Roundtable Discussion: American Puppetry Today

All audiences, 13 years +

 

Please join us for a stimulating discussion about puppetry and its artists south of the border!

 

The roundtable discussion will be mainly held in English

The roundtable discussion will be livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube.

 

In recent years, puppetry and object-based theatre in the United States have developed in complexity and scope. There is increasing overlap with contemporary forms, including installation art, and mixed-media performance, in part thanks to the existence of festivals, training institutions, and funding structures that recognize the power of these art forms. 

What has changed with pandemic limitations and concerns for accessibility in performance? How has the availability of digital media affected the work being created? What is the current state of puppetry in the US, and how are artists and audiences creating these forms becoming more culturally and artistically diverse? 

 

Panelists:

• Richard Termine, photographer (New York)
• Basil Twist, puppeteer (New York)
• Kevin Augustine, puppeteer, Lone Wolf Tribe (New York)
• Cheryl Henson, President, Jim Henson Foundation (New York)

 

Facilitator: Mark Sussman

Mark Sussman is a theatre artist and researcher working on the animation of public space, material dramaturgies, puppetry and object performance, and the integration of old and new technologies in live performance. He earned MA and PhD degrees from the Department of Performance Studies at New York University and works as Associate Professor of Theatre and Director of the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Society and Culture at Concordia University.

He is a founder and Co-Artistic director of Great Small Works, an OBIE and UNIMA/Jim Henson Award-winning theatre collective based in New York City. Since 1995, Great Small Works has been producing new theatre works on a variety of scales, from miniature toy theatre pieces using two-dimensional cut-outs and live montage, to giant parades, community processions, and circuses.

He is also the founder and part of the organizing team for Café Concret, a cabaret series for puppetry and object performance founded in Montreal in 2006 and supported by the Puppet Slam Network.

 

 

Kevin Augustine appears by courtesy of The Metropolitan Opera.