Puppetry Arts Incubator

Participating artists will work to create short and portable puppetry vignettes using suitcases, boxes, and other compelling containers (eggs are also welcome). Rather than aiming to create a completed work, participants will be encouraged to work together as they explore different methods of puppet manipulation, staging, and design through the interpretation of short pieces of poetry and prose. In keeping with the time of year we thought it would be appropriate to choose text focused on the transition between summer and fall. This workshop is intended to begin and build upon existing creative relationships between participants through collaboration, experimentation, and peer critique. The performances resulting from the workshop will be included (with the artist’s consent) as a part of the upcoming October Puppetry Slam!

The workshop will take place over the course of two sessions. The first being on Sunday, September 12th from 3:00 - 4:00pm and the second being on Sunday, September 26th from 3:00 - 4:00pm.

During the first session participants will work with three facilitators and with one another to discuss and develop concepts that will be used as the groundwork for a brief performance. Participants will be encouraged to form small collaborative groups based on common interests, complimentary skills, and chosen subjects. These groups will work together over the course of the following two weeks to develop a brief performance using preexisting puppets, toys, and interesting ephemera.

During the second session participants will present their works in progress and offer critique and support to the works presented by their peers. It is our hope that these sessions will offer participants an opportunity to discover new collaborators and begin new, exciting investigations into their process of art making as puppeteers.