rolls.

Almost universally, they’re a menace. Based on their dealings with billy goats, Hobbits and Harry Potter, we feel reasonably sure there is nothing nice to say about a troll.

Were further evidence needed, look to the Tears of Joy Puppet Theatre’s production of ”Ride the Red Mare” tonight in Sisters (see ”If You Go”). It is a hourlong play performed with puppets, about a boy named Leo who is kidnapped by trolls. They make the child eat gross things, and among other offenses, keep him from bathing!

It is too much for the boy’s older sister. With the help of a toy horse that magically springs to life, Sophia mounts a rescue, and swoops her brother (who begrudgingly consents) from the trolls’ vile clutches.

Of course, there is more to this tale, but it’s the gist of ”Ride the Red Mare.” It is based on ”A Ride on the Red Mare’s Back,” a children’s story by Portland author Ursula Le Guin.

Perhaps known more for her fantasy and science fiction, Le Guin wrote the story after returning from a trip to Sweden with a little red wood horse. Called a Dalarna, the horse is a symbol of Sweden, according to a study guide to the play published by the puppet theater.

But, when asked by a grandchild what it was, Le Guin was unable to give a satisfactory response. So, she made up her own story, said Janet Bradley, the managing director of the puppet theater.

”So, it feels like a folktale, although it’s one she created,” Bradley said.

The adaptation follows the original story closely, as Le Guin worked with the puppet theater on the project. It is told by two hooded puppeteers, clad entirely in black, who manipulate shadow puppets and modified bunraku puppets.

TraditionallyJapanese, bunraku puppets are 3-D and are manipulated with manual switches and controls rather than strings, like those of a marionette. Authentic bunraku puppets are so intricate, they often require operation by more than one puppeteer, said Bradley. The Tears of Joy theater uses modified versions that share some similarities with rod puppets, but which can be operated by just one puppeteer.

The bunraku puppets in the adaptation are between 2 and 3 feet tall, and the puppet for the mare is close to 5 feet in length. Smaller shadow puppets make a variety of visual effects possible.

All the characters are voiced by the puppeteers, and portions of the performance also feature a soundtrack recorded for the play by Portland’s Third Angle New Music Ensemble.

This is not your average puppet theater, said Bradley. Rather than being confined to a box, the production uses an open stage, and its puppeteers are actors who have been taught puppetry.

And it’s not just for kids, Bradley added.

”It’s good theater,” she said.

Founded in 1971, Tears of Joy Puppet Theatre performs close to 800 shows a year. It is a resident company of the Portland Center for the Performing Arts, and receives regular funding from the National Endowment for the Arts, Bradley said.

Tonight’s performance is partly sponsored by the Oregon Cultural Trust, and is the only public stop on a tour of Central Oregon schools. Although admission is free, donations are encouraged, and will benefit the Family Access Network, a charitable arm of the High Desert Education Service District.

If You Go

What: ”Ride the Red Mare,” presented by the Tears of Joy Puppet Theatre

When: 7 tonight

Where: Sisters Community Church, 15220 Highway 242, Sisters

Cost: Free, donations accepted

Contact: 549-4357