arm-of-the-Sea directors Marlena Marallo & Patrick Wadden, the show features whimsical kinetic sculptures, richly painted paper mache masks and puppet figures that range in size from 12 inches to the 16 foot tall Tree of Life. Composer & music director Dean Jones' inventive score loops together gongs, hoop drum, jaw harp... more
Appropriate for young audiences (ages 6 & up) and Family Audiences.
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 La Cosecha / The Harvest
- The story of an immigrant farm worker. In Spanish and English.
Cesar is a young man from Central America who travels north looking for work. When he can't pay the Coyote who has smuggled him across the U.S. border, Cesar becomes tangled in a web of difficulties and must struggle for his dignity and his very survival. Luckily, he possesses several surprising gifts. This poignant drama features Nueva Cancion music from Latin America together with the vivid mask & puppet characters that are Arm of the Sea's signature style.
The production is 60 minutes in... more
Grades 5-12, Colleges and adult audiences.
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 City That Drinks the Mountain Sky
- The epic story of NYC's water supply told in the elemental beauty of puppet theater. A perennial favorite since 1999.
Heralded as one of the wonders of the world, New York City's ingenious system of aqueducts and reservoirs provides clear mountain water from the Catskills to nine million downstate residents. And though the struggle over these water resources has, at times, bitterly divided city managers and watershed residents, it has also irrevocably united them.
Through a shimmering tapestry of poetry, puppetry and evocative music, City that Drinks the Mountain Sky brings alive the lyrical landscape... more
Grades K-10 and family audiences.
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 Mutual Strangers: Henry Hudson & the River that Discovered Him
- A show for the 400th anniversary of Hudson's voyage
September, 1609: A small ship sent from Europe to find a northern route to the Orient sails 150 miles up a river on the "unknown" North American continent. The events that transpire on that voyage -- the encounters of European sailors and indigenous people, and the information brought back to the Dutch East India Company in Amsterdam -- prefigure the interaction of cultures that will shape a new nation.
With stunning visuals and live music, Arm-of-the-Sea harnesses the transformational energy... more
For school audiences this production is best suited for Grades 3-12. However, a special abridged presentation is available for Grades K-2.
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 To Defy the Beast
- Our own version of Greek tragedy. Inspired by Barbara Ehrenreich's book "Blood Rites."
A curse is upon the people. The blind prophet is called to exorcise the curse and save the community. But that means confronting the predator and refusing him the sacrificial blood.
This spectacle is a potent fusion of theatrical image and brass band roots music. It unfolds like an ancient Greek tragedy populated by a mélange of larger-than-life size mask characters... goats, warriors, tigers, hunters, mothers & sons... and, alternately, by lyrical shadow puppet scenes.
Inspired by Barbara... more
Grades 6-12, colleges and adult audiences.
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General Requirements for Hosting a Show
These productions are presented by a company of 4 to 6 performers & musicians.
All feature live music, large sets and elaborate visuals.
Most require a space of at least 35’W X 25’D X 15’H.
We can provide lights & sound system for performances in schools and small venues.
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In addition to these company shows, we are available for parades, pageants, processions, workshops, residencies and other special events.
For more information on a particular show please click on the title.
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