MEDIA RELEASE: TIM SHARP’S LASER BEAK MAN TO RECEIVE OFF-BROADWAY STAGE ADAPTATION BY DEAD PUPPET SOCIETY

MEDIA RELEASE 
For Immediate Release 
Wednesday 23 July 2014

Internationally renowned Australian visual artist and Autism awareness ambassador Tim Sharp and Australia’s preeminent independent puppet and visual theatre company, Dead Puppet Society, will join forces for the stage adaptation of Sharp’s Laser Beak Man, to be developed through a year-long artist residency at The New Victory Theater, New York’s premier off-Broadway theatre dedicated to children and families.

Sharp’s public sharing of his personal experience growing up with Autism and his advocacy for Autism awareness through his compelling art has earned him great recognition internationally, including multiple awards and two nominations for the prestigious Young Australian of the Year award.

He has exhibited work at the Sydney Opera House where he also received a standing ovation at TEDx Sydney 2014, The National Museum of Australia, Washington DC and New York. In 2012 Tim had a biographical short film shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in New York City. 

This first-time collaboration between Sharp and fellow Queensland artists Dead Puppet Society as part of the New Victory LabWorks Artist Residency Program is ‘a dream come true’ for 26-year-old Sharp. 

“I am so excited to watch Dead Puppet Society make Laser Beak Man come alive and to be making big dreams come true,” Sharp said. 

“New York is going to love Laser Beak Man. They will laugh their heads off and they will love all the colours of my art. They have never seen anything like this before.” 

Splitting their time between Australia and New York City, Dead Puppet Society creates puppet-based visual theatre that unites an old world aesthetic with cutting-edge technical elements. 

Recently in residence at St. Ann’s Warehouse in New York as part of the venue’s Puppet Lab program (The Wider Earth), the company is celebrated for their fantastical theatre works, including Argus (Brisbane Powerhouse), 
The Harbinger (La Boite Theatre Company), The Timely Death of Victor Blott and little grey wolf (Brisbane Festival, Adelaide Fringe). 

“We are absolutely thrilled to be collaborating with Tim Sharp to bring Laser Beak Man to life on stage, and to be the first Australian company to be selected for the New Victory LabWorks Artist Residency Program,” Dead Puppet Society’s Artistic Director David Morton said.

“As fellow Queensland artists, we have long been admirers of Tim’s work, which is so full of heart, humour and whimsy. To be given this special opportunity to play in Tim’s rich world is a real gift, and we’re looking forward to working closely with him to share his important and inspirational story on the international stage.”  

The New Victory Theater is a much-loved presenter of works for family audiences by many of the world’s leading contemporary theatre makers, including Pulitzer prize winner Tony Kushner (Brundibar, New Vic 2006), Tectonic Theater Project founder Moisés Kaufman (El Gato Con Botas/Puss in Boots, New Vic 2012), and Tony Award winner Julie Taymor (The Green Bird, New Vic 1996), along with shows produced by Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, the National Theatre of Scotland, the Royal Opera House and Kneehigh Theatre.

The LabWorks Artist Residency Program runs July 2014 to June 2015 and culminates in a public work-in-progress showing of Laser Beak Man with The New Victory Theater. 

Laser Beak Man is produced by Dead Puppet Society in association with Tim Sharp, in partnership with The New Victory Theater, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, and Arts Centre Melbourne. 

This project is supported by Creative Sparks, a joint initiative of Brisbane City Council and the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, and assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body. 

MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Adam Brunes
the little red company
e. adam@thelittleredcompany
p. +61 421 233 609
 
MEDIA RELEASE 
For Immediate Release 
Wednesday 23 July 2014

Internationally renowned Australian visual artist and Autism awareness ambassador Tim Sharp and Australia’s preeminent independent puppet and visual theatre company, Dead Puppet Society, will join forces for the stage adaptation of Sharp’s Laser Beak Man, to be developed through a year-long artist residency at The New Victory Theater, New York’s premier off-Broadway theatre dedicated to children and families.

Sharp’s public sharing of his personal experience growing up with Autism and his advocacy for Autism awareness through his compelling art has earned him great recognition internationally, including multiple awards and two nominations for the prestigious Young Australian of the Year award.

He has exhibited work at the Sydney Opera House where he also received a standing ovation at TEDx Sydney 2014, The National Museum of Australia, Washington DC and New York. In 2012 Tim had a biographical short film shown at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art in New York City. 

This first-time collaboration between Sharp and fellow Queensland artists Dead Puppet Society as part of the New Victory LabWorks Artist Residency Program is ‘a dream come true’ for 26-year-old Sharp. 

“I am so excited to watch Dead Puppet Society make Laser Beak Man come alive and to be making big dreams come true,” Sharp said. 

“New York is going to love Laser Beak Man. They will laugh their heads off and they will love all the colours of my art. They have never seen anything like this before.” 

Splitting their time between Australia and New York City, Dead Puppet Society creates puppet-based visual theatre that unites an old world aesthetic with cutting-edge technical elements. 

Recently in residence at St. Ann’s Warehouse in New York as part of the venue’s Puppet Lab program (The Wider Earth), the company is celebrated for their fantastical theatre works, including Argus (Brisbane Powerhouse), 
The Harbinger (La Boite Theatre Company), The Timely Death of Victor Blott and little grey wolf (Brisbane Festival, Adelaide Fringe). 

“We are absolutely thrilled to be collaborating with Tim Sharp to bring Laser Beak Man to life on stage, and to be the first Australian company to be selected for the New Victory LabWorks Artist Residency Program,” Dead Puppet Society’s Artistic Director David Morton said.

“As fellow Queensland artists, we have long been admirers of Tim’s work, which is so full of heart, humour and whimsy. To be given this special opportunity to play in Tim’s rich world is a real gift, and we’re looking forward to working closely with him to share his important and inspirational story on the international stage.”  

The New Victory Theater is a much-loved presenter of works for family audiences by many of the world’s leading contemporary theatre makers, including Pulitzer prize winner Tony Kushner (Brundibar, New Vic 2006), Tectonic Theater Project founder Moisés Kaufman (El Gato Con Botas/Puss in Boots, New Vic 2012), and Tony Award winner Julie Taymor (The Green Bird, New Vic 1996), along with shows produced by Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, the National Theatre of Scotland, the Royal Opera House and Kneehigh Theatre.

The LabWorks Artist Residency Program runs July 2014 to June 2015 and culminates in a public work-in-progress showing of Laser Beak Man with The New Victory Theater. 

Laser Beak Man is produced by Dead Puppet Society in association with Tim Sharp, in partnership with The New Victory Theater, Queensland Performing Arts Centre, and Arts Centre Melbourne. 

This project is supported by Creative Sparks, a joint initiative of Brisbane City Council and the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland, and assisted by the Australian Government through the Australia Council for the Arts, its arts funding and advisory body. 

MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Adam Brunes
the little red company
e. adam@thelittleredcompany
p. +61 421 233 609