Say Hello to our New Studio

Posted on May 20, 2016 by ccbooks

Welcome to our new studio space! It was bittersweet to leave the house in southwest DC where we had our start, but change is in the air. A move is an opportunity to organize, to re-furbish and streamline our process–or at least we hope that’s what it will be! As you can see, the space is something of a shambles right now. It’s going to take awhile to get everything in place and looking how we would like it. To motivate ourselves, I’m going to be posting a picture every day on Twitter, to document how long it takes for the pile of materials and tools to become a working studio. Follow along and watch it change!

ICYMI: Saudade Trailer!

Posted on March 21, 2016 by ccbooks

Our March tour of Saudade is halfway done and it’s World Puppet Day! If you haven’t had a chance, check out this new trailer and a few other blog posts about amazing puppetry and puppeteers from around the world.

An Interview with Gabriela Cespedes from Argentina

A Brief History of Puppets and Social Justice

Recycled Puppets by Ashley Bryan

A Few Puppeteers You May Not Know

Revisiting Saudade

Posted on March 7, 2016 by ccbooks

As part of our preparation for this tour of Saudade (which starts on Friday!) we were able to bring in photographer Liza Harbison to take some shots of the shadow puppets. Here are a few:

: Scene from Saudade (2016). Photo by Liza Harbison

: Scene from Saudade (2016). Photo by Liza Harbison

: Scene from Saudade (2016). Photo by Liza Harbison

: Scene from Saudade (2016). Photo by Liza Harbison

: Scene from Saudade (2016). Photo by Liza Harbison

: Scene from Saudade (2016). Photo by Liza Harbison

Ideas In Progress

Posted on March 1, 2016 by ccbooks

As we prepare for performances of Saudade this month, we are still hard at work on other ideas too. A few photos:

Space-Bop Rehearsals

Posted on February 25, 2016 by ccbooks

Seamus Miller with the rocket ship. Photo by Tia Shearer-Bassett.

Séamus Miller with the rocket ship. Photo by Tia Shearer-Bassett.

We are thrilled with the enthusiastic response to Space-Bop, including this lovely review from Our Kids. If you would like to see it, visit our friends at Arts on the Horizon.

Meanwhile, here are a few photos of the rehearsal process. The cast is Séamus Miller as the performer/clown and Christylez Bacon as the musician.

Stars and Space Creatures

Posted on January 29, 2016 by ccbooks

We are nearly done with objects for Arts on the Horizon’s new baby theater show Space-Bop. We are thrilled to be collaborating again with Tia Shearer-Bassett and working for the first time with Christylez Bacon and Seamus Miller. Back in the summer of 2015 we participated in a workshop of this piece and now rehearsals start in just a few days! Meanwhile, here are some photos from the building process.

A new star pattern, with one of our light-up gadgets in the background.

A rather bumpy planet surface.

The somewhat messy beginnings of another planet.

Pieces of the astronaut helmet, before being put together.

Czech Postcard #3

Posted on January 19, 2016 by ccbooks

In November, Cecilia had the opportunity to visit the Czech Republic and attend a puppet festival in Prague at the Minor Theater. This is the last of three puppet-related comics she drew while on the trip.

Czech Postcard #2

Posted on January 12, 2016 by ccbooks

In November, Cecilia had the opportunity to visit the Czech Republic and attend a puppet festival in Prague at the Minor Theater. This is the second of three puppet-related comics she drew while on the trip.

Czech Postcard #1

Posted on January 5, 2016 by ccbooks

In November, Cecilia had the opportunity to visit the Czech Republic and attend a puppet festival at the Minor Theater in Prague. Here is the first of three puppet-related comics she drew while on the trip.

Five Firsts: Wit’s End Puppets in 2015

Posted on December 29, 2015 by ccbooks

It’s been a busy year here at Wit’s End Puppets; a year filled with new work and new friends and collaborators! Here is a list of our top five ‘first’ moments from the year.

5. First crankie!
Ever since I saw Katherine Fahey’s amazing crankies, I’ve wanted to tackle constructing one ourselves. It was a thrill to work with Katherine this year on our shadow play Saudade.

4. First Fringe show in way too long!
Our very first show using the name Wit’s End Puppets was back in 2010 for the Capital Fringe Festival. We had a wonderful time working with banished? productions on their piece I Thought the Earth Remembered Me for this year’s festival.

3. First video shoot!
It was a whole new world for us, incorporating puppets into a gothic, lush set for a music video with She Monster Productions.

2. First City Arts Project grant!
We are thrilled that DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities decided to award us a grant to tour Saudade around the city in collaboration with the American Immigration Council and GALA Hispanic Theatre. If you would like to help support this tour and send us to even more places, you can donate here!

1.First International performance!
Traveling to Winnipeg for the Winnipeg International Storytelling Festival was an amazing opportunity. We met so many incredible artists and teachers; people who work every day to help immigrants and refugees in Winnipeg. It was an honor to share our art with them and hear their thoughts and stories.

Here’s to a 2016 that’s just as rewarding and exciting!