Contemporary Puppetry
And Devised Performance

Session

Discipline

Theatre

Guest Artists

Dan Hurlin, Margaret Kemp, Nehprii Amenii

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This interdisciplinary course will explore the power of puppetry in the context of the contemporary puppet revival in theater and the visual arts. Through lecture, demonstrations, videos and guest artists, participants will be introduced to the artform. Course includes workshops in puppet manipulation and a culminating devised puppet performance.

who should take this class

Students with experience in theater, devising, puppetry, dance, multimedia art, and performance art. Students should be able and willing to engage in improvisational theater exercises. Students with visual arts background who want to explore theatre creation are welcome.

Required application materials

All students: a one-page statement describing your interest and knowledge in puppetry and how this course fits with your artistic goals
Theater, dance and performance art students: portfolio of production images (10-15 images) or a show reel
Puppetry students: portfolio of puppet work (making and/or performing)
Visual Arts students: portfolio of artwork especially any sculpture or mixed media artworks (10-15 images)

Course Coordinator

Kristine Doiel

GUEST ARTISTS

Dan Hurlin
A visual and theater artist, specializing in puppetry Dan Hurlin's works have been presented nationally and internationally. He received a John Simon Guggenheim fellowship in choreography, the Alpert Award and a U.S. Artists Fellowship in theater, and the Rome Prize in visual art. Until his retirement, he was the Director of the Graduate Program in Theater at Sarah Lawrence College.

Margaret Kemp
Margaret Laurena Kemp is an actor, a multi-disciplinary performing artist, writer and teaching artist. Her adaptation (for Bunraku puppets) of Toni Morrison’s “The Bluest Eye” was presented at the 2022 Chicago International Puppet Festival. Her experimental film/installation was presented at The Museum of Contemporary Art at MECA in 2021.

Nehprii Amenii

Nehprii Amenii is a Brooklyn-based director, playwright, production designer and puppeteer. Known for creating experiences that dismantle the wall between players and audiences, Amenii has worked with Bread & Puppet Theatre, Alvin Ailey, La Mama, The O'Neill, NY Philharmonic, and more. She is artistic director of Khunum Productions, a platform for creative anthropology.