The Ume Group School

Introduction to Object Puppetry
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 This class is designed to teach the performing artist how to focus energy and movement into an inanimate object bringing it to life.  We will go over various puppet style basics but will be exploring everyday objects.
 
We will learn to bring any object to life: a piece of paper, a fuzzy sweater, a spoon, a chair – anything can and will come to life in your hands. There will be an emphasis on courage, breath, being fearless, and sharing our discoveries as a group. We will dive into the specifics of selecting object puppets, uncovering their hidden characters, and creating short performances while working together in small groups. Voice work, breath, character intentions, tempo, rhythm, and dynamics will all be part of our work together.

Our explorations will include both soft and rigid objects, and their interaction with the puppeteer’s body. We will find out what the relationship of the object to the puppeteer, object to audience, puppeteer to puppeteer, and puppeteer to audience. We will work to open up and create with fearless abandon ending with a short final performance piece shown to the rest of the workshop.

Schedule
Saturday, December 2nd, 2017
Time: 12-3

In addition this workshop will offer an optional opportunity to perform in The Ume Group Student Showcase on April 20th. 
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Tuition: $30 or $25 for students/seniors/artists 

Regular Tuition- $30

Student, Senior, Artist- $25

​Location
Grace & St. Paul's Church
123 West 71st Street, New York, NY 10023
(72nd Street on the 1, 2, 3, B, & C trains)

About the Instructor

 
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Christine Schisano is a puppeteer, puppet designer, actor, writer and producer originally from San Jose, CA.  Most recently she was an Emerging Artist at the Eugene O'Neill National Puppetry Conference working on the original puppet play The Gilded Parable she wrote, designed, built and directed.  Some favorite performance credits include: Sallie Mae: Loan Me Your Soul (Writer and performer; The Tank); Jim Kroupa’s The Howdy Do Show at the Eugene O’Neill Puppetry Conference; Fast &The Furious #1-5 at The Tank; Dear Tina: I’m Wearing a Wig (Writer and performer; The Tank and The Kraine), Puppet Playlist #19: Michael Jackson, #21: Dolly Parton, #23: Beyonce, #24 Whitney Houston; The Completely True, Tales of Boris the Peacock at St. Ann’s Warehouse Puppet Lab, and Le Bijou Lady at La MaMa Puppet Slam.
 
Some favorite design credits:  VEIL'D (Astoria Performing Arts Center), Discouraging Stories For Lonely People (The Drama League), Swimming with Monsters (Writer/designer at The Tank),  Broken Hearts (Puppet Playlist-Sinking Ship Productions), Patches (O'Neill Theater  Center-short work), Elevator (Writer/designer at O'Neill Theater Center-short work), Active Light (Writer/designer The Tank) She holds a B.A. in Acting from Sonoma State University. www.christineschisano.com
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Questions, e-mail info@theumegroup.org
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Social Action Project. Photo by Jorge Luna, 2016

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