A still from the film UMWELT by Alex and Olmsted, 2020.

CRANKIES

A type of puppet show illustrated on a long scroll and cranked across a frame.

The Wonders of Bread

photo by Heather Keating

The Wonders of Bread (2023)
Available for tour! Tech Rider upon request.
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The Wonders of Bread serves to edify, enlighten, and enrich your mind with this look into Bread’s pivotal roll in our history. Alldough the puns might be crumby, we hope these morsels of wisdom will make your life a little butter.

The Wonders of Bread premiered at Creative Alliance's 2023 Baltimore Crankie Fest, co-produced by Josh Kohn and the Center for Cultural Vibrancy. 

PRODUCTION HISTORY:
Arts After Dark at Historic Smithville Park in Eastampton, New Jersey, USA, September 2023
This Old Town with the Geraldine Band in historic Ellicott City, Maryland, USA, May 2023
Baltimore Crankie Fest at the Creative Alliance in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, January 2023

UMWELT

UMWELT (2020)
​Available for tour!
​
UMWELT is the story of a man who longs to experience the world through the eyes of another creature. This piece is told with shadow puppets and a Crankie, a type of puppet show illustrated on a long scroll and cranked across a frame.

UMWELT premiered as part of Creative Alliance's 2020 Baltimore Crankie Fest. It has since been adapted into a 12 minute film.

Watch the UMWELT trailer: here.

PRODUCTION HISTORY:
Baltimore Crankie Fest at Creative Alliance in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, January 2020
Rhizome Puppet Slam (Virtual) - 2020

The Life of an Apple

The Life of an Apple (2016)
​Retired crankie. ​

The Life of an Apple is a crankie that incorporates hand drawn illustration, shadow puppets, tabletop and lighting effects to tell the story of an apple. From seed, to tree, to fruit, to unforeseen circumstances.

​Watch The Life of an Apple video trailer: Here.

​PRODUCTION HISTORY:
Black Cherry Puppet Theater (Baltimore, Maryland) - 2016
Puppet Homecoming (Catskills, New York) - 2016

Death's Sweetheart

Death's Sweetheart (2013)​
​Retired crankie. 

​Death's Sweetheart is a puppet show that was created for Happenstance Theater's first fundraiser, My Heart Belongs to DADA, in Feb of 2013. Inspired by the music of Dead Man's Bones, "The Death Crankie" follows the journey of a skeleton who falls in love with a sleeping woman.  

PRODUCTION HISTORY:
Happenstance Atelier (Rockville, Maryland) - 2013
Clown Cabaret (Washington, D.C.) - 2013