Fund the Creative Residency for Black Puppeteers
If you would like to help support future cohorts of this program, we welcome contributions to this initiative. You can donate by clicking the button below, or mailing a check to Puppet Showplace Theater, 32 Station Street, Brookline, MA 02445 with “Creative Residency for Black Puppeteers” in the memo.
“My cohort was a much needed source of creative accountability, support, and community. The time together had a huge impact on the artistic development of our work.”
Puppet Showplace’s Creative Residency for Black Puppeteers seeks to diversify representation on our stage and in our field by investing in creative research and early-stage production development by Black puppeteers from Greater Boston and from across the country.
Puppet Showplace Theater is dedicated to presenting outstanding puppetry to diverse audiences through performances, workshops, and community outreach. As articulated in our 5-year vision statement, we are committed to cultivating new work that reflects our values by empowering diverse artists to address contemporary issues, respond to community needs, explore the far realms of their imaginations, and engage audiences wherever they may be. We also aim to develop new programs that teach technical skills, promote artistic literacy, encourage experimentation, foster collaboration, and build confidence in people of all ages to express themselves through puppetry.
This initiative launched in summer 2020, under the name Black Puppeteer Empowerment Grant, with an initial cohort of 6 artists. Funding, mentorship, and regular virtual meetings supported their creative discoveries over a 2-month period. In January 2021, thanks to the support of the Jim Henson Foundation, another 4 artists were able to embark on a residency journey. In 2022, we launched our third cohort of 4 artists, and in August 2023 we were thrilled to launch our fourth cohort with 6 artists. In future seasons, we hope to award more grants while continuing to work with the initial groups of artists to bring their full productions to our stage.
““With all of the turmoil happening in the world at the time...the virtual connection and feedback felt like social medicine, and validation that as puppeteers we were still alive, relevant, and thriving.”
