Puppetry is often a bit avant-garde, but there’s one event the Center for Puppetry Arts hosts each year that gives performers of various backgrounds a chance to really explore the possibilities of puppeteering. That event is known as Xperimental Puppetry Theater and it returns to the Center tonight through Sunday.

A scene from XPT's "Rapunzel's Flight"

Unlike most of the Center’s productions, XPT is a more free form collection of short pieces that have been known to involve puppeteers, filmmakers, actors, performance artists and even members of the Blue Man Group and the Platinum Championship Wrestling roster. This year’s show includes ten performances that span subjects such as Medusa mythology, lion taming and the story of Rapunzel. Recommended for ages 18 and older, XPT tends to be a little too out there for fans of the Center’s more kid-friendly productions such as Peter Pan (in the Mainstage Theater through May 27). But that doesn’t mean the more experimental nature of XPT is any less fun than the family productions the Center is more known for.

For more information, go to www.puppet.org.