On Saturday, the stage will be filled with chunks of wood creatively resurrected to new life as marionettes, as Bunnell Street Gallery brings Buzz Schwall, his puppet troupe, Buzz-O-Plex Productions, and their performance of “Don Giovanni — an Opera of Marionettes” to the stage.

“Buzz Schwall has received a lot of recognition in the past year for his marionettes in the park in Anchorage,” said Asia Freeman of Bunnell. “When (Buzz-O-Plex) called, I had already heard about it and was thrilled. This was a great opportunity to bring them to Homer.”

An audience of area youngsters gets first look at the marionettes with a free children’s program at the gallery at 2 p.m. Friday. Otter Beach Educational Center and Fireweed Academy have already reserved tickets. Freeman encouraged parents of other youngsters interested in seeing the performance to contact the gallery for reservations.

On Saturday, there are two shows: one at 6 p.m. will be followed by a dinner potluck and one at 8 p.m. followed by a dessert potluck. Each show is approximately an hour long.

“These are opportunities for the public to mingle with the artists, ask about the craft, and have more behind-the-scene time,” Freeman said.

In 2000, Schwall was working as the master carpenter for the Anchorage Opera, but the onset of carpal tunnel syndrome made him realize he needed to find something to replace the heavy work he was doing. The following year, he attended a workshop in Prague, Czech Republic, on marionette construction and operation, and has continued to perfect his craft, infusing pieces of wood with new life. Armed with battery-powered tools, photos of faces, technical drawings and ceramic models, Schwall’s final products have wrists and ankles that bend and rotate, hips that move, expressive faces and a stage on which to perform.

Make that “stages.” Buzz-O-Plex marionettes have performed in Prague and Afghanistan. They have appeared in Anchorage at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts, Peratrovich Park, Side Street Espresso and The Alley, and other venues around the state. And now they are coming to Homer.

Freeman said there is a small, but talented group of Homer residents that are familiar with creating and performing with marionettes.

“What (Buzz-O-Plex) would like to do is come back and conduct a longer community workshop, so my hope is that through attendance at the events and potlucks, people interested will come forward and we’ll be able to see how many we are. ... This is a really special, different thing that could have great potential for education at a lot of levels in our community — theater, costumes, kids, teachers, adults.”

For additional information on Buzz-O-Plex, visit the Web at www.buzzoplex.net.