Shy Puppeteers Playshop

**Registration is for the whole two day workshop. Please register on the September 3rd event page!!**

WHY & WHAT: You may be a shy puppeteer if you are drawn to the personalities of puppets yet prefer not to engage in a traditional performance. You may be a shy puppeteer if you have never made a puppet before but might like to in a space that emphasizes play over product. You may be a shy puppeteer if it has been a while since the last time you engaged in imaginary play in nature. We support all of these urges with like minds and some experience.

Together with the warm and wonderful artist, Maisie O'Brien, we extend this invitation!

Maisie O’Brien (she/they) is a Philadelphia transplant from Dallas and a Chinese-American adoptee.  Growing out of a visual arts background in printmaking, their work desires storytelling at the crossroads of puppetry, original cello music, cut paper, and animation.  Since they began tying all of these callings together with shadow theater, they have had the pleasure of performing at online puppet slams since 2020, and pursuing further studies in puppetry with Bread & Puppet Theater, the University of Connecticut, the Chicago International Puppet Festival, and the O’Neill Puppetry Conference.  Maisie has recently been working on remote collaborations with filmmakers, dancers, and musicians.  Last Summer they received their first city funding to pursue explorational collaborations with fiddle player Georgia Beatty and composer Michael McMillan, helping them find some exciting beginnings to further shadow/music creations.  This Spring, Maisie looks forward to performing their newest crankie show at the Black Cherry Puppet Theater in March and the Baltimore Crankie Festival in May.  Around Philadelphia, Maisie also works with arts and activism organizations like Spiral Q, Asian Arts Initiative, and Fleisher Art Memorial. In the coming year, they will be focusing on offering their aesthetic and teaching in partnership with food, land, and cultural sovereignty groups so that they can play more of a role at the intersection of art and survival.

Participants will be invited to imagine and play within the prompt: create a being inspired by a being (an element, an organism, a sensation) at StellaLou Farm.

WHEN: This workshop takes place over the course of one weekend. Days will include 6-8 hours of mixed instruction and hands-on creation time with guidance of facilitators interspersed with conversation and creative wandering.

Participants will be welcomed to camp on the property as needed Friday and Saturday nights. Campers will be invited to join in potluck dinners. Breakfasts and lunches are not provided.

Sunday afternoon families and friends will be invited to experience the final Shy Puppet Parade.

HOW MUCH and HOW MANY: Each adult will be expected to pay a $100 fee for the two day workshop. Children of adult attendees are included at no additional cost.  If there is a significant financial barrier and you are passionate about participating, please reach out to us directly.

Payment will be due by August 21st to cover the cost of materials. In addition to materials, the fee will cover the cost of time, travel, and energy of the facilitators. After you register, email coop.stellaloufarm@gmail.com to arrange payment.

There is a 4 attendee minimum to run the workshop.