March 22 – 23, 2024
Puppets: Movement & Mayhem
With Phoenix Leigh
About This Immersion
Puppetry is the art of bringing objects to life, where a simple gesture speaks volumes. In this workshop you will gain a greater understanding of the nuances of the movement of the human body, an essential skill for any circus artist, dancer, clown, or theater performer.
Puppetry is for all ages, topics, and moods. Whether your idea is silly or sublime, light or dark, there is a form of puppetry to express it. This will open up endless creative options of combining moving objects with your art form: circus, dance, theatre, burlesque. In this fun introductory course, we will learn a few styles of puppets. Then, we will control the chaos. We will find character nuances, and maybe even tell a story in this laboratory exploring movement, character, and building with recycled materials. You will leave with your own original puppet show.
Details
When:
Friday | 5:30 – 8:30 pm
Saturday | 10:00 am – 1:00 & 1:30 – 4:00 pm
Where:
Cotton Mill
Cost:
$200
Register By:
March 8, 2024
Prerequisites:
None! This is an all levels event. Experience welcome but not needed.
Ages:
16 & up or by permission of instructor
About The Coach
Phoenix Leigh (they/them) is a puppeteer, writer, director, and teacher. They create and produce original shows for their company, North Star Puppets. Phoenix works with all kinds of puppets: rod, Muppet-style, shadow, marionettes, and more. North Star Puppets are the official puppeteers of the Philadelphia Folk Festival. They created and perform the 16-foot tall Smiling Banjo, the mascot of the Fest.
Phoenix originated the role of Alfreda the Cheetah in X.Tink.Shun by The Jim Henson Company at The Philadelphia Zoo. Phoenix has performed at The O’Neill National Puppetry Conference, Dragon Con, burlesque shows, and puppet slams all over the country. They have toured the USA 3x. Circus Town, their original webseries that teaches physics through circus stories, is on YouTube.
Phoenix has contributed four feature articles for BUST Magazine, including interviews with the women puppeteers of Sesame Street. They were a Balloon Handler in the 2022 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
