Amy Kellett and Cecilia Cackley perform at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Photo by Patricia Germann

Anansi’s Appetite is a series of three short puppet tales about Anansi the Spider and the lengths that he will go to in order to fill his hungry belly. All are based on traditional tales from Africa and the Caribbean, and were adapted by Cecilia Cackley and Daniel Mori.

Turtle sitting on his rock near the river. Photo by Patricia Germann

Ananse and the Dancing Granny was originally created for the November 2011 Mount Pleasant Children’s Puppet Hour in Washington DC and later was performed as part of the Happenings series at the Shakespeare Theater. The other two sections, Why Spiders Have Thin Legs and Anansi Goes Fishing were added in August 2012. Anansi’s Appetite (which includes all three stories) was created for the Smithsonian American Art Museum for performance at their Family Fun Day in May 2014.

Granny Annika loves to dance. Photo by Patricia Germann

Anansi the trickster steals some peas from Granny’s garden. Photo by Patricia Germann