Tonight was a magical night at the Cinema of the Hippodrome Theatre. DolphinWizard Co hosted a showing of Ibex Puppetry’s “Handmade Puppet Dreams” Volume VI, followed by an exclusive showing of Toby Froud‘s limited-release film “Lessons Learned.” The event was ushered by puppet street performers from the Santa Fe College Theatre Department, courtesy of Gainesville luminary Gregg Jones, and concluded with a puppet slam featuring “Let It Out” from “Fartzen” and Dan’s “Juggs the Juggler” routine.
From “Lessons Learned” (2014)
“Lessons Learned” is the directorial debut of Toby Fraud, aka the baby in “Labyrinth” and the son of renowned character designer Brian Froud, of “The Dark Crystal,” “Labyrinth,” and “Lady Cottington’s Pressed Fairy Book.”
Handmade Puppet Dreams is a series of puppet films produced by Ibex Puppetry, the company of Heather Henson, daughter of Jim Henson. Ibex’s mission is to promote health & healing for the planet through the fine art of puppetry. In Handmade Puppet Dreams films, gifted puppeteers’ imaginings are made incarnate, with the help of talented performers such as Christopher Lloyd and Elijah Wood.
With this event, Gainesville is now the 3rd city in Florida to host a Handmade Puppet Dreams showing, and the first to show Volume VI!
Photo by Laura Gross.
We had 42 puppet fans in the house, who applauded after every film! Our mysterious ushers worked the streets of downtown Gainesville to bring people into the theatre. We were thrilled to see such a positive response to puppet films in our community, and celebrated our 4th puppet slam, an annual event which Dan Ballard has curated every year.
Dolphin Wizard Company 
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