The Object Movement Puppetry Festival is an annual celebration of new works of puppetry and object theater developed over a six month residency at CWP.
Object Movement is curated by artists Maiko Kikuchi, Rowan Magee, Marcella Murray, and Justin Perkins, with the support of Technical Advisor and Builder Jim Freeman
This year’s festival features seven new works presented over two weekends. The lineup includes pieces by Mery Y.Y. Cheung, Sarah Finn & Karen Loewy Movilla, Amy Liou, Kip Miller, Heather Piper, Playlab NYC (Kevin P. Hale & Jennifer Linn Wilcox), and Preston Wollner.
PROGRAM A (March 24 & 25)
Manifestations by Playlab NYC (Jennifer Linn Wilcox & Kevin P. Hale)
Ithaka by Amy Liou
Isadora the Baptist (excerpt) by Sarah Finn & Karen Loewy Movilla
PROGRAM B (March 31 & April 1)
Homing by Heather Piper
The Autopsy of Lambchop Suey by Mery Y.Y. Cheung
Heirloom by Preston Wollner
Dogma by Kip Miller
PROGRAM A (MARCH 24 & 25)
Manifestations by Playlab NYC
The spiritualist movement and traditional séances inspire Manifestations. We invite apparitions to produce a genuine experience through shadow and light. The spirits will be encouraged to convey the impressionistic messages they are willing to share, while our puppeteers are in full view. Manifestations is for skeptics and spiritualists alike.
Playlab NYC is Jennifer Linn Wilcox and Kevin P. Hale.
Ithaka by Amy Liou
Does AI help to clarify our understanding of humanity, or does it leave us more confused? This presentation is a journey to find our Ithaka, and an attempt to answer what it means to be human and where we are headed in a world increasingly dominated by technology.
Isadora the Baptist by Sarah Finn & Karen Loewy Movilla
A short excerpt from Isadora the Baptist, a comic-myth re-mix of Noah’s ark that follows an unlikely Saint, Isadora, as she learns to live off the land. Featuring a wooly mammoth as holy mother, naughty nuns and a chimeric prophetess, the play offers a back-to-the-land, feminist, animistic theology set in a post-capital holy land.
Written and directed by Sarah Finn. Puppet Design and Fabrication by Karen Loewy Movilla and Sarah Finn. Performed by Hallie Riddick, Julliette Holliday, and Rawya El Chab. Sound Design by Leonie Bell.
PROGRAM B (MARCH 31 & APRIL 1)
Homing by Heather Piper
Homing is based off the harrowing true story of the WW1 carrier pigeon, Cher Ami’s, epic flight to save 200 allied soldiers trapped behind enemy lines in war torn France. The pigeon is a humble animal, not revered like the eagle or admired like its cousin, the dove. Yet we are ancient friends with this messenger. Cher Ami is a symbol of willpower, overcoming incredible odds, all by simply following his nature. In this multimedia production, we will take flight on this perilous journey and explore the perspectives of those touched by this story.
The Autopsy of Lambchop Suey by Mery Y.Y. Cheung
Performed by Tiffany Adams, Mery Cheung, and Azusa SHESHE Dance
A winter holiday puppet arts performance in five parts uncovering the humor and hardship of forming identity detached from the wounds of family and American society. Dissecting the body and mind of a Chinese American female, the resilient spirit of Lambchop Suey is born.
For Adult Audiences; Sensitive topics include trauma, sexual behavior, addiction, grief
Heirloom by Preston Wollner
A boy accompanies his mother on a trip to her childhood home and is quickly ensnared by the demons and ghosts that dwell there.
Dogma by Kip Miller
Dogma uses puppetry, stop motion, poetry, and a bit of clowning to explore the bond, and inherent tension, between a dog and its human. The dog is troubled by the world, and the human is frustrated. She looks for an existential truth that she can put into action, to give the two of them a way to understand each other. Along the way, she realizes that she must address her own emotional demons before she and the dog can transform their relationship.
The Object Movement Puppetry Festival is made possible, in part, with the support of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and the generous support of the Jim Henson Foundation and the Puppet Slam Network.