Puppetry is, at its core, a practice of attention. A puppet lives and dies by the shared focus of puppeteers and audience, who collaborate to give life to the inanimate. Through individual awareness and group attunement, puppeteers access a language rich in empathy, mystery and radical narrative possibility.

Against the common idea of puppetry as an emblem of control or domination, we approach puppetry as a process of listening and offering—of uncovering and working with the inherent tendencies of materials. We’re interested in the creative feedback loop between bodies, objects and the imagination. 

Each class combines theory, hands-on puppet making, and group puppeteering. We’ll begin with simple paper forms, exploring how breath, weight, and gaze can bring them to life. Gradually, we build toward multi-operator abstract creatures, and finally toward more fleshed out humanoid tabletop puppet prototypes, in the lineage of Bunraku, a traditional Japanese form.

Throughout the class, we'll put fabrication and performance in dialogue. Design and fabrication will respond to what the materials offer, incorporating chance and discovery. Likewise, our performance practice will bloom from what the objects themselves reveal through the creative power of our attention.

Led by puppet artist Nick Lehane and puppeteer-mythmaker Yuliya Tsukerman.

Wednesdays, 6:30-9:00pm
June 24th - July 8th

55 Washington St. in DUMBO