A taxpayer-funded puppet theater group is being honored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for “protecting public health and the environment.”
The Arm-of-the-Sea Puppet and Mask Theater company is among the “New York Environmental Champions” selected by the agency, The Washington Free Beacon first reported. Honorees are recognized for “their achievements in protecting public health and the environment,” according to the agency’s website.
“Arm-of-the-Sea is a Hudson Valley performance group that combines art and ecology to promote environmental protection,” the EPA’s website states. “Their performances resonate with audiences of all ages and demographics. The group raises environmental awareness and inspires environmental action through their shows.”
One performance the company offers, called “Hook, Line & Sinker: Fishing the Hudson River,” explores “the Hudson’s dual identity as [sic] prolific natural ecosystem” and as a contaminated Superfund site, according to the group’s website.
The production was partially funded by the New York State Department of Health and “by public funds from the New York Council on the Arts, with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature,” the company’s website states.
Arm-of-the-Sea also offers two performances centered around protecting the watershed, called “The Rejuvenary River Circus” and “City That Drinks the Mountain Sky.” The latter was partially funded by the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. Another performance called “The Harvest,” describes an immigrant’s journey across the U.S. border.
“Here is the story of Cesar, an immigrant farm worker from Central America who travels north looking for work,” the group’s website said. “When he can’t pay the Coyote (the border smuggler) who sneaks him into the United States, Cesar becomes tangled in a web of difficulties. He discovers that he must struggle for his dignity and for his very survival. Luckily, he possesses several surprising gifts.”
The EPA’s “Environmental Champions” receive a plaque and attend an awards ceremony.
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