Details & Registration
Nov 13 (Thurs) 2025 | 6:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location: Puppet Showplace Theater
$80 Regular Price
$65 Access Price
$100 Supporter Price
Puppets at Night members receive 15% off
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Registration Deadline: October 30
Register early — if minimum enrollment is not met by October 30 the class will be cancelled.
About the Class
Puppetry is a physical art form, and it can be tiring! Is there a way to perform without all the tension and unnecessary physical effort? Puppeteer and stage actor Emmanuel Elpenord says yes! Drawing on his years of marionette and theater experience, Emmanuel will guide participants in the fundamentals of marionette puppetry — without all the tension.
This workshop will begin with interrogating our relationship with gravity, the natural phenomenon that makes this genre of puppetry possible. After breaking down the fundamentals of balancing the puppet itself, participants will explore the physical relationship between the performer and puppet. While building familiarity with the ergonomics of marionette performance, participants will be introduced to practical techniques to alleviate performer tension, minimize effort, and unify connection with the puppet. The workshop will close with solo improvisations, paired scenes, and a Q&A session.
Recommended for adults 18+
About the Instructor
A queer, first-generation Haitian-American actor, puppeteer, and voice-over artist born and raised in Coney Island, Emmanuel Elpenord (he/him) graduated magna cum laude from Brooklyn College with an Acting BFA, TV & Radio BA, and Creative Writing BFA. His puppetry career spans a decade: credits include the premiere of El Niño at the Metropolitan Opera, the first off-Broadway, regional, national, and international tours of The Very Hungry Caterpillar Show; original off-Broadway cast of Disney's Winnie The Pooh with Rockefeller Productions. He's performed with the Swedish Cottage Marionette Theater in Central Park and across NYC with their PuppetMobile for over 8 years. He’s worked with long-standing companies like La Mama, The Drilling Company’s Bryant Park Shakespeare, St Ann’s Warehouse, Dixon Place, People’s Improv Theater, Abrons Art Center. He’s attended the National Puppetry Conference at the O’Neill Theater Center, and performed with Drama of Works at the 2023 National Puppet Festival. In 2023, Emmanuel was awarded the Jim Henson Foundation Family Grant and took part in Puppet Showplace’s Creative Residency for Black Puppeteers.
