Little Amal, a giant 12 ft tall puppet of a 10 year old Syrian refugee girl, created by Handspring Puppet Company, has been stealing hearts since she landed in NYC ten days ago.
She will be visiting the Lower East Side and Chinatown on Wednesday, Sept. 28, starting at The Tenement Museum at 1:00pm and continuing on to Clemente Soto Vélez Center at 4:00pm, where she will party with puppet friends created by Teatro SEA. Her neighborhood tour, also called “The Walk,” is a large scale theatrical procession that includes events and activities through collaborations with local arts organizations. It concludes at LaMaMa at 7:00pm and then she makes her way to Washington Square Park.
Thousands of people and organizations have joined in along the way. People all around the world have been invited to “Walk With Amal,” in order to bring awareness to the plight of the global refugee crisis.
It takes four puppeteers to bring Little Amal to life: one on each arm, one supporting her back and one inside walking on stilts. This fourth puppeteer also controls ‘the harp’, a complex tapestry of strings that animate Little Amal’s face, head and eyes.
From the creative team:
Since July 2021 Amal has travelled over 9,000km across 12 countries representing all children fleeing war, violence and persecution and each with their own story, Little Amal’s urgent message to the world is “Don’t forget about us”.
She has become an international symbol of compassion and of human rights. She carries a message of hope for displaced people everywhere, especially children who have been separated from their families.
Little Amal Walks NYC is a co-production between The Walk Productions and St. Ann’s Warehouse in association with Handspring Puppet Company and Artistic Director, Amir Nizar Zuabi. Between 14 September – 2 October Amal is being welcomed at 55 events across the five boroughs of New York City. All of Amal’s events are free and suitable for children and families.
