Animal Cracker Conspiracy Puppet Co. Presents THE COLLECTOR at Salvage Vanguard Theater, 11/23-25

San Diego–based Animal Cracker Conspiracy Puppet Company, special guests of Trouble Puppet Theater Co., presents a genre-stretching, surreal, multimedia tale about a lowly debt collector who travels through the urban landscape, undergoing a radical transformation of spirit.

The Collector, a multidimensional mixed-media performance viewed through Orwellian, neo-Victorian lenses, is a contemporary puppet theater work that engages the audience in a projected reality, a detailed and gritty environment of toy theater, animated objects, miniature protagonists and antagonists, all unfolding in dialogue-less mystery. This alternate reality is underscored by original film and constructed soundscapes.

Created and performed by Bridget Rountree and Iain Gunn of Animal Cracker Conspiracy Puppet Company, this nontraditional spectacle features recorded surround sound designed by the experimental composer Margaret Noble.

The Austin premier of The Collector is made possible by grants from the Jim Henson Foundation, The Sator Arts Foundation, Synergy Art Foundation, the Puffin Foundation, and continued support from the San Diego Guild of Puppetry.

Presented by Trouble Puppet Theater at Salvage Vanguard Theater, studio theater, 2803 E Manor Rd. Austin, TX 78722. This run has limited seating. Three shows only! Tickets are $15 ($12 for students/seniors and $10 for groups) at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/295054 or at the door.

Animal Cracker Conspiracy: Visual artists and performers, Bridget Rountree and Iain Gunn, joined forces in 2005 and began collaborating in a series of performance art pieces that combined mixed media, physical theater, and puppetry. In 2007 they launched Animal Cracker Conspiracy, a contemporary hybrid puppet company, and co-founded Zirk Ubu: live arts ensemble. Zirk Ubu with a cast of nine performers produced over fifteen pieces of original work dedicated to physical theatre, puppetry, circus, and sideshow, from 2007-10 in San Diego and Mexico. In 2010 Bridget and Iain focused solely on Animal Cracker Conspiracy after receiving their first grant from the Sator Arts Foundation for "The Collector", which received two Jim Henson Foundation Grants. In 2010, Animal Cracker Conspiracy began hosting quarterly shows, The Adult Puppet Cabaret, producing and fostering an audience for adult puppet performances in San Diego, which has received three Puppet Slam Network grants and has been highlighted in Puppetry International. During this time Animal Cracker Conspiracy has participated in both national and international artist residencies and workshops with Bread and Puppet, North American Creative Laboratories, La Pocha Nostra, RosenClaire, and the Old Trouts Puppet Collective.

Trouble Puppet is a sponsored project of Salvage Vanguard Theater and is supported by The Jim Henson Foundation, the City of Austin, and individual donors.

Salvage Vanguard Theater is a hub for Austin artists, audiences, and arts organizations. SVT creates and presents transformative, high-quality artistic experiences that foster experimentation and conversation.

Animal Cracker Conspiracy Puppet Co., guests of Trouble Puppet Theater Company, present The Collector, Nov. 23-25, 2012 (8pm Fri., Sat.; 2pm Sun.) at Salvage Vanguard Theater, 2803 Manor Road, Austin, Texas. Tickets are $10-$15 HERE or at the door. AGES: The show is made for grownups, but tweens and teens are welcome.

For more information, call 512-573-2540 or visit www.troublepuppet.com.