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Workshops and Residencies
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Skip to NavigationI love to teach people how to make real what they imagine. Nearly anything is possible with cardboard, staple-pliers, and some paper mache. Sharing the skills I've acquired, to aid people in the telling of their own stories, is an incredibly rewarding experience. I enjoy teaching folks ranging in age from 3 to 103. I have taught adjudicated and "at-risk" youth, people with mental and physical disabilities, adults in addiction recovery, and seniors in assisted living facilities. I've worked with churches, schools, activist groups, and birthday parties, etc. I can alter the complexity of the project, to match the goals and skills of your group and the time frame you have available. I like to partner with teachers interested in using puppetry to enhance their course work. Please click on 'CURRENT PROJECTS and SHOWS' to see what kind of workshops and residencies I've been engaged in lately.
I teach workshops in making and performing with:
- masks, various sizes and styles
- hand-and-rod puppets
- finger puppets
- giant backpack puppets (for kids or adults)
- pole puppets
- shadow puppets
I also lead workshops on piñata, sculpture, mobile, set, and prop construction. I can provide the necessary tools and supplies, or you can. I'm flexible, resourceful, and eager to design and implement workshops/residencies that are specifically geared to meet the needs of your group.
I am able to come and teach a one-session workshop if that is all the time available, however, the experience will be more valuable for everyone involved if we are able to arrange a longer, and/or more intensive project.
Highlights of my teaching career thus far:
- Community Time-Line, Yaak Valley/Troy, Montana
Artist-in-Residence - In March and April of 2002, I spent 5 weeks working with children, teens, adults, and seniors to brainstorm, design, build, and perform a 400-person giant puppet parade and pageant that presented an imaginative time-line of their communities from the birth of the sun to the bedazzled question marks of the future. Residents of Yaak and Troy composed and performed original music to accompany the pageant, which was performed on the football field, for a crowd of about 400 people (the total population of the area is less than 1,000!) This project was organized by The Yaak Valley Forest Council and supported by the Pew Charitable Trust, as part of The Indivisible Project. Spring of 2007, I head back to work with the community of Troy, this time for 5 weeks of building a more narrative, indoor puppet show!
- PeopleHood Pageant, Philadelphia, PA
Director, Lead Artist - For 3 Octobers (2003, 2004, and 2005) I directed Spiral Q's annual giant puppet pageant in Clark Park in West Philadelphia. Over the course of September and October, I facilitated brainstorming sessions with community members to develop the narrative of the pageant, and led open studio sessions where folks came to build, and learn to build, the puppets for the pageant. On PeopleHood day itself, hundreds of school kids, adults in addiction recovery programs, and community groups marched in the parades and then performed in or watched the pageants.
Please note: Since I am a puppeteer and not any other kind of professional, and in case of any emergency, I do require that a staff person from your organization (or some kind of responsible adult) be present throughout my time with your group.