An image of a creepy masked puppet figure outside of a forest. Text reads: LoreFest 2023 Thu, Oct. 26, The Frame Gallery: Storytelling Session Fri, Oct. 27, The Queen Theatre: Film Festival Sat, Oct. 28, The Village Cafe: Ghost Walk, Gala and Walkabout Puppets Downtown Bryan 7-10 each night Logos: Texas A&M University School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts Media Gaming Lab TAMIDS The Village The Frame Gallery Queen Theatre Texas A&M University Race & Ethnic Studies Institute Made possible in part with a PVFA Interdisciplinary Collaboration Grant, a RESI Co-Sponsorship and TAMIDS Funding

Students To Explore Storytelling, Film And Puppet-Making In Inaugural Lorefest In Downtown Bryan

Tales of spooky folklore are the focus of the inaugural LoreFest, featuring students in Performance Studies classes in the Texas A&M School of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts. The free event is Thursday through Saturday in Downtown Bryan.

About 200 students in classes taught by Dr. Matthew Campbell, assistant program director, and Dr. Will Connor, lecturer, will present immersive presentations and performances crafted through folklore.

“The ethos of LoreFest is we want to get students engaged with local folklore storytelling,” Campbell said. “Folklore, from a folklorist’s perspective, is everything that is passed from person to person. We want to make them aware of the stories of Bryan-College Station, the Brazos Valley and beyond.”

Connor said this is an opportunity for students to represent their personal heritage. He said some of his students have a Czech, Chinese or German heritage and want to showcase that though folklore.

“LoreFest is covering both storytelling and filmmaking, and even puppet-making,” he said. “We also really wanted a way for the community to interact with the students and link performativity. This festival is giving locals the opportunity to see a performance from a student’s creation, and both sides can see how it interacts with culture and society.”

Puppet
Ethan Campbell and Meranda Soto work on their puppet to tell the folklore story “La Lechuza.” Photo by Bailey Brown.

The students in Performance in World Cultures classes were given a list of folklore tales to choose from, and then were tasked with creating a puppet that represented the story.

Student groups crafted puppets alongside Victoria Snaith, founder and creative director of Dread Falls Theatre, based in the United Kingdom. Snaith presented her “Patient 4620” horror theatre experience earlier in the month.

LoreFest Night One is Thursday and features a “Campfire Story Session” from 7-10 p.m. Students and residents will share folklore stories in a spooky setting hosted by Missy Barron and The Frame Gallery in Downtown Bryan. The Frame Gallery is located at 108 N. Bryan Ave. 

Night Two on Friday will feature a film festival at the Queen Theatre from 7-10 p.m. Students will present silent, black-and-white short films. The live soundtracks for the films were produced by students in Connor’s Electronic Composition classes.

There will also be a premiere showing of “Unexpected Amenities” by filmmaker Shun Lee Fong.  Fong will lead panel discussions with student filmmakers to discuss their projects and field questions from the audience. The Queen Theatre is located at 110 S. Main St.

The final night of LoreFest on Saturday will feature a Ghost Walk and LoreFest Gala from 7-10 p.m. at The Village Café. Students will perform interactive works that involve puppets, documentary films and theatrical, musical and dance pieces. Students will present their work in stations throughout the venue, and audience members will be guided through in repeating cycles.

The Ghost Walk will begin and end at the front door of The Village Café. It will feature presentations of interactive storytelling, visualizations and live soundtracks provided by students. The Village Café is located at 210 W. 26th St.

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