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Community Corner

The Puppets Are Waiting

Greg Nobile hopes to re-open Branford's historic Puppet House Theater.

“The place is just oozing with history” Greg said to me as I looked around the room. The high ceiling had missing and stained tiles and an ancient piano sat abandoned under an old painter’s cloth at the foot of the stage. Still, the old Puppet House theater maintains an undeniable dignity, even in its disrepair. It is a dignity that, as Greg Nobile, the individual spearheading the building’s restoration and eventual reopening, recognized, is steeped in the history of Branford.

Built in 1903 as a silent theater, the building saw incarnations as several artistic venues as well serving a brief stint as a parachute factory during WWII. In 1960 the theater’s then-owner Grace Weil introduced her love of puppetry to the space, bringing over the renowned pupppets  that currently hang from the theater’s walls and back stage area.

Today, a certain dichotomy is unfolding within the walls of the puppet house. Nobile, who has an encyclopedic knowledge of the theater’s deep roots and historical significance, is eighteen years old, and is on track to graduate high school this spring. His youthful exuberance brings life to an aging landmark.

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Nobile’s recent efforts have been focused on finding investors willing to contribute to the building’s renovation. A bulk of the work needed is electrical but the building, dormant since 2006, has a laundry list of repairs that Nobile is eager to get working on.

“It’s a learning experience”  Nobile says of the project. He has been organizing meetings with private donors as well as brainstorming various fundraising projects to reach a $300,000 goal before breaking ground. His previous efforts in raising funds have been quite successful. He and his friend Ryan Bloomquist started a group called the “Lemonade Gang” and have raised over $85,000 to research ALD, a rare disease that a friend had been diagnosed with several years ago.

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At the Puppet House, the fundraising is just the beginning. After the funds are acquired, work will have to be done to ensure the building is up to code. Nobile says keeping the aesthetic of the building will be an important goal during renovation. After the building is ready for opening its programs and events will have to be organized and scheduled. Besides hosting theater troupes and bands, Nobile envisions summer programs, and community events, “Anything from a lecture, to a book signing, to a full orchestra...Our goal is to develop creativity in the community.”

Indeed, the space has potential. Since the electrical is down, Nobile brings interested parties in during daylight hours when the sun can stream in through huge windows and light the big open space with natural hues. In this light, one can get an idea not just of what has been, but of what could be.

In another building, the hanging puppets, adorned in armor and robes, might be almost creepy. But here the light just won’t allow for such connotations, the blank stares coming from the lifeless faces, exquisitely crafted by Sebastiano Zappala at the turn of the century, express a tone of patience, of understanding. And perhaps that’s just what is needed. Nobile hopes to break ground in March, and be ready for shows by the end of the summer.

Currently calenders are available on the theater’s website thepuppethouse.org. The calenders feature twelve of the fifty puppets at the theater. Proceeds go towards restoration.

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