Geppetto Dreams Puppet Company

The economy has claimed another victim among Austin's creative class: Geppetto Dreams Puppet Company. The troupe that introduced our town to puppet burlesque, launched a puppet film festival, made puppeteers of scores of local kids through camps and workshops, and just won a "Best of Austin" Critics Pick (Best Friend to Fluffy Dreams) is closing its Puppetry Arts Center Sept. 27. Each loss of this kind is sad in its own way; making this one uniquely poignant is that Artistic Director Ricki Vincent wasn't even living in Austin during his troupe's two-year run here. He lives outside of Dallas and, as he explained in an e-mail of farewell, has been "making that long three-hour trek through the hills to share my dreams with this incredible city." He added, "You were worth every mile ... even the summer the air conditioning went out in my truck."

The company won't slip away silently, however. Two final shows are planned between now and January: a puppet operetta created in collaboration with That Damned Band and a show based on the last hours of Hunter S. Thompson, which Vincent says will be his farewell performance as a puppeteer. The shows will be funded through selling off the company's equipment. Drop by this weekend, and you might be able to snag puppets from the productions A Night at Miss Mimi's, The Dead Pirate Society, and Tales From the Nauseous Fairy; doll wigs; glass eyes; foam; paints; fabrics; puppet theatres; reference books; cameras; a video-editing computer; work tables; folding chairs; and even a barbecue smoker. And you can thank Vincent for making that long drive.

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Geppetto Dreams Puppet Company will hold its garage sale Friday-Saturday, Sept. 25-26, 8am-8pm, at the Geppettto Dreams Puppetry Arts Center, 1715 E. Seventh. For more information, call 358-4632 or visit www.geppettodreams.com.