The Puppet Pod! Season 1 Finale ..read more

A Retirement Party Photo: Sub/Urban Photography Spencer (he/him) thinks puppetry is object manipulation for communication. Spencer Lott is a puppeteer, designer and director. His puppetry credits include A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (starring Tom Hanks), Sesame Street (HBO/PBS), and Melvin the Birder (Amazon Prime). Recently, he’s designed puppets for projects with Nickelodeon and LaGuardia Performing Arts High School. In addition to being the Associate Artistic Director of Trusty Sidekick Theater Company, Spencer Lott is the recipient of four Jim Henson Foundation grants for his origi ..read more

Puppetry is a Love Language Photo: Storm Thomas Storm (they/them) thinks puppetry is a tool, no more, no less. Storm Thomas is a playwright/drummer-pastor/maker and has written and composed musicals: Notes on the Past, Ancient Future, and Be Like Bone. Storm has been everything from a Joker with Theater of the Oppressed NYC to a performer at the 2017 Obie Awards. In classes like Black Musical Theater, Music for Performance, and New Musical Theater Lab Storm's teaching focus is on generating new material (UArts and Playwrights/NYU). Storm has an MFA from Sarah Lawrence and is currently pursuin ..read more

Shine Your Heart Nishikawa-Sensei (he/him) thinks puppetry is life. Koryu Nishikawa V is the fifth generation headmaster of the 160-year-old traditional puppet theatre company, Hachioji Kuruma Ningyo, a national asset of intangible folk culture. Since he was a child, Koryu Nishikawa V was trained in the form by his grandfather (third generation) and his father (fourth generation). At the age of 23, he studied the three-person-manipulation-technique as an apprentice at the Bunraku National Theatre. In addition to regularly scheduled performances in Hachioji town, Koryu Nishikawa has performed ..read more

A Retirement Party Photo: Sub/Urban Photography Spencer (he/him) thinks puppetry is object manipulation for communication. Spencer Lott is a puppeteer, designer and director. His puppetry credits include A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (starring Tom Hanks), Sesame Street (HBO/PBS), and Melvin the Birder (Amazon Prime). Recently, he’s designed puppets for projects with Nickelodeon and LaGuardia Performing Arts High School. In addition to being the Associate Artistic Director of Trusty Sidekick Theater Company, Spencer Lott is the recipient of four Jim Henson Foundation grants for his origi ..read more

Stapler Gaze Photo: Emma Wiseman Emma thinks puppetry is goofy, and Emily thinks puppetry is very uncanny valley.  Emma Wiseman (she/her) is a multidisciplinary theater maker with a particular interest in puppets and objects. In addition to creating original and collaborative works of performance, including OOO: Out Of Office with the inimitable Emily Zemba, she has toured internationally with Robin Frohardt’s The Pigeoning and Nick Lehane’s Chimpanzee, and served as lead puppeteer for the Emmy-nominated “Animated Life”, a New York Times Op-Doc series created by Sweet Fern Productions.&n ..read more

Puppetry is a Love Language Photo: Storm Thomas Storm (they/them) thinks puppetry is a tool, no more, no less. Storm Thomas is a playwright/drummer-pastor/maker and has written and composed musicals: Notes on the Past, Ancient Future, and Be Like Bone. Storm has been everything from a Joker with Theater of the Oppressed NYC to a performer at the 2017 Obie Awards. In classes like Black Musical Theater, Music for Performance, and New Musical Theater Lab Storm's teaching focus is on generating new material (UArts and Playwrights/NYU). Storm has an MFA from Sarah Lawrence and is currently pursuin ..read more

Material Performance Photo: Janie Geiser Janie (she/her) thinks puppetry is confusing. Janie Geiser is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice includes performance, film, puppetry, installation, and visual art. Geiser’s work is known for its recontextualization of abandoned images and objects, its embrace of artifice, and its sense of suspended time. Geiser is the recipient of a 2016 Doris Duke Award. One of the pioneers of the renaissance of American avant-garde puppet theater, Geiser creates innovative, hypnotic performances and installations that integrate performing objects, puppets, an ..read more

Shine Your Heart Nishikawa-Sensei (he/him) thinks puppetry is life. Koryu Nishikawa V is the fifth generation headmaster of the 160-year-old traditional puppet theatre company, Hachioji Kuruma Ningyo, a national asset of intangible folk culture. Since he was a child, Koryu Nishikawa V was trained in the form by his grandfather (third generation) and his father (fourth generation). At the age of 23, he studied the three-person-manipulation-technique as an apprentice at the Bunraku National Theatre. In addition to regularly scheduled performances in Hachioji town, Koryu Nishikawa has performed ..read more

Stapler Gaze Photo: Emma Wiseman Emma thinks puppetry is goofy, and Emily thinks puppetry is very uncanny valley.  Emma Wiseman (she/her) is a multidisciplinary theater maker with a particular interest in puppets and objects. In addition to creating original and collaborative works of performance, including OOO: Out Of Office with the inimitable Emily Zemba, she has toured internationally with Robin Frohardt’s The Pigeoning and Nick Lehane’s Chimpanzee, and served as lead puppeteer for the Emmy-nominated “Animated Life”, a New York Times Op-Doc series created by Sweet Fern Productions.&n ..read more