Films

FILMS:

Marianne's Onion (2020):

Marianne's Onion is a puppet film about a true story based on an interview with Marianne Ross. It was produced by Heather Henson's Handmade Puppet Dreams. It is currently in post-production.

Mental Amusements (2021):

Our friend and magician Vinny DePonto has created a fantastic magic/mentalism show specifically for the live streaming format. He asked if we'd be interested in creating a short introduction for the top of the show and we were excited at the idea. We attended the show before drawing up a storyboard to get a feel for the tone and aesthetic and we gotta say, it's a really wonderful show. We've seen a lot of live streamed shows during the pandemic and this one is not to be missed.

He has another run of the show coming up and you can find tickets here.

Earth, Worm (2020):

No real worms were used or harmed in the making of this film.

"Earth, Worm" explores the finer details of soil's role in the world and the unique relationship it has with one of its most important inhabitants.

"Earth, Worm" was created for the Urban Soils Institute and their 2020 Urban Soils Symposium. More info Here.

Hadestown: Epic 1 (2020):

This piece was created as part of a collaboration with Rainbow Ridge Studio who reached out to various artists to create work set to or inspired by songs from the Broadway musical "Hadestown."

Hadestown is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Anaïs Mitchell. It tells a version of the ancient Greek myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, where Orpheus goes to the underworld to rescue his fiancée Eurydice. The original version of the musical premiered in the town of Barre, Vermont in 2006.

Kindred Spirits (2020):

"Kindred Spirits" is a short puppet film inspired by the fantasy of love at first sight. It was premiered at Coney Island's Puppets Come Home virtual puppet slam, a celebration of Coney Island's 150 year history of puppetry.

Morning Call (2020):
"Morning Call" is a short puppet film inspired by this brainstorming session. All puppets and set pieces were painted with watercolors on Bristol paper. The film premieres as part of the International Toy Theater Festival Online hosted by Great Small Works. See how the film was made!

Shine On, Harvest Moon (2020):
"Shine On, Harvest Moon" is a toy theater style puppet short film with shadow puppetry set to music by the inimitable Janet Klein! Janet is an extraordinary chanteuse with an incredible band: Janet Klein and her Parlor Boys.

We met Janet at a Virtual Vaudeville hosted by Michael Cumella and immediately hit it off - we knew we wanted to make something together. We premiered this film at Janet's "Hit of the Week: Parlor Party" which also included a few other short performances, a lively interview, and a song by Janet on her glow-in-the-dark Kleinette Firefly Flapper Banjolele.

A brief history about the song: "Shine On, Harvest Moon" was composed in 1908 by Nora Bayes. Nora Bayes was a famous Vaudeville performer once billed as, "The Greatest Single Woman Singing Comedienne in the World." Nora Bayes composed "Shine On, Harvest Moon" in 1908, the same year she married and teamed with Jack Norworth who wrote the lyrics. When they performed together, they were billed as "Nora Bayes, Assisted and Admired by Jack Norworth."

The Cough Next Door (2020):
"The Cough Next Door" was commissioned as part of an artist residency at the University of Maryland. The piece was created in response to our initial feelings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Big thanks to the Jim Henson Fund for Puppetry and the University of Maryland School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies, and to Heather Henson for her support of visiting puppetry artists. An extra special thanks goes out to Leigh Wilson Smiley, Jocelyn Callister, the Design Grad Assistants, and all healthcare workers.

Channel Surfing Short Puppet Films (2020):
These short interstitial puppet films were created as part of The National Capital Puppetry Festival's presentation of Saturday Morning Puppet Shows, a collection of short form puppet theater geared towards kids and families. When thinking of fun elements to add alongside our hosting of the program, we wanted to simulate the experience of channel surfing between a few shows as you waited for your main show to come back on.

We hope you enjoy!

Quarantine (2020):
Entirely self-explanatory.